With little time to scramble eggs, much less a moment to spare for a bowl of cereal, consumers are increasingly in search of great tasting breakfast options that merge good nutrition with portability. Recently, breakfast giants Kellogg and General Mills have debuted two new products for the harried breakfast consumer. Pepsi has also gotten in on the action, with a new high octane breakfast drink that bears the Mountain Dew moniker.
 
While Kellogg’s Special K Protein shake has already solidified its reputation among those who are specifically looking to control their weight, its new breakfast shake called Breakfast to Go contains 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. Each shake clocks in at 190 calories (the strawberry flavor is 180 calories).
 
Kellogg’s said Breakfast to Go provides morning nourishment for a “great start [that’s] as simple as the twist of a cap.” Sold in Milk Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla flavors, the beverages blend an assortment of vitamins and minerals with a protein blend  comprised of water, non-fat milk, whey protein concentrate and soy protein isolate.
 
Prior to launching Breakfast to Go, Kellogg already had a fix on its core customer thanks to data gleaned from its vast 2011 “Breakfast in America Survey.” After polling 14,000 American consumers, the company announced that although more than half (54%) of all adults would like to eat breakfast every day, in reality only one-third (34%) actually do.
 
And though Breakfast to Go isn’t specifically marketed to teens or kids, there is a need there too: an overwhelming majority of moms (89%) reported they want their kids to eat breakfast every day, however 40% conceded that it doesn’t happen. Nearly all toddlers and preschool-age children are eating breakfast, yet consumption of breakfast dips as American children grow older; 77% of young children eat breakfast every day, but the number falls to 50% in the middle-school years and 36% among high school students. 
 
Surely General Mills had the same consumer demographic in mind when it launched BFAST, its own shelf-stable, “nutritious breakfast shake.” The product blends non-fat milk, sugar and whole grain rice, oats and quinoa with a variety of vitamins and minerals, and the calorie count is on par with the Kellogg shakes. BFAST shakes are sold in Chocolate, Vanilla and Berry flavors and contain 8 grams of protein, 8 grams of whole grains and 3 grams of fiber—comparable to a bowl of cereal with milk, the company said.
 
According to industry insiders, Breakfast to Go and BFAST represented a way for the The Kellogg Co. and rival General Mills to reinvigorate the sagging breakfast cereal category, which has faced stiff competition from fast food chain breakfast menus and other high-protein portable breakfast options like Greek yogurt.
 
In fact, both companies separately pointed to a successful drink from Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Co called “Up & Go,” which has enjoyed a strong performance in Australia, where it comprises about 10% to 20% of that country’s cereal business.
 
Breakfast Goes ‘Pop’
 
As parent company to the Quaker oatmeal company, it’s safe to assume that Pepsi Co. knows a thing or two about breakfast. Having already leveraged the heart healthy benefits of its Quaker oatmeal into a successful range of snack bars, breakfast cookies and cereals, the company has also launched a Quaker cereal powdered drink in China and has started testing a Quaker oatmeal drink in Brazil.
 
But interestingly, it wasn’t the Quaker brand dominating recent breakfast press coverage: it was Mountain Dew.
 
When it launched last month, Mountain Dew Kickstart left the media and curious consumers scratching their heads. Was it a soft drink? Was it meant to be consumed in place of orange juice? Is it meant to replace coffee or energy drinks? In short, kind of.
 
Mountain Dew Kickstart is a carbonated energy drink hybrid that contains 5% fruit juice via white grape juice and concentrated orange juice. It’s sold in two flavors, “energizing” orange citrus and fruit punch, and delivers 92 mg of caffeine per 16 oz. can (by comparison, an 8 oz. cup of coffee supplies 95-200 mg). Per the ingredient panel, the beverages are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and contain 180 calories.

Though Kickstart doesn’t offer anything comparable to BFAST or Breakfast to Go in the way of fiber or protein, it does pair caffeine with vitamin C, niacin and vitamin B6 and is clearly formulated to appeal to young soda and energy drink consumers.