The Sanitarium Health Food Company was officially established in Melbourne in 1898, pioneering Health Foods throughout Australia and New Zealand. The word Sanitarium means ‘learn to stay well’ which is the essence of the health message Sanitarium has been spreading for the past 107 years.
Sanitarium’s Cooranbong factory opened in 1899, producing Peanut Butter, Granola and Granose Flakes. In 1928, Sanitarium bought the company that originally produced Weet-Bix and in 1931, Weet-Bix production was moved from its origins in Sydney to the Cooranbong factory. Weet-Bix has remained the number one selling breakfast cereal in Australia for over 35 years.
1898 – (Avondale College Timber Yard & Sanitarium Factory, c1920): Avondale College Timber Yard, Sanitarium Factory & Printing House, circa 1920 (Sanitarium Co. collection)
1937 – (Sanitarium trucks, c.1940): The third Sanitarium Health Food Factory at Cooranbong (made of bricks) was built 1935-37. Trucks transported products to Dora Creek Railway Station after 1934. (Sanitarium Co. collection)
1921 – (Sanitarium photo CF1-51 – Second Factory & wharf): The second Sanitarium Health Food Factory at Cooranbong was built in 1920. Products and supplies were carried by barge on Dora Creek up until 1934, when road transport took over. (Sanitarium Co. collection)
Today, the Cooranbong factory still produces many of Sanitarium’s popular range of products including Cornflakes, Honey Weets, Fruity-Bix Bars and Weet-Bix and is one of the largest cereal production plants in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sanitarium Development and Innovation (SDI) is located at the Cooranbong site, providing professional, scientific and engineering support for packaging specification, product analysis and machine engineering. It is creating new and easier ways to meet the increasing demand for healthy tasty food well into the future.