Brits bowled over by breakfast cereal. But the rest of Europe’s not so keen…

New research from Mintel’s Global Market Navigator (GMN) suggests that British consumers are bowled over by breakfast cereal, spending £28 (£32) per head (or a total of £1.8 billion/£2bn) on breakfast cereal in the last year alone, up from £1.7bn (£1.9bn) in 2008 and a figure Mintel estimates will grow to a massive £2.2bn (£2.5bn) by 2014.

Mintel’s latest research on the cereal market shows some 87% adults in the UK eat cold breakfast cereal on at least a daily basis. In addition, for 6% adults in the UK, cereal is more than purely a breakfast staple: it is an easy, quick and nutritious meal substitute that is a regular and core food choice.

“Consumers have moved away from buying breakfast from coffee shops or sandwich outlets during the economic difficulties of the past year, opting instead for eating cereals at home or at the office, says Diana Nahn, global market navigator analyst at Mintel.
Britain’s spending on breakfast cereal outstrips that of its European neighbours, with France spending just £7 (£8) per head on cereal and Spain, Italy and Germany even less at just £5 (£5.7) each.