Marmite has made a hummus
Not a limited edition. Not a Christmas one-off. A permanent listing in the chilled dips aisle of the major UK supermarkets, starting this month. The tub is the standard small-format chilled-dip size, the colour is roughly what you would expect (paler than you might think), and the price sits at the upper end of the supermarket-own-brand hummus shelf without quite reaching the artisan tier.
The brand has not made a fuss about the launch, which is, in itself, a small clue. Most Marmite collaborations launch with a press push, a PR stunt, and at least one influencer giving an exaggerated reaction on TikTok. The hummus has none of that. It is on the shelf, it has a small label, and it is apparently meant to be taken seriously as a permanent product.
Does it actually work
Yes, mostly, and to my mild surprise. Marmite is, on paper, an obvious flavouring for hummus. Hummus already has umami in the form of tahini, and Marmite adds a deeper, salted-yeast layer on top of that. The risk was that the Marmite would dominate, turn the dip muddy-brown, and put off both Marmite haters (predictably) and Marmite lovers (who would object to the spread being diluted into a milder format).
The product walks that line surprisingly well. The colour is sandy with a definite tan tinge. The flavour reads first as proper hummus, then as Marmite about a second later, then back to hummus on the finish. It is dippable. It is not a novelty.
The proper test, I think, is whether you would buy a second tub once the first is finished. I would, and have. That is more than I can say for most of the brand’s collaborations.
Who it is actually for
Not for everyone. The “love it or hate it” tax applies. If you do not like Marmite, you will not like Marmite hummus, and there is no particular reason to bring this product near you.
The interesting audience is the people who already cook with Marmite. The umami-booster crowd, who use a teaspoon of Marmite in stews and gravies, will find the hummus a useful pre-mixed shortcut. Spread it on a wrap with grilled vegetables, use it as a sandwich base instead of butter, stir it into a warm pasta sauce, and it earns its place.
The casual hummus buyer, however, will probably stick to the plain or red pepper version. Marmite hummus is a niche within a niche. The fact that the brand is selling it as a permanent listing rather than a Christmas novelty suggests they think the niche is large enough to be worth it, which is, by itself, a quiet vote of confidence in the umami-cooking audience.
The wider point
This is the second time in twelve months that Marmite has launched a product designed to be used in cooking rather than spread on toast. The hummus follows the caramel sauce from M&S, and the Dishes of Love and Hate campaign that started in April. The pattern is clear: Marmite is, slowly and deliberately, trying to become a kitchen ingredient.
That is the right move. Toast consumption is falling. Cooking-with-Marmite is rising. The brand needs more product formats that meet the umami-booster audience where they actually are, and a chilled dip is, on reflection, a sensible bet.
If McCormick are watching, this is the model they should keep running. Quiet, useful, well-made products that extend the brand without turning it into a punchline. More of these, fewer NFTs, please.
