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Weetabix is a
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 ...
produced by Weetabix Limited 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, flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and Unleavened bread, unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing (food), icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also ...
. Variants include organic and Weetabix Crispy Minis (bite-sized) versions. The UK cereal is manufactured in
Burton Latimer Burton Latimer is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, approximately southeast of Kettering and 4.5 miles north of Wellingborough. At the 2021 census, its population was 10,444. History Burton (Latimer) appears in three entries in the ...
,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
, 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 the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, 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 group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
. UK Weetabix has 3.8g of
fibre Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) 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 incorp ...
in a 37.5g serving (2 biscuits) (10.1% by weight). The product sold in Canada and the U.S. has 4g of fibre in a 35g serving (11.4% by weight).


History

Produced in the UK since 1932, Weetabix is the British version of the original Australian Weet-Bix. Both Weet-Bix and Weetabix were invented by Bennison Osborne, an Australian. Weet-Bix was introduced in Australia by 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 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. 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. He named 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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
at
Burton Latimer Burton Latimer is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, approximately southeast of Kettering and 4.5 miles north of Wellingborough. At the 2021 census, its population was 10,444. History Burton (Latimer) appears in three entries in the ...
, near
Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...
. In 1936, the name of the company was changed to Weetabix Limited. Weet-Bix is currently marketed in
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
by Sanitarium and in South Africa by Bokomo. Imported Weetabix is rebranded as "Whole Wheat Biscuits" in Australia. 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, and to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1968. On 3 May 2012, Bright Food announced it was taking a 60% stake in Weetabix in a deal that valued the company at £1.2bn.
Baring Private Equity Asia Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) was an Asian investment firm headquartered in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1997 as an affiliate of Barings Bank before becoming an independent firm in 2000. In 2022, it was acquired by EQT AB to act as its Asia ...
acquired the remaining 40% from Lion Capital in 2015. On 18 April 2017, it was announced that the American company
Post Holdings Post Holdings, Inc. is an American Fast-moving consumer goods, consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice, and food ingredient categ ...
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 various catchphrases. 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 and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...
. 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 with ancient origins. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition :File:Round about our Coal Fire, or, Christmas Entertainments, 4th edn, 1734.pdf, On C ...
with actors Isaac Benn portraying Jack, and Christopher Brand, the Giant. The giant states: "Fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman", with Jack 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 major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...
golf tournament for two decades, from 1987 until
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. It became a women's major golf championship in
2001 The year's most prominent event was 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. The United States led a Participan ...
.


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 2025, the varieties available in the UK are chocolate, fruit & nut and caramelised biscuit. The bitesize versions of Weetabix have been renamed several times since their original launch. Previously, they were known as "Frutibix", "Bananabix" and "Chocobix" (depending upon the additions), later as "Minibix", then as "Weetabix Minis".


Organic

Organic 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 Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and co ...
.


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, cereal grains. The term ''gluten'' usually refers to the elastic network of a wheat grain's proteins, gliadin and glutenin primarily, that forms readily with the addition of water ...
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 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 ...
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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in August 2006. It was invented by Weetabix Limited. It is similar to Weetabix, but is based on whole grain oats instead of wheat.


See also

* Weet-Bix * Frosted Mini-Wheats - sugar-coated wheat pellets * Shredded Wheat - another wheat-based biscuit cereal. * Ruskets - a similar product, formerly manufactured by Loma Linda Foods in Riverside, California.


References


External links

* {{British Royal Warrant holders Weetabix cereals Food brands of the United Kingdom Products introduced in 1936 Wheat