ACCC probes Weet-Bix and Vita Brits merger

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has initiated a review of the proposed merger between Weet-Bix and Vita Brits, two of Australia's most popular breakfast cereals.

The ACCC aims to assess whether the merger would harm competition, increase prices, or affect product quality. This review follows the watchdog's recent actions against Woolworths and Coles for misleading sale advertisements.

Sanitarium, which produces Weet-Bix, currently manufactures Vita Brits for Nestlé. The deal involves buying the Vita Brits brand, intellectual property, and goodwill. Vita Brits is part of Nestlé's Uncle Tobys range and is similar to Weet-Bix.

Australian Health & Nutrition Association Limited, trading as Sanitarium, is a not-for-profit organisation owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Weet-Bix is Australia's leading wheat biscuit brand, with its first local factory built in 1926.

Due to trademark restrictions, Sanitarium can't sell Weet-Bix in markets where Britain's Weetabix operates. In the UK and China, the company markets its product as Nutri-Brex.

The ACCC plans to announce its decision on the merger by late November.