The reopening of pubs is not only good for those of us that have been gasping for a pint. It’s also great news for Marmite.
Supermarkets were running low on the sticky brown condiment last month because of yeast shortages while breweries lowered production during the pandemic. During the first national lockdown last year, Marmite had to suspend production altogether. My local supermarket shelf was still suspiciously empty in early May.
Oddly, however, the shelf below was packed with a new Marmite upstart: Dynamite Chilli Marmite.
No longer is Marmite only a slightly niche savoury spread your granny layered on toast. Or what Nigella puts on spaghetti. Oh no. Today you can buy Marmite hummus and Marmite cream cheese. You can slather yourself in Lynx Marmite shower gel – or slather ‘Marmite Peanut Butter Crunchy XL’ on bagels. What exactly ‘XL’ refers to is not entirely clear.
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods behemoth that owns Marmite, has launched four Marmite products since the beginning of 2020 and nine co-labs as if the 119-year-old spread was a trendy fashion brand.
Its hot cross bun collaboration with M&S caused a small storm on Twitter when it launched in January.
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