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The introduction of Weet-Bix

Breakfast staple Weet-Bix introduced into the Australian diet (1926). Winner of the inaugural Blue Plaques NSW People's Choice

Tin for Weet Bix biscuits by Bokomo, n.d.
Image Credit: Apic and Getty Images
 

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About the introduction of Weet-Bix

Now a staple on Australian breakfast tables, Weet-Bix was created by Arthur Shannon in 1926. Seeking a cereal sweeter than its precursor, Granose, Shannon worked with neighbours and factory staff to name it Weet-Bix. He trademarked it and began production in Leichhardt. After gaining popularity, Sanitarium bought the brand and moved production to Cooranbong on the Central Coast.

Three children sitting on a porch, with one child inside a large Weet-Bix cereal box. The other two children are seated directly on the porch. The image is taken outdoors in natural sunlight.
Weet-Bix kids, Sydney, Australia, 1969.
Image Credit: Photographer unknown/Alamy

Weet-Bix kids, Sydney, Australia, 1969

Weet-Bix is born

Arthur Shannon, along with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, aimed to create a popular and healthy breakfast cereal. Although the church's Sanitarium Health Food Company already produced Granose (a precursor to Weet-Bix), Arthur sought something sweeter.

On 24 August 1926, the introduction of Australia’s iconic breakfast cereal came when an application to trademark the name 'Weet-Bix' was lodged. Arthur came up with this name after asking his next-door neighbours and factory employees to choose between Sun-Bix or Weet-Bix. Production began in Leichhardt, Sydney, that same year.

From the beginning, the product was marketed in a unique way. Rather than have the grocers pay up-front, it was sold on consignment instead. The ‘Shannon method’ enhanced its appeal with grocers as a result. The company also employed strategic advertising through newspapers, using competitions and games to engage both stockists and consumers, which increased Weet-Bix’s popularity. Operations were scaled up significantly and, by November of that year, the cereal had become a staple in the Australian diet.

In 1928, Arthur sold his company to Sanitarium. By the late 1920s, Weet-Bix expanded production to Brisbane, Adelaide, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Famous catchphrases

When television and commercial advertising emerged in the 1950s, Weet-Bix ads gained traction with catchy tunes and popular slogans like ‘Weet-Bix are wonderful’. In 1985, Pat Aulton created the successful jingle ‘Aussie kids are Weet-Bix kids’, later adapted in New Zealand as ‘Kiwi kids are Weet-Bix kids’. Other notable phrases included ‘Hope he’s had his Weet-Bix’ and ‘Breakfast of champions’.

Black and white advertisement for Sanitarium's Weet-Bix cereal from Reader's Digest, dated 7 December 1989. The ad features a bold heading 'SANITARIUM' with the tagline 'Weet-Bix – The world's besting breakfast.' An image of Sir Edmund Hillary is shown with the caption 'Sir Edmund Hillary chooses WEET-BIX.' Two Weet-Bix cereal boxes are displayed—one on the left showing various angles of the packaging, and one on the right with nutritional information.
Sanitarium Advertisment for Readers Digest, 7 December 1989.
Image Credit: Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira. MS-2010-1

Sanitarium advertisment for Reader’s Digest, 7 December 1989

Sir Edmund Hillary, Weet-Bix and the hike to Mount Everest

As Weet-Bix became a popular breakfast choice, it gained star endorsements. New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, the first to climb Mount Everest (with Tenzing Norgay), chose the cereal for his journey. On 29 May 1953, he took the cereal to the summit and later wrote a letter endorsing the product to Sanitarium, whose advertisement in the Reader’s Digest read:

… When you’re climbing in the Himalayas it’s very important to have a hot nourishing breakfast. That’s why Sir Edmund Hillary took Weet-Bix with him on that famous expedition in 1953.

Sir Edmund Hillary’s son, Peter Hillary, also recalled fond memories of how his father ate his Weet-Bix:

My father always had Weet-Bix for breakfast; sometimes just with milk but his favourite was with a generous serve of canned peaches over the top! … I remember Dad once refused to endorse another cereal brand because he said he was quite happy with his Weet-Bix!

From its humble beginnings in Leichhardt, Weet-Bix is as popular now as it was then.

  • Typed letter dated 5 December 1989 from Paul Reynish, Account Executive at Carlton-Carruthers du Chateau Ltd, to Sir Edmund Hillary. The letter is on official company stationery featuring a logo of a soldier raising a sword while riding a rearing horse. It discusses Hillary’s previous appearance in a Sanitarium advertisement and requests permission to reuse it for a 'Brands That Built a Nation' feature in Reader’s Digest. The letter emphasises Weet-Bix’s popularity and historical context.
    Letter from Paul Reynish from Calton Carruthers de Chateau Ltd to Sir Edmund Hillary, 5 December 1989
    Letter from Paul Reynish from Calton Carruthers de Chateau Ltd to Sir Edmund Hillary, 5 December 1989.
    Image Credit: Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira MS-2010-1
  • Advertisement for Weet-Bix featuring a colorful illustration of a wheat field with a farmer harvesting in the background. In the foreground is a large open box of Weet-Bix cereal, with a young boy wearing a hat peeking over its edge. The headline reads 'Wheat is man's most vital food...' followed by '...and WEETBIX is wheat at its very best!' Smaller boxes of Granose and San-Bran cereals are also shown, with promotional text highlighting nutritional benefits and quality.
    Advertisement for Weet-Bix, Australian Women's Weekly, 26 September 1942 edition
    Advertisement for Weet-Bix, Australian Women's Weekly, 26 September 1942 edition.
    Image Credit: Internet Archive

References