• Ad Age , Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:15 AM

Jack in the Box is touting its new Jack's Hearty Breakfast Bowl --which features scrambled eggs, hash-brown sticks, white-cheddar-cheese sauce and shredded cheddar cheese -- as a portable, "Sunday-brunch-worthy meal" that can be "enjoyed on a weekday schedule."

Darren Tristano, exec VP of restaurant consultant Technomic, notes that the new offering could appeal to consumers looking to trade down from casual dining chains during the recession, but says the bowls might be a tough sell to the so-called dashboard diners. "These are people [who when they are] eating with one hand, the wheel in the other hand and a phone wedged against their ear, they're in heaven," he said.

The casual-dining sector has been limping through the recession with abysmal same-store sales while fast-feeders are posting gains. Summer has been particularly difficult; UBS analyst David Palmer comments in a recent note that in July most fast-feeders' sales tended to go up while their pricier rivals slipped as consumers traded down to lower-priced options.

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