The UK vs Marmite: Round up

“Marmite: A potted history of the British-born spread” – BBC News

Panic spread across the UK as it emerged that the much-loved yeast extract Marmite was at risk of being removed from the nation’s supermarket shelves. But what is the story behind this most British of brands?

The product that has been loved and hated around the world for more than 100 years was actually discovered by chance by a German scientist called Justus Liebig.

In the late 19th Century Liebig stumbled across the delicious realisation that brewer’s yeast could be concentrated then eaten. Yum… [View Article]

“With the great Marmite war, the reality of Brexit has started to bite” – The Guardian

When Marmite and PG Tips enter the Brexit wars, reality starts to bite – and sooner than expected. As David Davis was on his feet in the Commons on Wednesday, refusing to defend staying in the single market, the pound plunged again. Anyone changing their money at the airport today will find everything in Europe costing them 23% more than it did on 22 June.

Unilever says all its prices must rise by 10% – which is still less than the 15% fall in the pound, so expect worse to come. The Unilever spat with Tesco over who pays is just a sideshow, as other retailers warn of steep price rises, as we import so many essentials. BT’s chairman says imported phones and broadband hubs are already up 10%. Each day the Financial Times reports more banks declaring they are moving significant functions abroad, while car manufacturers look to invest elsewhere in the EU for their new models. As prices rise, the great majority of the population, whose incomes have been stagnant for nearly a decade, will see their living standards fall… [View Article]

“Unilever ‘weaponised’ Marmite in ‘Brexit blackmail’ say furious MPs as bitter price row with Tesco saw spread stripped from supermarket shelves” – The Sun

CONSUMER giant Unilever was condemned by MPs yesterday for “weaponising” Marmite to fight the EU poll all over again.

The consumer goods giant has been accused of Brexit blackmail by furious MPs as the bitter price row with Tesco saw the yeast-based spread and Pot Noodles stripped from the shelves.

Labour and Tory backbenchers joined forces to blast the Anglo-Dutch group for trying to “exploit” the plunge in the pound to rip off customers with its 10 per cent price hike demand.

Tory David Davies said: “I’ve got half a jar of Marmite in my cupboard. I like it, but that’s where it’s going to stay… [View Article]

“Tesco gets PR and share price boost from battle with Unilever” – The Daily Mail

LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Tesco appeared to emerge victorious from a pricing row with Unilever on Friday, with its shares rising 4 percent and analysts saying Britain’s biggest retailer had scored a public relations coup by casting itself as the consumer’s champion.

Though details of the agreement between the supermarket group and one of its main suppliers were not disclosed, analysts said Unilever had probably at least partially backed down in its bid to raise prices to compensate for a plunge in sterling following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

“For the first time in many years, Tesco is coming across as the consumer champion and in the popular press is being reported as the company fighting to keep prices low for shoppers. This is good news for Tesco,” said HSBC analyst David McCarthy, who has a “hold” rating on the stock… [View Article]

“Brexit means expensive Marmite, lost jobs and a housing crash – but I voted for it and it’s worth the pain” – The Independent

ven for a Brexiteer such as I, these are difficult days. The short-term damage to the economy looks like it will be significant. Every piece of economic data, whether real figures on output or surveys on consumer and business sentiment, is picked over for clues about the effects of Brexit. Economies, of course, move much more slowly than that; leads and lags take months and years, not days and weeks, to work through. Quite different to the pace of the media – hence some confusion about what’s going on.

Whatever the merits of Unilver’s attempted 10 per cent price hike on Marmite and hundreds of other product lines – and the effort by Tesco, heroes for once, to resist – it is a taste of much worse things to come. For a nation that imports so much – too much, indeed – a rise in the cost of things we take in from abroad is inevitable. Sometimes retailers can try to offset it, as here. And for many goods it should take some more months yet to feel the full effects (Unilever’s price rise looks suspiciously quick for a product so locally sourced as Marmite), but the squeeze will come – and plenty more pain besides… [View Article]