Leading Australian food manufacturer Sanitarium has embraced macadamias in its ongoing mission to offer innovative, tasty and healthy breakfast solutions for today’s busier-than-ever consumer.
Weet-Bix GO is Sanitarium’s range of breakfast biscuits, created to address the growing need for portable breakfast options. The range comprises six flavour variants, including Vanilla Macadamia, made using Australian grown macadamias. It’s a flavour combination that has struck a chord with consumers, with Vanilla Macadamia becoming one of the range’s top selling variants.
Vanilla Macadamia Weet-Bix GO is a fantastic example of a large food manufacturer investing in macadamias as part of its strategy to offer an innovative product that meets the taste, health and convenience expectations of today’s time-poor consumer.
It’s always exciting to see Australian grown macadamias featured in new product development, however to see them combined with a household favourite like Weet-Bix is particularly special.
The changing face of breakfast
As the pace of modern life intensifies, we are spending less time than ever at the humble breakfast table. With consumers struggling to find time to sit and eat a bowl of cereal, breakfast-skipping has become a concerning trend, leading manufacturers like Sanitarium to re-imagine breakfast in a way that’s portable, yet healthy and tasty. Enter the breakfast biscuit.
“Traditional breakfast has been in decline in Australia,” explains Sanitarium’s Alex Garas, Senior Brand Manager Weet-Bix Australia. “Weet-Bix has managed to buck this trend and grow in a declining market, however we are still very aware of the growing need to provide nutritious portable breakfast options. That’s why we launched our range of portable breakfast biscuits,” he said.
Breakfast biscuits made their debut on the retail grocery scene in the USA in 2011. Since then the convenient format has exploded in popularity across the UK and Australia as well, as consumers seek out ways to make the morning rush more manageable.
Garas says that as part of the Weet-Bix range, the breakfast biscuits are an ‘all-inclusive’ offering with broad appeal. However young adults and families are at the heart of the product’s target audience. “Weet-Bix GO is for those who from time to time need a tasty option that fits their needs for a healthy, tasty boost, when time is of the essence,” he said.
Adding macadamias to the Weet-Bix mix
Weet-Bix is an Australian icon, and has grown to become the nation’s number one cereal brand, with almost half of all Australian homes housing a box of Weet-Bix at any given time. The original Weet-Bix format debuted nearly 90 years ago, and many Australians grew up humming the brand’s famous “Aussie kids are Weet-Bix kids” advertising jingle.
Garas says that innovation plays an important role in the Weet-Bix GO strategy, as breakfast consumption continues to shift and the need for speed and ease gains momentum. “The brand has its roots in Weet-Bix but is all about innovation and stretching what is possible in this taste and health space. The product is designed to make people’s lives easier when they need it.”
Macadamias are proving to be a perfect fit for this strategy, as consumers look for convenience without compromise. “Consumers want products that make the morning easier and quicker; the less compromises they have to make on health and taste to do this the better. They expect products to meet these needs. Macadamias are a premium and delicious nut and are on trend at the moment, and we know how much consumers like them,” he said.
Garas believes the inclusion of macadamias adds to the premium appeal of the product. “There is definitely a positive association here with macadamias and we see Vanilla Macadamia Weet-Bix GO as benefiting from this.”
An iconic match
The pairing of Australia’s most trusted cereal brand with Australia’s iconic homegrown nut is shaping up to be an ideal match. Vanilla Macadamia Weet-Bix GO has been on the market just over a year, and is performing strongly. “It has recently become our number two variant, which we are very excited about,” revealed Garas.
The product is ranged nationally in Australia and New Zealand, and is also available in the Pacific Islands, Fiji and Tahiti. Sanitarium hopes to expand distribution in the near future.
As busy families everywhere enjoy the convenience of their favourite cereal in a breakfast biscuit format, no doubt the extra special touch of Australian grown macadamias is helping them power through the day too!
