DSM, the global health, nutrition and materials company, has published the first part of a new report in its Global Insight Series, focused on breakfast habits and behavior in Europe and the US. The report, drawn from a survey conducted in seven countries, shows that breakfast is a meal under pressure. Around a quarter of respondents say they spend just five minutes to prepare and consume breakfast each week day. Even so, an overwhelming majority of consumers say they want this meal to be a healthy one.

DSM’s survey, conducted in October 2017 with 3,500 consumers in the US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, and France, shows that 76% of consumers are conscious of their health and that this has an impact on the foods they choose at breakfast. Furthermore, consumers say they prefer healthy to cheap foods (69 percent of respondents), and, perhaps surprisingly, healthy to tasty foods (65 percent).

“We have all heard the maxim ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,’ but we wanted to find out just how many people are making breakfast a priority, and to what degree consumers are reaching for a healthy meal in the morning,” says Carin Gerzon, global head of marketing communications for DSM Food Specialties. “The results of this survey show that despite busy schedules, consumers are increasingly interested in making healthier choices—and looking to the ingredients in their food as an indication of both health and quality.”

More than half of survey respondents (59 percent) say they are reading food labels more often today than they did five years ago, and 56 percent look first to the ingredients list on the package, ahead of the nutritional information. In addition, some 54 percent of respondents say they are looking for more natural solutions when buying breakfast products. DSM provides food and beverage manufacturers with food ingredients that enable healthier, better-tasting, more affordable, and more sustainable food options for consumers. 

DSM’s consumer insights inspire food and beverage product development, and shape the company’s own innovation pipeline. To this end, DSM has also asked a panel of international kids—the next generation of grocery store shoppers—what they like to eat for breakfast and what they think is a healthy start to the day. When asked to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 for healthiness, the kids rated themselves an average of 7 out of 10.

“I think I’m a seven-and-a-half [out of ten] because sometimes I like bad food, but I also like strawberries and blueberries,” said Sophie, age 11.

“I think [I’m a] seven because sometimes I do eat healthy, and other times I don’t, but I make sure that I’m active a lot,” said Stephen, age 13.

Part one of the breakfast insights report and the kids panel video are both available on DSM’s website. Part two of the report is due out in mid-February.