Jack in the Box Trademarks 'Brunchfast'

Brunchfast — a seemingly unnecessary portmanteau of the words "brunch" and "breakfast" (and also maybe "lunch?") — is a thing now. At least, according to Jack in the Box, which recently trademarked the phrase. Burger Business reports that the chain filed a U.S. trademark registration for the term "Brunchfast" on May 26. The burger chain has not responded to repeated requests for comment about how it intends to use the word.

Still, it's safe to say the chain will likely use the word to market breakfast items, which are rising in popularity in the U.S. In its tracking of consumer eating behaviors, market research firm NPD Group found that breakfast and morning snack consumption is forecast to grow faster than the U.S. population over the next few years. NPD's research indicates that morning meal visits to fast food restaurants increased five percent over the last year, on top of a three percent increase in the prior year.

McDonald's is perhaps the biggest success story when it comes to breakfast. The launch of the chain's all-day breakfast menu helped boost its sales for three quarters in a row, and even led to a dip in its competitors sales. Taco Bell launched its breakfast menu (though it's only available before lunchtime) in 2014, as a way to carve out a bit of its own morning success.

Jack in the Box already serves a fairly robust breakfast menu and has recently made strides to increase the quality of its ingredients and introduce more brunch-like items. In 2014, it tried its hand at the pastry fad Cronuts and last year, the chain announced it would be switching to cage-free eggs by 2025.

The fast-food chain has also been known to create hybrid breakfast-lunch sandwiches, like the Chick-n-Tater Melt, which stacked a fried chicken patty atop hash browns and bacon, and topped it with ranch sauce and three different cheeses — all on a croissant. The Brunch Burger was a similar invention, but featured a hamburger patty within an otherwise traditional breakfast sandwich.