Trends in Hospital Breakfast

Hospitals are working hard to attain a favorable perception of their foodservice programs. One of the bigger challenges for hospitals is gauging consumers’ foodservice needs for three distinct types of diners — staff, visitors and patients. Each of these consumer groups has different demands and hospitals must find a way to cater their foodservice options to fit everyone’s requirements. In addition, as consumers increasingly become aware of and want to know what is in their food, hospitals will need to continue their efforts to showcase quality, better-for-you menus and promote transparency.
 

Breakfast Attributes

Consumers rated taste above convenience and better-for-you as the most important attribute when eating breakfast in a hospital foodservice setting. Matures in particular stand out, with 100% of this generation saying the taste of a breakfast food/beverage is important. Older consumers also put more value on convenience and ease of eating than their younger counterparts, with 95% of respondents born before 1946 agreeing. These statistics are not particularly surprising given the fact that many hospital patients are Matures and have likely experienced foodservice in hospitals more than other generations.

It is noteworthy that hospitals are known for health and wellness yet consumers were least likely to rank better-for-you breakfast food/beverage as important (81%). Notably, more men (84%) than women (78%) value better-for-you breakfast at hospitals, and Millennials (85%) ranked it higher than any other generation.
 

Breakfast Food/Beverage Preferences

When asked what type of food or beverage is most preferred for breakfast at a hospital foodservice setting, almost half of respondents (47%) selected eggs any style (includes omelets and fried and scrambled varieties), followed closely by coffee (46%). Other favored breakfast items include better-for-you options like fruit (38%) and juice (36%), and slightly less preferred indulgent options such as breakfast meats (30%) and pancake/waffle/French toast (21%).

Ethnicity proved to be an interesting demographic breakout for hospital breakfast food/beverage preferences. Some takeaways include:

• 52% of African Americans and 49% of Hispanics prefer coffee for breakfast, whereas only 25% of consumers with a mixed ethnic background say the same

• Consumers with a mixed ethnic background are much more likely (25%) to prefer bagels over Asians (7%) and African Americans (9%)

• Preference for vegan/vegetarian options like soy-based bacon, sausage or cheese also has a great demographic bifurcation: While only 6% of consumers overall say they prefer these options, consumers of a mixed ethnic background seem to have a much stronger preference (25%)

Breakfast Entrees

Breakfast starch is the leading course category for menued breakfast entrees, followed closely by egg dishes then a subsequent steep drop-off to sandwiches. Cereal/granola, French toast and pancakes are the leading breakfast starch entrees, respectively, whereas scrambled eggs and cheese omelets are the top egg dishes.

Top Hospital Breakfast Entree Categories:

• Breakfast Starch

• Egg Dish

• Sandwich

• Combo Plates

• Mexican

Top Hospital Dishes:

• Cereal/granola

• Scrambled Eggs

• French Toast

• Pancakes

• Oatmeal

There is a wide disparity between what we’re seeing menued for breakfast at hospitals and what consumers want: Although egg dishes align (with high menu incidence and consumer preference in both), many other menu categories diverge. For example, although cereal/granola is the most menued breakfast entree product at hospitals, only 17% of consumers prefer cereal for breakfast in this setting, and while oatmeal rounds out the top five most menued entree products list, only 19% of consumers prefer it.

Because hospital menus are typically straightforward, there is ample opportunity for entree innovation. Let’s take a look at some trend opportunities and applications at hospitals:

• Trend: Mashups

  • What: Traditional lunch or dinner preparations combined with classic breakfast ingredients

  • Where: Breakfast Pizza with bacon, egg and cheese (Boone County Hospital in Boone, Iowa)

• Trend: Supergrains

  • What: Better-for-you grains like quinoa and farro in dishes like oatmeal and breakfast bowls

  • Where: Breakfast Farro with mango (Mount Sinai New York University Health in New York City)

• Ethnic:

  • What: Flavor, ingredient and dish influences particularly from Latin America and Asia

  • Where: Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, grilled onions and peppers and jack cheese in a whole-wheat tortilla, served with salsa (Swedish Medical Center – Providence Campus in Seattle)

• Spicy:

  • What: Hot spices and sauces infused in or spread atop breakfast sandwiches

  • Where: Sriracha Bagel Sandwich (Mount Sinai New York University Health in New York City)

Breakfast Beverages

Hot tea is the leading breakfast beverage offered at hospitals, followed by juice and milk/chocolate milk. Top hot tea flavors are green tea, lemon and raspberry, respectively. Juice, the breakfast beverage with the second highest incidence, is comprised of mainly traditional varieties like orange, apple, cranberry, grape and tomato.

Proprietary beverages are sparse at hospitals, which presents an opening for operators to create specialty breakfast beverages. Innovation could include:

• Adding a flavored syrup to coffee

• Steeping fruit preserves in tea

• Whisking juice with jam or jelly

• Pureeing fruit preserves in a milk-based smoothie

• Pouring flavored syrup in sparkling water