Comfort shops are consuming fast-food chains’ breakfast

Quick-food eating places are dropping breakfast prospects to comfort shops.

Morning meal visitors to fast-food chains rose 1% within the three months led to July, whereas visits to food-forward comfort shops climbed 9% in the identical interval, in line with market analysis agency Circana.

“Over the long term, comfort shops have taken share, actually at foodservice general, however the morning meal has been their robust swimsuit,” David Portalatin, Circana senior vp and foodservice trade advisor, instructed CNBC, noting the development has largely been pushed by what the group calls “food-forward comfort shops.”

For many years, McDonald’s and its rivals have tried to lure shoppers away from house to eat their early morning choices, betting that comfort and distinctive gadgets will win over diners. Whereas fast-food chains have made some inroads, 87% of what shoppers eat and drink within the morning comes from their very own fridges or pantries, in line with Portalatin. That leaves loads of alternative for fast-food chains — and anybody else who desires a slice of the breakfast pie.

Earlier than the pandemic, fast-food chains began seeing a brand new rival for his or her breakfast prospects: comfort shops. Regional chains like Wawa within the Northeast and Casey’s Common Retailer within the Midwest have been increasing their attain and investing of their foodservice choices, taking pages from the fast-food firms’ personal playbooks.

For a time, lockdowns and the shift to hybrid work reversed these market share good points. However within the three months led to July, food-forward comfort shops as soon as once more gained the higher hand within the battle to serve shoppers breakfast, in line with Portalatin.

Circana separates food-forward comfort shops like Buc-ee’s and Sheetz from the broader trade, though extra chains might quickly match below that umbrella. 7-Eleven, the largest comfort, or c-store, within the U.S., is planning to take a position extra in its ready meals enterprise, impressed by the success of its Japanese enterprise. C-store chain RaceTrac on Wednesday introduced that it is shopping for Potbelly for about $566 million, though it is unclear what its plans for the sandwich chain embrace past increasing its footprint.

Lately, extra diners have been watching their budgets, aware of rising menu costs and a decent job market.

Yr-over-year morning visitors to fast-food chains has fallen each quarter for the final three years, in line with information from Income Administration Options, which advises eating places on enhance gross sales and income. Within the second quarter, fast-food breakfast visits fell 8.7%.

To see the struggles, look no additional than McDonald’s, which dominates the quick-service breakfast class.

“… The breakfast daypart is probably the most economically delicate daypart, as a result of it is the simplest daypart of a burdened shopper to both skip breakfast or select to eat breakfast at house,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski mentioned on the corporate’s earnings name in late July. “And we, in addition to the remainder of the trade, are seeing that the breakfast daypart is totally the weakest daypart within the day.”

McDonald’s morning visits accounted for 33.5% of its visitors within the first half of 2019 however fell to 29.9% within the first half of 2025, in line with Placer.ai information. To attempt to drum up visitors, the chain has included breakfast gadgets in its new Additional Worth Meals, together with a deal for a Sausage McMuffin with Egg with a hash brown and a small espresso for $5.

To reverse breakfast’s slide, fast-food chains are taking hints from their competitors. After years of comfort shops trying to fast-food chains for concepts on develop ready meals gross sales, from putting in ordering kiosks to new menu gadgets, the dynamic has flipped.

“[Quick-service restaurants] are late-night gross sales and early morning gross sales, and they’re immediately comfort shops and saying, ‘What’s working? How can we deliver that to our shops?'” Nationwide Affiliation of Comfort Shops spokesperson Jeff Lenard instructed CNBC.

Ready meals have provided a lifeline for comfort shops as demand for gasoline, tobacco and lottery tickets has fallen over time. The trade’s general foodservice gross sales reached $121 billion in 2024, in line with information from the NACS.

Most prospects go to the fuel pump through the morning and night rush hours, on their method to and from work, presenting the right alternative for c-stores to promote them breakfast or dinner. This 12 months, 72% of shoppers surveyed by InTouch Perception mentioned they noticed c-stores as an actual different to fast-food chains, up from 56% a 12 months in the past and 45% two years in the past.

Broadly, the c-stores which have centered on contemporary meals have been profitable over extra prospects.

For instance, Wawa has seen its buyer base develop by 11.5% since 2022, whereas fast-food chains McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s have seen their mixed buyer base shrink 3.5% in the identical time, in line with information from Indagari, a transaction information analytics agency.

The vast majority of 1,170 respondents to an InTouch Perception survey for CNBC mentioned that they’ve bought made-to-order breakfast from a c-store within the morning previously three months. Forty-eight p.c of respondents mentioned that once they select breakfast from a comfort retailer, they’re changing a go to that they could in any other case make to a fast-food restaurant like McDonald’s or Dunkin’.

Shopping for espresso and breakfast from a c-store possible will not be cheaper than making it at house. However shoppers understand it as “good bang for his or her buck,” in line with Sarah Beckett, vp of gross sales and advertising and marketing for InTouch Perception.

Plus, c-store prospects get a wider breadth of choices. Along with espresso, fuel stations promote power drinks, protein shakes and yogurt smoothies. And prospects can choose up a granola bar or banana to accompany their breakfast sandwich. Quick-food chains lack that type of selection.

However above all, what issues to shoppers is the meals itself.

“Whereas [a] comfort retailer broadly does have some tailwind from being a lower cost level, the last word differentiator, and what’s actually going to set aside the winners from losers, is that high quality side of it,” Circana’s Portalatin mentioned.

Brady Caviness, a 33-year-old account government at Bailiwick who lives in Minneapolis, instructed CNBC that he indulges in a breakfast pizza from Casey’s Common Retailer when he is touring. If he is again house, the place there is not a Casey’s close by, he’ll cease by McDonald’s, Dunkin’ or Starbucks if he is within the temper to purchase his breakfast.

The Iowa-based chain is the nation’s third-largest c-store chain and claims to be the fifth-largest pizza idea primarily based on its variety of places. Casey’s reported same-store gross sales progress of 5.6% for its ready meals and distributed drinks for the three months ended July 31.

Like Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, Casey’s breakfast pizza, topped with cheese, scrambled eggs and a alternative of bacon, sausage or greens, has grown a cult following since its launch in 2001.

“I feel Casey’s is type of a novel factor,” Caviness mentioned. “My entire life, I’ve had the Egg McMuffins.”