Sanitarium Health Food Company Sanitarium Health Food Company

Sanitarium's original biscuit, Granose was created in Melbourne by baker Edward Halsey.

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.

When Sanitarium's first baker, Edward Halsey, began preparing the very first Sanitarium products in 1898, he was driven to improving health in Australia.

He rented a small bakery in Melbourne, and produced Australia's first batch of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal - Granola (made of wheats, oats, maize and rye) and Granose (the unsweetened forerunner to Weet-Bix).

He and his team sold it from door to door as an alternative to fat-laden or poor nutritious foods popular at the time. It wasn't long before the fledgling business relocated to larger premises - moving to Cooranbong, New South Wales, just south of Newcastle. Ed installed bake house equipment in a large building, that had previously been a sawmill. In 1900, he transferred to New Zealand - where he began making the first batches of Granola, caramel cereals and bread, in a small wooden shed in Papanui, Christchurch.

During the 1920s, Sanitarium faced a challenge in the form of a new sweetened flake biscuit known as Weet-Bix, which was produced by a company called Grain Products. In 1928, Sanitarium acquired Grain Products, a company which, like Sanitarium, had connections to the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Adventist Church

Over a century ago, in 1898, Adventist missionaries opened a small business 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.






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