NEW YORK – Fortune writes that McDonald’s is planning to expand its all-day breakfast to include new menu items beginning in September. The plan is to offer a more expansive menu with the addition of McGriddles, hotcakes, sausage burritos, oatmeal and hash browns.

At a press conference in June, Fortune notes that McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said the QSR considers all-day breakfast a new baseline into the business, applauding how quickly the initiative was brought to market. “We have shown how quick we can move when [we’ve] got a good idea,” he said.

While QSRs tout all-day breakfast, many convenience stores have been giving customers the option to dine on breakfast items during all dayparts for quite some time.

Many convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven, Rutter’s, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes and Sheetz, have long offered around-the-clock breakfast foods. “If we sell it, you can get it 24 hours a day,” Ryan Krebs, director of food services for Rutter’s, told NACS Magazine. “You can get chicken wings at 6:00 in the morning and a breakfast sandwich at 4:00 in the afternoon. People aren’t going to eat breakfast three times a day, but they are going to eat breakfast.”

And unlike many QSRs, convenience stores are well-positioned to offer around-the-clock breakfast because they operate 24/7. And according to recent research prepared by the Hudson Institute on behalf of NACS, convenience stores can capitalize on the growing trend of consumers seeking better-for-you, more convenient products. More specifically, “the most important meal of the day” presents the healthiest opportunity for stores to exploit.

The report, “Health & Wellness Trends and Strategies for the Convenience Store Sector,” reveals that while taste wins across all eating occasions (breakfast, lunch and dinner), nutrition is the highest attribute consumers are looking for at breakfast time. In fact, a nutritious breakfast trumps both convenience and cost.

“Breakfast is a great entry point for convenience retailers to introduce healthier foods,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. “Stocking open-air coolers with high-protein foods such as hard-boiled eggs, Greek yogurt with granola and fresh-cut fruit, or offering hot oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches with egg whites, turkey sausage and whole grains, can increase the better-for-you value proposition of convenience store foodservice.”