[imagesource: Reuters]

I don’t understand you Marmite lovers.

Bovril is clearly superior because it spreads easier and tastes better.

If your preference is based on the fact that Marmite is strictly vegetarian, whereas Bovril is based on beef stock, I will make an exception.

For the past few months, Marmite has been in short supply. My neighbourhood Facebook group has seen bartering akin to the great alcohol and tobacco ban of 2020, and as soon as the spread has been spotted word has been shared:

Four bottles? A standard Marmite jar can last months. That’s just greedy.

The good news is that Marmite is back, reports Business Insider SA, after a prolonged shortage caused by disrupted beer production and the supply of brewers’ yeast to Pioneer Foods:

Jars of Marmite started to reappear on retailers’ shelves in early May 2022, much to the delight of desperate shoppers who took to social media to confirm the savoury spread’s return.

“As of last week, the supply of spent yeast has stabilised,” Deborah-Ann Sharwood, communications lead at PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa, told Business Insider SA on Monday…

“Stock has now started filtering back into retailers – however, there is a major pipeline of demand which needs to be filled. As soon as the shelf is stocked, people buy up the stock.”

Certain Spar outlets are rumoured to have put a limit in place on how many jars each customer can purchase, although this has not been confirmed.

There is a limit on cooking oil at some retailers, by the way.

In order to keep up with demand, Martin Neethling, PepsiCo’s chief marketing officer, told CapeTalk’s Refilwe Moloto that they’re hard at work.

Double shifts have been introduced at the Marmite factory:

“We are in a recently good place now, we’re certainly in the best position that we’ve been in for the last two years or so. We are rapidly trying to refill the pipeline and get Marmite back onto the shelves.”

“The curious thing now is that I think there is a bit of a scarcity mindset because we see that consumers are grabbing bottles of Marmite as fast as it hit the shelves… As fast as the shelves are restocked, people are taking multiple bottles a time.”

I can’t wait for the first viral video showing a showdown in aisle five as two shoppers battle for the final jar.

At least we’ve finally managed to rid this country of the horrors of fish paste. One win at a time.

[sources:businsidersa&capetalk]