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[Dec. 14 Update: Hardee's is pumping up the breakfast volume even sooner than expected! The chain relayed a response to this post via Twitter: "Made from Scratch biscuits have no competition.No plans for borrowing from sista chain. Will sweeten up the menu next week."]

Jack in the Box is preparing to make January an even more hotly contested month for quick-service-restaurant breakfast sales. The No. 5 burger chain already has launched a breakfast discount promotion: a 2 for $3 bundling of its Sausage Croissant or Supreme Croissant breakfast sandwiches, keeping the pricing just above the $1 breakfast menus that McDonald’s and Burger King have developed.

But Jack next month plans to hit breakfast again, launching a “new and improved” version of an existing breakfast menu item. Chairman-CEO Linda Lang declined to give details during a Q4 earnings call with analysts, but did say that the weak economy has been tough on Jack’s breakfast sales, even with innovative products such as the Chorizo Sausage Burrito. She vowed to rebuild the daypart by bringing out a “significant upgrade” of a breakfast item. Industry sources speculate that could be its Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich, currently a combination of two fried eggs, cheese and bacon or ham on a hamburger-style bun. Perhaps it will opt for applewood-smoked bacon.

Breakfast’s share of Jack’s sales is difficult to assess because, unlike most of its competitors, its breakfast menu is available all day. Jack stresses that advantage with the “Eat it. Any time.” tag at the close of breakfast commercials. If Jack’s “renewed” breakfast item is a hit, it can yield an all-day sales and customer-traffic boost. Recently released data from Chicago researcher Technomic finds that about one-third of consumers (32%) say they want breakfast offered all day at quick-service restaurants.

On average, breakfast accounts for 23% of quick-service sales, according to NPD/CREST research reported by Wendy’s (for which breakfast is just 2% of sales). McDonald’s, which is taking its Dollar Breakfast Menu national next month, is the morning-meal leader, getting a sizeable percentage of its U.S. sales at breakfast.

Burger King’s breakfast menu account for an estimated 25% to 30% of its total sales, but it has been battling hard to increase that with its Breakfast Value Menu. In Chicago it is testing a $1 BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich on that menu. Elsewhere it reportedly is testing a $1 Little Enormous Sandwich, a downsized version of the Enormous Omelet breakfast sandwich the chain tried in 2005, and a Western Omelet Croissanwich.

Carl's Jr. Breakfast Burger

Dunkin’ Donuts could make things interesting by expanding the 99-cent breakfast menu it has been testing in Chicago to counter McDonald’s discounts. And even Taco Bell, which has been evaluating various breakfast options at least since 2006, is expanding its test of new items, including an 89-cent breakfast burrito. 

A big question is how Hardee’s will protect its breakfast flank during the January skirmishes. Hardee’s and sister chain Carl’s Jr. never run from a fight, and Hardee’s gets a hefty 45% of its sales at breakfast. It has regularly added morning products this year, including Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwiches (February), Biscuit Holes (June), Fried Bologna Biscuit (August) and Smothered Country Potatoes (November).

Carl’s Jr.— for which breakfast represents just 15% of sales—is selling Hardee’s breakfast biscuits in selected locations. Andrew Puzder, CEO of parent CKE Restaurants, says he’d like to see Carl’s Jr. boost its breakfast sales by 5 or 6 percentage points. While the company is working on that, it’s possible Hardee’s—which already shares the Loaded Breakfast Burrito with Carl’s Jr. and which already uses the advertising tag line “Breakfast as big as our burgers”—could borrow the popular Breakfast Burger from Carl’s menu. Now that would make January interesting.