Cookie Time is the 30-year-old Christchurch company best known for its original chocolate chunk cookie, but now it’s launching packaged, toastable breakfast cookies as part of a bid to grab its share of the convenience breakfast sector.

That sector is fast growing in New Zealand, outpacing the overall breakfast category by 10 times as time-poor consumers look for alternatives to sit-down breakfast foods, the company says.

“Breakfast Cookies provide a convenient grab and go option for busy lifestyles – as well as a specific breakfast choice for those already eating cookies for breakfast,” founder Michael Mayell says.

He cites Health Promotion Agency figures that show more than 100,000 schoolchildren miss breakfast at least one day a week.

Cookie Time’s own research shows 15 percent of those buying cookies in dairies eat them instead of breakfast and typically 48 percent of cookies bought from dairies are to eat on the run. Forty percent are purchased as a meal replacement.

“People are abandoning the traditional breakfast in droves. But missing breakfast flies in the face of common sense – you need to fill your tank before you start your day,” says Mayell.

The toastable cookies contain eggs, fruit, butter, nuts, seeds and cereals.

They were launched at Harlequin Public House in Christchurch, run by local celebrity chef Jonny Schwass.