Over a century ago, in 1898, a small business opened its doors in Melbourne, Australia with the vision to help people 'learn to stay well' - the meaning of the word Sanitarium - by linking good diet with good health.
From a modest rented bakery, Edward Halsey, a baker, created Sanitarium peanut butter (Australia's first) and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals like Granose (an unsweetened forerunner to Weet-Bix) and Granola (a cereal made from wheat, oats, maize and rye) which were unlike anything previously available.
In late 1898, the fledgling company relocated to larger premises in Cooranbong, south of Newcastle in New South Wales. Halsey installed bake house equipment in a large building that had previously been a sawmill.
In 1900, Halsey transferred to New Zealand where he began making the first batches of Granola, Caramel Cereals (a coffee substitute) and bread in a small wooden shed in the Christchurch suburb of Papanui.
Since Edward Halsey began the business, the Sanitarium company has been at the forefront of healthy eating. Sanitarium advocated vegetarianism before it was trendy and were the first to introduce the concept of the health food shop. Throughout the years, Sanitarium has remained true to the vision of its founders by promoting a better life through better nutrition.
The Origin of the Sanitarium Icon
Weet-Bix: Sanitarium's original wheat biscuit, Granose, was marketed in Australia and New Zealand during the early 1900s, not only as a breakfast cereal but also as an alternative to bread. During the 1920s, Sanitarium faced a challenge to Granose from a new sweetened flake biscuit called Weet-Bix, which was produced by a company called Grain Products.
In 1928, Sanitarium acquired Grain Products, which also had connections to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and made Weet-Bix its own.
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