On the go: Can in store brekkie bars offer a smarter start?

This article is part of our 2016 digital feature on breakfast

One in seven breakfasts are now eaten on the hoof, as consumers squeeze ever more into their days, according to Kantar Worldpanel. This is hitting sales of traditional breakfast staples such as toast or cereals hard and giving rise to a whole host of innovations, such as breakfast drinks and biscuits. 

But what about health-conscious consumers who would rather eat whole foods such as fruit, nuts and grains? Is there a way of combining the best of breakfast at home with the convenience of being able to grab it on the go? We asked brand experience agency Momentum Worldwide this question. Here’s what they came up with…

The Smart Start Breakfast Bar

This modular bar is designed to help take some of madness out of the morning rush and allow retailers in high footfall areas such as train stations and town centres to make the most of rising demand for breakfast on the go, says Seamus Begley, creative director at Momentum Worldwide. 

“When we, as consumers, are considering breakfast on the go, we often just grab the first thing to hand off the shelf,” says Begley. ”These grab and go breakfasts are as popular as our interest in health and fitness, but in our morning rush our wish to make a smart choice falls short.”

Retailers don’t make it easy for on-the-go breakfasters either, with options often situated at different spots around the store. ”It really isn’t simple or convenient for time-poor shoppers to grab what they’re after,” says Begley. The Smart Start Breakfast Bar could help change all that. 

“The average person in the UK doesn’t smile on a Monday morning till 11.16am,” says Begley. ”So let’s start their day on the right foot – it’s high time the retailer changed their mindset about ‘The most important meal of the day’.”

The bar, which can be converted at different times of the day, leaves no doubt about the importance of breakfast. Split into four sections, it allows shoppers to mix and match grains, dairy, protein and fruit to ensure breakfast on the fly can also be a balanced, healthy breakfast. 

Integrated pay points and an app allow shoppers to purchase as quickly and painlessly as possible, before getting on their way with their breakfast stored safely in a sturdy branded bag.”

“The app doesn’t just enable you to pay quickly, it has a whole host of benefits from discounts and loyalty points through to helping customers select their best Smart Start breakfasts and pre-pay/pre-order options,” explains Begley. 

“It connects with customers’ Fitbits to identify the type of breakfast needs on different days, depending on goals, calorie levels, moods, likes and dislikes. It can even pre-order for the whole week based on preferences tracked and deliver straight to the work place.” 

The counter’s gondola end would feature a retailer’s Breakfast of the Day, pre-packed breakfast bundles sold at a discounted price for shoppers who don’t have time to put their own meal together. 

See also the digital screen next to the Breakfast of the Day signage. “We can use face-capture technology to suggest to people what kind of breakfast would suit them that morning,” says Begley. “This would also be an area promoting social sharing via the app.” 

All this has another benefit, he concludes: “There’s also a big missed opportunity for retailers to add value to the breakfast category. If we interact with shoppers successfully at the start of the week, we can engage with them every morning.”

Which means we might start smiling earlier than 11.16 one day. 

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