ACCC wants to chew over cereal deal between Weet-Bix and Vita Brits
A move by the owners of Aussie household favourite Weet-Bix to buy breakfast rival Vita Brits will be chewed over by the national competition watchdog.
Sanitarium owns Weet-Bix and wants to snap up the Vita Brits brand and intellectual property from Uncle Tobys so it can take over supply.
But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched a review of the deal last week and will have a close look at the impact on prices and product quality.
That will gauge how closely the two wheat-based bricks compete for shopper dollars.
The news comes in a week of heightened scrutiny on prices paid by Aussie shoppers.
It hit crunch point on Tuesday when the ACCC launched a Federal Court lawsuit against Woolworths and Coles over claims of misleading discounts.
New research by Choice also showed West Australians were paying about $1 more each time they visit the supermarket compared to east coast punters.
Sanitarium already manufactures Vita Brits under a contract with Uncle Toby’s parent company, Swiss food giant Nestle.
A spokeswoman for Nestle confirmed the sale agreement with Sanitarium.
She said the deal was set to be finalised early in 2025 and promised a smooth transition for “loyal Vita Brits consumers”.
“We are confident that lovers of Vita Brits will continue to enjoy the same great taste and texture unique to the Vita Brits recipe,” she said.
Sanitarium is a non-profit business ultimately owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
A spokeswoman for Sanitarium confirmed the deal but noted it was subject to review by the ACCC and so the business had “no further comment at this time”.
Financials lodged with Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission show Sanitarium’s parent earned more than $940 million revenue in the 2023 financial year.
But it still made a loss of nearly $12m amid rising costs.
Weet-Bix has become a breakfast staple in the nearly 100 years since it was invented in Sydney and was well-known for advertising campaigns featuring Brett Lee and other cricketers.
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