Marmite to return to Tesco shelves after greedy Unilever chiefs quit their ‘Brexit blackmail’
Firm halts plans to hike up prices by ten per cent across all goods following historic Brexit decision
FAVOURITES like Marmite, Hellman’s and PG Tips were back on the shelves at Tesco last night after maker Unilever caved in over price hikes.
The two firms reached a deal over the ten per cent rises Unilever wanted across its entire range, which it cynically blamed on Brexit.
It claimed the plunging price of sterling meant it had to pay more for imports, but a Sun probe found around three-quarters of its products are made in the UK.
Some such as Marmite, produced in a factory in Burton-upon-Trent churning out 50 million jars a year, are even made from ingredients fully sourced here.
Tesco said: “We always put our customers first, and we are pleased the situation has been resolved to our satisfaction.“
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A spokesman for Unilever, the world’s biggest maker of consumer products, added: “We are pleased to confirm the supply situation with Tesco in the UK and Ireland has been successfully resolved.
“We have been working together closely to reach this resolution and ensure our much-loved brands are once again fully available.”
However, neither would confirm details of their deal and it is unclear if shoppers will see prices rises in coming months.
Though Tesco had gone public with its opposition to Unilever’s plans, other super-markets are believed to have been against them too.
A source at one major retailer said: “We let Tesco flex their muscles first because they are so big.”
The row flared on Wednesday, with shoppers quick to accuse “Brexit blackmailers” Unilever of profiteering.
Thousands of customers flooded Tesco’s Facebook and Twitter account with messages of support and called for a nationwide boycott of Unilever products.
Sheree Ellis wrote: “Well done Tesco for sticking to your guns. Keep this up and you certainly won’t lose my custom.”
Another called Charlotte vowed: “I am going to support our country and boycott #Marmite #Unilever trying to rip us Brits off! Well done Tesco stand your ground!”
Tesco’s boss Dave Lewis, who joined from Unilever two years ago, is understood to feel that firm should soak up any price hikes.
Unilever’s Dutch chief Paul Polman was a passionate Remain campaigner and told staff in a letter that a Leave vote would mean price hikes and trade restrictions.
Expert Neil Saunders, of retail analysts Conlumino, said: “It is an ideal time to put prices up if you want to hide behind Brexit, when everyone is talking about the change in the value of the Pound.
";But they don’t just source stock from Europe, they source from UK and also further afield.
For example, Marmite is very much from the UK. So it begs the question, why it is a blanket approach?”
The Sun found products such as Marmite, Pot Noodle, Persil, Lynx and Colman’s are all UK-made.
Unilever has two large research and development centres in the UK. One is Colworth near Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire and another in Wirral, Merseyside.
And overall some 30 of 39 key products, where The Sun could determine where they were made, came from factories here.
Experts said even if costs were rising, giant Unilever is in a better position than supermarkets to absorb the costs.
One supermarket source said: “Their margins are 15 to 20 per cent. Years of falling prices mean ours are two to four per cent. There is little room to move for us.”