Tesco and Unilever row pushed up Marmite sales by 61%
MARMITE sales have rocketed since the high-profile row between makers Unilever and Tesco, it was revealed today.
The spat between the two business giants - dubbed Marmitegate - pushed up sales by 61 per cent compared to the same period last year, retail experts said.
Shoppers grabbed an extra £335,000 worth of jars off shelves as the yeast spread hit the headlines in a pricing dispute between Britain biggest supermarket and the country’s largest grocery supplier, new figures show.
The bumper rise in sales for the week ending October 15 equalled nearly 130,000 jars.
Marmite, which is a 114-year-old brand, normally reports flat sales of about £500,000 a week and £28 million a year, according to trade magazine The Grocer.
Experts say sales of Marmite are not usually affected by outside influences such as weather, unlike other Unilever brands such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
The Marmitegate row occurred when Unilever tried to impose a blanket ten per cent price rise on all its products - which it blamed on Brexit.
It said the fall in the value of Sterling since the vote had made it dearer to import goods - even though three-quarters of its products are made in the UK.
Tesco refused to stock the firm’s products due to the hike, and after a public spat Unilver backed down.
According to retail analysts IRI, Marmite enjoyed a bumper sales boost in all supermarkets, not just Tesco.
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Martin Wood, head of strategic insight for retail, said the sales increase was very unusual.
He said the uplift was “clearly” the result of media coverage of Marmitegate, which put the brand at the front of shoppers’ minds.
Mr Wood said: “Marmite was splattered everywhere. Sales were higher than we would usually see after a major TV advertising campaign.”
He predicted the furore would boost Marmite sales for weeks to come.
During the row, Tesco pulled popular items such as Marmite and Pot Noodles from its website following a bust up with Unilever over the plummeting pound.
Unilever demanded steep price increases to offset the higher cost of imported goods, which are priced in euros and dollars.
But Tesco said it would fight the rises – removing Unilever from its website and warning that some items could disappear from shelves if the row dragged on.
Cheeky eBay sellers tried to cashing in on the row between Tesco and Unilever - by flogging Marmite online for as much as £5,000.
One bold seller under the heading "Rare 2016 genuine retail Marmite jar (unopened)", the description said: "One of the last remaining examples of this fabled product in private hands.
"Unsealed, it is in the same condition it was when it was plucked from the supermarket shelf. Little did I know it would be the last Marmite I ever bought - and now, you, too, can buy your last ever Marmite.
"FREE postage, UK only. I will not post this item to Europe."
The dispute was resolved after Unilever caved in over price hikes.
Around 11.6 million jars of Marmite are sold in the U.K. annually, generating yearly sales of about 28 million pounds for the century-old brand.