Ready Brek
Encyclopedia
Ready Brek is an oat
-based breakfast cereal
produced by Weetabix Limited. It is intended to be served hot, and comes in four varieties — 'original', 'chocolate
' 'honey
' and 'Seriously Oaty'. A butterscotch
flavour was marketed during the 1970s.
, created from experimentation by Walter Pitts, a factory manager from the Tea Division of Lyons. It was launched in 1957 as an instant porridge, then in 1969 as an instant hot cereal. The brand was purchased by Weetabix in June 1990. Since its beginning, it has been consumed mostly by children, or students, and understandably more popular in autumn and winter. Ready Brek had the slogan Central heating
for kids and Get up and Glow, and TV adverts during the 1970s and 1980s showed children walking to school with a dramatic radiant glow. In a survey entitled 'Cereal offenders' by Which?
, Ready Brek was found to have the lowest added salt and sugar of all breakfast cereals tested. In 2006, Which? released a supplementary report 'Cereal re-offenders'
There is a more-oaty variety called Seriously Oaty, which is more of a flavoured oats mixture, where porridge oats in small sachets have had sugar and powdered flavouring added. There is less packaging in the normal box of Ready brek. Most supermarket chains have their own range of instant oatmeal cereal.
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
-based breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
produced by Weetabix Limited. It is intended to be served hot, and comes in four varieties — 'original', 'chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
' 'honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
' and 'Seriously Oaty'. A butterscotch
Butterscotch
Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter, although other ingredients such as corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt are part of some recipes...
flavour was marketed during the 1970s.
History
Ready Brek was originally produced by J. Lyons and Co.J. Lyons and Co.
J. Lyons & Co. was a market-dominant British restaurant-chain, food-manufacturing, and hotel conglomerate founded in 1887 as a spin-off from the Salmon & Gluckstein tobacco company....
, created from experimentation by Walter Pitts, a factory manager from the Tea Division of Lyons. It was launched in 1957 as an instant porridge, then in 1969 as an instant hot cereal. The brand was purchased by Weetabix in June 1990. Since its beginning, it has been consumed mostly by children, or students, and understandably more popular in autumn and winter. Ready Brek had the slogan Central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
for kids and Get up and Glow, and TV adverts during the 1970s and 1980s showed children walking to school with a dramatic radiant glow. In a survey entitled 'Cereal offenders' by Which?
Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
, Ready Brek was found to have the lowest added salt and sugar of all breakfast cereals tested. In 2006, Which? released a supplementary report 'Cereal re-offenders'
There is a more-oaty variety called Seriously Oaty, which is more of a flavoured oats mixture, where porridge oats in small sachets have had sugar and powdered flavouring added. There is less packaging in the normal box of Ready brek. Most supermarket chains have their own range of instant oatmeal cereal.