Ta Daaaaa - Here are the weetbix - It's a breakfast cereal. You probably have something similar in the US, but just a different name. I can almost hear you go.... "Ahhhhhh, that's what she meant. Yeah we have those too!!"
On the right of the box in the yellow highlights in case you cant read it, its : low in sugar, high in iron, zinc and folate.
Apparently Over In The 'United States Of The World" ... Weekbix Was Unsuccessful - Along With Vegemite :-) ... So The History Goes ....
ReplyDeleteWeet-Bix are seen in Australia as an iconic Australian foodstuff. The product was marketed in Australia using the tagline "Aussie Kids are Weet-Bix kids". This slogan was adapted for the New Zealand market as "Kiwi Kids are Weet-Bix kids". A closely related product is Weetabix, manufactured in England by Weetabix Limited of Kettering, Northamptonshire. The two products are nearly identical, the chief differences between the two are that Weetabix are smaller, sweeter, and are more brick-like in appearance than Weet-Bix. In South Africa Weet-Bix is manufactured by Bolandse Kooperatiewe Molenaars (Bokomo) in Malmesbury.
Weet-Bix was invented by Bennison Osborne in NSW, Australia in the mid 1920s. Benn set out to make a product more palatable than "Granose." He tried his new product on his little nieces and nephews until he had it perfected, and in 1928 he registered the tradename "Weetbix" and production started at 659 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, NSW with the financial backing of Mr. Arthur Shannon. Benn's friend Malcolm Ian "Mac" Macfarlane from N.Z. joined him and proved a brilliant marketer. The product was so successful that in October of 1928, Mr. Shannon sold the rights in the product to the Sanitarium Health Food Company, at which point Mac suggested that they take the product to N.Z. The product proved so successful in N.Z. that it quickly became apparent that it would be difficult to adequately supply the market from Australia. Again, with the financial assistance of Mr. Arthur Shannon, factories were established in both Auckland and Christchurch. The enterprise was such a great success that Mr. Shannon again sold out (in 1930) to the Sanitarium Health Food Company.
Benn and Mac then exported the product to South Africa where they obtained other financial backing and installed a factory in Cape Town, forming the "British & African Cereal Company Pty. Ltd.," which was registered in London with Benn as the Managing Director. For the purpose of differentiating between the various countries, it was decided that the product, when introduced into England, should be known as "Weetabix." In England, Benn and Mac became the Joint Managing Directors with Benn controlling production and Mac controlling marketing. Thirty-three potential sites for the factory were examined, with Burton Latimer eventually being chosen, due in part to the offer of a disused flour mill by a Mr. George who was allotted shares in the company. For records see the 1932 and 1933 papers (Kettering Leader & Guardian," and "Northamptonshire Advisor" and also the 19 May 1933, "Town and Country News.") When the business was firmly established, Mr. Shannon offered to finance an expansion of the business. However, cash flow was such that additional financing was not necessary. Mr. Shannon however, did suggest investigating the Canadian market.
At this point, Mac left the business to go overseas and Benn became the sole Managing Director with Mr. George as Chairman of Directors. A fleet of cars was purchased and salesmen employed throughout England. At the height of its success in 1936, Benn sold his share holding to the Directors and left the Company to go to the U.S.A. Weetabix was unsuccessful in the U.S.A. (Clinton, Mass.) and Benn eventually became the wartime supervisor of the Army Air Force Base in Zephyr Hills, Florida. After the war, in 1946, he took his wife and three daughters by freighter back to Australia, where he died in 1980. Around 1992, Weetabix successfully entered the U.S.A. market from Canada via Clinton, Mass., the site of the unsuccessful U.S. factory.
OHHHHHHH and last but not least .... my fav way to eat weetbix is:-
ReplyDeleteCut In Half
Smear With & Low Fat Cheese/Cottage Cheese - Shut Like A Sandwich And Chow Down ;-)
lolol Well, thank you Miss Wendie. I got more than I bargained for when I added the post - but this was great.. I had no idea about all of it. You sure did your research! xxx
ReplyDeleteYikes, Ms. Wendie went a bit overboard! So Cara, how do you eat them? I've always loved shredded wheat and cinnamon on (almost) anything is delicious to me. Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe have them only they are called Weetabix. Not that I can eat them or any cereal really. I'd have thought they were a bit "bulky" for bandsters. . .
ReplyDeleteLove
H x
Thanks for showing me Cara! That doesnt look like anything I have seen here in neck of the woods. Looks like on the box you eat them like a cereal but on the plate they look so big! Do you eat them with milk like cereal?
ReplyDeleteWendy, Wow! That is a wealth of information!!
Well ... **cough** I didn't actually sit and type all that out **GOD BLESS COPY AND PASTE** lol
ReplyDeleteThe plate I put the weet-bix on was just a side plate not a normal dinner plate :) I stuck them on that one to give you a close up. They do look a little big on it now I look at it but in real life they are only about four inches long and half an inch thick. Yes, you eat like cereal. If I put one in my bandster bowl it hits the half way mark and you add plenty of milk so it goes mushy and then they are very bandster friendly. (I sound like I'm advertising them lol.)
ReplyDeleteWow, what one learns on the blogs. Wendie is so kind to give us the scoop. I have never seen them in the US but haven't looked. I will now however as they look like something my Vince would like. I found Weetabix to order. Is that the same?
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