Marmite costs more than a Gallon of Petrol
by admin on 09/08/10 at 12:20 pm
A recent article in the Telegraph highlighted the one price rise that had clearly passed us by.
We are avid lovers of the black stuff in our house so this little story caught our eye.
Regardless of whether you love Marmite or you hate it we were a little surprised to read that a 500g pot of the yeast spread, which was once given away by the NHS because of its nutritional value, now costs £5.03 at Sainsbury’s and £5.38 at Waitrose.
The inflated price now makes it dearer pound for pound than rump steak amid booming business for its makers, who saw a two per cent rise in sales last year, despite the recession.
However the price increase has baffled experts who claim none of the product’s ingredients have witnessed sharp price rises over the same period.
Adam Leyland, editor of the industry magazine The Grocer, said: “Compared with bread, which has gone up by around 40 per cent in price over the past five years, this is a relatively modest rise.
“But Marmite does not appear to contain any ingredients that have been subject to sharp price hikes. This could be a case of Unilever trying to increase its profit margins.”
According to the Telegraph article, Unilever, which makes around 60 million jars of Marmite annually, was last night unavailable to comment on the matter.
Marmite was first manufactured in 1902 using a process that turned leftover yeast sludge from brewing beer into a protein-rich food with a high vitamin B and folic acid content.
We are hoping the cost doesn’t go up any further as we are certainly big Marmite fans.
