Dorset Cereals is a British manufacturer of

breakfast cereal Breakfast cereal is a category of food, including food products, made from food processing, processed cereal, cereal grains, that are eaten as part of breakfast or as a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm, cooked cereals li ...

s, based in

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. The company was founded in 1989 by Terry Crabb and manufactures

muesli Muesli ( ) is a cold Swiss cuisine, Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak in water overnight ("overnight oats") and eaten the next morning with fresh fruit, nuts, lemon juice, and ...

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...

, and

granola Granola is a food consisting of rolled oats, nuts, seeds, honey or other sweeteners such as brown sugar, and sometimes puffed rice, that is usually baked until crisp, toasted and golden brown. The mixture is stirred while baking to avoid b ...

. Its products are exported to more than 70 countries.

History

Dorset Cereals was started by Terry Crabb from his garage in 1989. The company has experienced significant growth, especially in export markets. From 2000, the company was based at a purpose-built barn factory in Poundbury. In 2012,

Associated British Foods Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company headquartered in London, England. Its ingredients division is the world's second-largest producer of both sugar and baker's yeast and a major pr ...

purchased the company for £50 million from its private equity owners, Langholm Capital. The company is now part of The Jordans, Dorset & Ryvita Company subsidiary of ABF. In 2018 production moved to Poole. The company runs the Dorset Cereals B&B Awards which recognises the best bed and breakfasts in the UK.

Products

Dorset Cereals manufactures its breakfast products, muesli, porridge and granola at its purpose-built barn in

Poundbury Poundbury is an experimental urban extension on the western outskirts of Dorchester in the county of Dorset, England. The development is led by the Duchy of Cornwall, and had the keen endorsement of King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales ...

, construction of which was overseen by

Léon Krier Léon Krier CVO (born 7 April 1946) is a Luxembourgish architect, architectural theorist, and urban planner, a prominent critic of modernist architecture and advocate of New Classical architecture and New Urbanism. Krier combines an interna ...

. The company sources British oats,

spelt Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat is a species of wheat. It is a relict crop, eaten in Central Europe and northern Spain. It is high in protein and may be considered a health food. Spelt was cultivated from the Neolit ...

and wheat flakes. Overall, 80% of its ingredients are sourced from the UK.

Criticism

Health campaign group Action on Sugar has criticised the high levels of sugar in Dorset Cereals products and the failure of Dorset Cereals to adopt the colour-coded labelling recommended by the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

or any front-of-pack nutrition labelling. Dorset Cereals responded that "We believe most people who eat our muesli understand that dried fruits, nuts, and seeds contain some naturally-occurring sugars and fats, but are also an excellent source of fibre and whole grain, as well as essential vitamins and minerals."

Recognition

In 1999, Dorset Cereals won a

Queen's Awards for Enterprise The King's Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen's Award for Enterprise, is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting oppor ...

for Export Achievement. The company received second place in ''The Dieline'' packaging industry awards 2015 for fresh and prepared food. Dorset Cereals products have also received several Great Taste Awards.

References

{{reflist 1989 establishments in the United Kingdom Associated British Foods Breakfast cereals Companies established in 1989 Food brands of the United Kingdom Food manufacturers of the United Kingdom