Although consumers are not eating more animal proteins for dinner, they increasingly are eating them at more surprising dayparts, including breakfast, lunch and snacks. Technomic’s recently released Center of the Plate (COP) series—including the “2017 COP: Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report and 2017 COP: Poultry Consumer Trend Report”—reveals how consumers are more interested in a variety of meats outside of dinner—and how operators can use this to their advantage.
Consumers are eating more chicken for breakfast and snacks now than they were two years ago. Chicken can be positioned as a better-for-you alternative to pork, the most common breakfast protein, which is one reason more operators are adding it to their breakfast sandwiches. For example, McDonald’s is currently testing two chicken breakfast sandwiches in Florida. Chicken also makes for a craveable, high-protein snack option. More restaurant chains, such as Dairy Queen and Arby’s, are adding mini chicken sandwiches to their value snack menus.