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Weetabix is a
breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
produced by
Weetabix Limited Weetabix Ltd., trading under the name Weetabix Food Company and commonly referred to as simply Weetabix, is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, Crunchy Bran an ...
in the United Kingdom. It comes in the form of palm-sized (approx. 9.5 cm × 5.0 cm or 4" × 2") wheat
biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also b ...
. Variants include
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
and Weetabix Crispy Minis (bite-sized) versions. The UK cereal is manufactured in
Burton Latimer Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to: Companies * Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer ** Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937 **The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...
,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, and exported to over 80 countries. Weetabix for Canada and the United States is manufactured in
Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, in both organic and conventional versions. Weetabix is made from
whole-grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated wit ...
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
. UK Weetabix has 3.8 g of
fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
in a 37.5 g serving (2 biscuits) (10.1% by weight). The product sold in Canada and the U.S. has 4 grams of fibre in a 35 g serving (11.4% by weight).


History

Produced in the UK since 1932, Weetabix is the British version of the original Australian
Weet-Bix Weet-Bix is a whole-grain wheat breakfast cereal created and manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo. History Weet-Bix was developed by Bennison Osborne in Sydney, Aust ...
. Both Weet-Bix and Weetabix were invented by Bennison Osborne, an Australian. Weet-Bix was introduced in Australia through the company “Grain Products Limited” in the mid-1920s, with funding from businessman Arthur Shannon and marketing assistance from Osborne's New Zealand friend Malcolm Macfarlane. To both Osborne's and Macfarlane's disappointment, Grain Products sold both its Australian company (in 1928) and then its New Zealand company (in 1930), to the Sanitarium Health Foods Company. Osborne and Macfarlane then went to South Africa where Arthur Shannon, the owner of Grain Products, funded another Weet-Bix factory. While in South Africa, Osborne modified his Weet-Bix recipe and with Macfarlane, obtained private funding and began the development of a new company, The British and African Cereal Company Limited, naming the new company's product, Weetabix. The company commenced business in England in 1932 in an unused
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
at
Burton Latimer Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to: Companies * Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer ** Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937 **The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...
, near
Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...
. In 1936, the name of the company was changed to Weetabix Limited. Weet-Bix is currently marketed in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
by Sanitarium and South Africa by Bokomo. The product was introduced to Canada in 1967, when Weetabix Limited began exporting the product to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
followed in 1968. On 3 May 2012
Bright Food Bright Food (officially Bright Food (Group) Co., Ltd.) is a multinational food and beverages manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, China. It is the second-largest China-based food manufacturing company measured by 2011 revenues. The com ...
announced it was taking a 60% stake in Weetabix in a deal that values the company at £1.2bn.
Baring Private Equity Asia BPEA EQT (formerly known as Baring Private Equity Asia and BPEA) is an Asian private equity firm. Previously it was an affiliate of Barings Bank before becoming an independent firm. In 2022 it was acquired by EQT Partners to act as its Asian inve ...
acquired the remaining 40% from Lion Capital in 2015. On 18 April 2017, it was announced that the American company
Post Holdings Post Holdings (officially Post Holdings, Inc.) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in St Louis, Missouri with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice and food ingredient categori ...
would buy the company from Bright Food.


Advertising

In British advertising in the 1980s, Weetabix anthropomorphized the biscuits, representing a group of 'street-wise' young teens, beginning as 'skinheads'. Their appearances on the packaging and associated publicity featured catch phrases such as "titchy breakfast cereals" to describe rivals, with the response "Neet Weet Mate", "OK!". The lead Weetabix known officially as "Dunk" was voiced by
Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...
. During the 1990s, the brand was advertised with the slogan "Have you had your Weetabix?', based on the idea that someone who had eaten Weetabix would be filled with unbeatable strength and energy, causing those who oppose them to flee out of self-preservation. This was used to humorous effect in a variety of adverts re-imagining the outcome of fairy tales and historic events. In 2017, the campaign was reintroduced, with a reference to the English fairy tale
Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole ...
. The giant states: “Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman”, with the boy responding: “Fee fi fo fix, I’ve just had my Weetabix”, resulting in the giant quickly leaving the room. Weetabix was the title sponsor of the
Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...
golf tournament for two decades, from 1987 until
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. It became a women's major golf championship in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.


Variants


Weetabix Crispy Minis

Weetabix Crispy Minis are a sweeter 'bite-size' version of the standard Weetabix biscuits, with various additions depending upon the variety. As of 2020, the varieties available in the UK are '
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
', '
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
' and '
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
&
nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...
'. The bitesize versions of Weetabix have been renamed several times since their original launch. Previously, they were known as "Fruitibix", "Bananabix" and "Chocobix" (depending upon the additions), later as "Minibix", then as "Weetabix Minis".


Organic

Organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
versions of Weetabix are sold in various countries.


Weetabix Chocolate

Weetabix launched a chocolate-powder infused version of the original Weetabix in the UK in July 2010 in a 24 pack size.


Weetabix Chocolate Spoonsize

A smaller-sized Weetabix biscuit with cocoa and chocolate chips.


Weetabix Baked with Golden Syrup

A sweeter form of the Weetabix biscuit which is baked with golden syrup.


Weetabix Banana

A banana-flavoured version of Weetabix.


Weetabix Protein

A version with added wheat
gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grain ...
protein granules was introduced in the UK in April 2016, available in three forms, the standard biscuit shapes, as well as regular and chocolate flavour "Crunch" pipe shapes.


Oatibix

Oatibix is a
breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
that was introduced in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in August 2006. It was invented by
Weetabix Limited Weetabix Ltd., trading under the name Weetabix Food Company and commonly referred to as simply Weetabix, is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, Crunchy Bran an ...
. It is similar to Weetabix, but is based on whole grain oats instead of wheat.


Related products

*In April 2007,
Weetabix Limited Weetabix Ltd., trading under the name Weetabix Food Company and commonly referred to as simply Weetabix, is a food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, Crunchy Bran an ...
also introduced ''Oatiflakes'', which is also released with ''Raisin, Cranberry and Blackcurrant'' varieties. *Oatibix Bites are a smaller "bite-sized" version of Oatibix that can be poured into a bowl, similar to Weetabix Minis, and more like a traditional breakfast cereal. It is available as ''Oatibix Bites'', ''Oatibix Bites with Sultana and Apple'' and ''Oatibix Bites with Cranberry'' varieties.


See also

*
Weet-Bix Weet-Bix is a whole-grain wheat breakfast cereal created and manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo. History Weet-Bix was developed by Bennison Osborne in Sydney, Aust ...
*
Frosted Mini-Wheats Frosted Mini-Wheats (also known as Frosted Wheats and Mini Max in the United Kingdom, Mini-Wheats! in Canada, and Toppas in certain European countries; also referred as "Mini-Wheats" in the US) is a breakfast cereal manufactured by Kellogg's con ...
- sugar-coated wheat pellets * Shredded Wheat - another wheat-based biscuit cereal. *
Ruskets Ruskets was a cereal product consisting of pressed biscuits of toasted wheat flakes.''Historical Dictionary of Seventh-day Adventists'' by Gary Land (Scarecrow Press, 2005), p176; . Historical Dictionaries of Religions Philosophies, and Movements ...
- a similar product, formerly manufactured by Loma Linda Foods in Riverside, California.


References


External links

* {{Post Holdings Weetabix cereals Food brands of the United Kingdom Products introduced in 1936 Wheat