Alpen (food)
Encyclopedia
Muesli
Muesli is a popular breakfast cereal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. It was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital...
varieties manufactured by the Weetabix cereal company of Kettering
Kettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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Introduction into the United States
Weetabix cereals in the U.K. created Alpen muesli cereals in the late 1960s as a reaction to the natural, organic and environmental movements sweeping the U.S. and UK. Alpen is a simple, whole grain muesli cereal based on rolled oats, fruits and nuts with no preservatives or artificial flavors or colours.Alpen was the best-selling muesli in the U.S. for a short time in the 1970s (the start of the "natural foods" movement), when Alpen was imported from Weetabix and marketed by Colgate-Palmolive (CP) as one of the first "natural" cereals in the U.S. marketplace. Because of its "back to nature" appeal, Alpen quickly became a best-seller. Competition arose when the Quaker cereal company responded by creation of Quaker 100% natural cereal. CP misjudged Alpen supply and demand, and due to its UK importation, was not able to stock the cereal in a timely fashion. The supply chain became a problem: shelf stock ran out of date and CP had to purchase Alpen back from retailers and destroy it. That, combined with Quaker's marketing effort, ended the short reign of Alpen as the #1 natural brand in the U.S. in the 1970s.
In the U.K., Alpen has been a staple on British shelves since the 1970s and it appeared in the early 1970s in Canada and then in the US in the 1990s after Weetabix established a partnership with natural foods manufacturer, Barbara's Bakery.
In the U.S. today, Alpen No Added Sugar and Alpen Original are mainstays in U.S. natural food stores and Canadian grocery stores. In the UK, Weetabix sells Alpen in four varieties. Alpen is exported to other countries in several varieties.
Related cereals and products
In the U.K., Alpen has created several varieties, including:- Alpen Original
- Alpen Original (No Added Sugar)
- Alpen High Fruit
- Alpen High Fibre
In both the U.S.and Canada, Alpen varieties are:
- Alpen Original
- Alpen No Added Sugar
- New Alpen Apple Spice was introduced in Canada in 2010, featuring three whole grains, apples, toasted soy nuggets and flax seed, with 500 mg of Omega ALA.
As of December 2009, the U.S. Alpens were reformulated to an all-natural formula, disconinuing the use of added vitamins, minerals and organic grains.
In the past, several non-muesli Alpen cereals debuted under the Alpen brand. While most of these cereals have undergone changes in name only, here is a list of cereals which at one were in the Alpen division of Weetabix, along with date of name change.
- Alpen Wheat Flakes (formerly Advantage cereal) — 2004
- Alpen Crunchy Bran (formerly Crunchy Bran cereal) — 2004
As a brand extension and a reaction to consumer appetite for whole grain snacks, Weetabix introduced Alpen whole grain cereal bars, which include varieties of several fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
flavours. As of December 2010, these include:
- Strawberry & Yogurt (Red)
- Raspberry & Yoghurt (Purple)
- Fruit & Nut (Green)
- Fruit & Nut with Chocolate (Brown)
- Coconut with Chocolate (Blue) - New for 2011
- Summer Fruit (Light Variant)
- Chocolate & Fudge (Light Variant)
- Chocolate & Orange (Light Variant)
- Apple & Sultana (Light Variant)
- Double Chocolate (Light Variant) - New for 2011
Sugar and whey content
Three varieties of U.K. Alpen include sugarSugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
; there is one No Added Sugar variety, also available in the U.S. and Canada. Alpen also contains whey
Whey
Whey or Milk Serum is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is manufactured during the making of rennet types of hard cheese like cheddar or Swiss cheese...
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