Sanitarium

Sanitarium New Zealand Head Office in Royal Oak, Auckland
Company type	Private
Industry	Food
Founded	Melbourne, Victoria 1898
Headquarters	Berkeley Vale, New South Wales, Australia Auckland, New Zealand
Key people	Kevin Jackson, CEO, Todd Saunders Executive GM Australia NZ, Michael Barton, GM-New Zealand
Products	Weet-Bix Up & Go Peanut butter So Good Marmite Alternative Dairy Company
Revenue	A$300 million
Number of employees	1700
Parent	Seventh-day Adventist Church
Website	Sanitarium Australia Sanitarium New Zealand

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The Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company is the trading name of two sister food companies (Australian Health and Nutrition Association Ltd^[1] and New Zealand Health Association Ltd).^[2] Both are wholly owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.^[3]

Founded in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1898,^[4] Sanitarium has factories in Australia and New Zealand, producing a large range of breakfast cereals and vegetarian products. All the food products it manufactures and markets are plant derived or vegetarian. Its flagship product is Weet-Bix sold in Australia and New Zealand.

History[edit]

During his time in Australia, William C. White convinced Seventh-day Adventist Edward Halsey, a baker at John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium, to emigrate to Australia.^[5][6]

Halsey arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, on 8 November 1897.^[7] He rented a small bakery in Melbourne, and produced granola (made of wheat, oats, maize, and rye) and Granose (the unsweetened forerunner to Weet-Bix). Halsey and his team sold it from door to door as an alternative to the fat-laden and nutrient-poor foods popular at the time.

The business relocated to larger premises in Cooranbong, New South Wales, next to the campus of the seminary which became Avondale University College.^[3][7]

In 1900, Halsey transferred to New Zealand, where he began making the first batches of Granola, New Zealand's first breakfast cereal, Caramel Cereals (a coffee substitute), and wholemeal bread in a small wooden shed^[8] in the Christchurch suburb of Papanui.^[9][10]

Sanitarium New Zealand and Sanitarium Australia are now separate companies, but work together.^[9]

Sanitarium has factories in several locations, including Berkeley Vale in New South Wales; Carmel in Perth, Western Australia; Brisbane, Queensland; and Auckland, New Zealand. Weet-Bix was originally manufactured, from 1928, at 659 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, where until recent times Sanitarium signage could still be seen. This factory predates the purchase of Weet-Bix by Sanitarium in 1930. Another factory was constructed for Sanitarium in Warburton, Victoria in 1925 to manufacture Granose. This factory was damaged by floods in 1934 and a new factory constructed and operational by 1938, producing Granose and later Weet-Bix until 1997. This factory was unusual because it had an on-site hydro-electricity plant which also supplied the township of Warburton.^[11] A factory was operating in Palmerston North in New Zealand, but closed in the late 1990s. The Hackney factory in Adelaide, South Australia was closed in October 2010, followed by the Cooranbong factory in 2018.^[12]

In June 2017, Sanitarium caused controversy when it objected to a specialty shop-owner based in Christchurch, New Zealand, trying to import 300 boxes of Weetabix into the country. New Zealand Customs detained the boxes at the request of Sanitarium on the grounds the British-made Weetabix competed with and confused the branding of their own New Zealand-made 'Weet-bix'. Sanitarium faced a backlash in New Zealand as a result.^[13] After failing to come to a settlement, Sanitarium filed civil action against the shop owner. The case hearing began in the High Court at Christchurch on 30 July 2018.^[14]

Tax exemption[edit]

Neither the Australia nor the New Zealand Sanitarium companies pay company tax on their profits, due to their ownership by a religious organisation.^[15][16] On their official website, Sanitarium defend their tax exemption with several points, stating they operate exclusively for charitable purposes, and that income tax exemptions are available to all companies and individuals in New Zealand who limit themselves to charitable purposes.^[17] However, the exemption has been criticised^[18][19] and is considered unfair by their competitors.^[20]

According to their last annual return as of February 2019, businesses operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church reported more than $10 million profit.^[21]

Products[edit]

Honey Puffs[edit]

Honey Puffs is a wheat breakfast cereal coated with honey made in Australia and New Zealand.

Marmite[edit]

Marmite is a food spread made in New Zealand. It is made from yeast extract, by-product of beer brewing.

So Good (soy beverage)[edit]

So Good (also known as SoGood or So-Good) is a brand of non-dairy beverages, foods, and desserts that are lactose, cholesterol and gluten-free.^[22] So Good is manufactured by Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company in Australia and New Zealand.^[23] In Canada, it is prepared by Earth's Own. So Good is sold in India by Life Health Foods.^[24][25]

In Australia, So Good produces soy milk, as well as almond milk and almond and coconut milk. They also produce flavoured soy milk and frozen soy desserts.^[26]

In India, So Good produces almond milk and almond and coconut milk, in addition to soy milk. They also produce flavoured soy milk, flavoured almond milk, and fortified soy milk.^[24]

Up & Go[edit]

Up & Go is the brand of a range of liquid breakfast products manufactured and marketed by Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company. The brand was the first product that established the category of liquid breakfast in supermarket and convenience stores in Australia and New Zealand. Many other brands have entered the category since the late 1990s, and forced the brand to defend its market share.^[27]

In June 2013, Choice magazine released a study of 23 liquid breakfast products questioning the validity of claims that were made by manufacturers including Up & Go claims regarding fibre content.^[28] Sanitarium defended Up & Go in a release citing the current code of practice for nutrient claims that a product must contain a minimum of 3 g of dietary fibre per serving to be considered "high in fiber" and Up & Go contained 3.8 g of fibre per 250-ml serving.^[29]

Weet-Bix[edit]

Weet-Bix is a wheat breakfast cereal made in Australia and New Zealand and in South Africa by Bokomo.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Parr, R., & Litster, G. (1996). "What Hath God Wrought!": The Sanitarium Health Food Company Story. Sanitarium Health Food Company. ISBN 0646259792. 463 pages.

External links[edit]

• Sanitarium Australia
• Sanitarium New Zealand