Noticing changing life patterns, fast food restaurants starting to serve breakfast all day

McDonald's is yet another fast food chain considering putting breakfast on the all-day menu. Breakfast accounts for 25% of McDonald's business and has been one of the biggest opportunities for the restaurant industry -- the only area of growth in the past decade, according to NPD. And consumer trends in food, including the desire for speed, convenience, portability and more-healthful, fresher options, are driving chains such as Denny's and even Pinkberry to cash in on the $50 billion restaurant-breakfast category. Taco Bell, Burger King and Subway are also focusing on the day part: Subway rolled out its breakfast line in 2010 and recently offered an all-day breakfast as part of its monthly "$5 Footlong" promotion. Meanwhile, traditional full-service diners like Denny's and IHOP are searching for ways to introduce a quicker breakfast. "IHOP is also exploring innovations [that will serve] our on-the-go guests," said an IHOP spokesman. Those include "leveraging new technology to reduce time to order and pay, [and] nontraditional IHOP formats," including a fast-casual concept.