In March 2012 Sanitarium closed its earthquake-damaged Papanui factory in Christchurch, and New Zealand, which gets through 640 tonnes of Marmite a year, simply ran out. The press called it Marmageddon. Jars went for up to $60 on TradeMe, the shortage was supposed to last until July, and the spread did not actually return to shelves until 20 March 2013. It is the benchmark against which every other Marmite shortage gets measured.
Shortages & Controversies
Marmite supply issues, controversies, and debates: Marmitegate in New Zealand, Brexit shortages, and viral incidents.
Category: Shortages & Controversies | View all articles
Marmite has been quietly delisted in Singapore and Malaysia
Marmite disappeared from Singapore and Malaysian supermarket shelves in 2026, and it took nearly four months for anyone to say why. Unilever delisted the brand from its regional portfolio with effect from 1 April, but the news only broke in late July when shoppers noticed the gaps and resale prices hit seven times retail. Two different official explanations followed within twenty-four hours of each other, one blaming supply, the other blaming sales. This is what actually happened, and why the loss lands harder in Kuala Lumpur than in London.
A Marlborough boutique has painted itself in Marmite stripes
Isabella Wookey, who runs Willow & Wolf on the high street in Marlborough, Wiltshire, has painted the front of her shop in broad stripes. The stripes are a slightly pinker brown than the proper Marmite yellow-and-oxblood, but the reference is instant. Walk past it and you think, jar.
Remember when Marmite vanished from Tesco?
For about a week in October 2016, you could not buy a jar of Marmite in Tesco. There was a price tag where it should be, a gap on the shelf where it should be, and absolutely no jar. What was actually happening was a fight over a price rise.
When M&S was hacked, Tesco started delivering them Marmite
In late April 2025, Marks & Spencer's IT systems were taken out by a ransomware attack. Online orders went down. Inventory management went down. The internal supply chain went down.
Marmite Vaseline lip balm: the 2007 April Fool that nearly became a real product
On 1 April, in a year I have decided not to dignify by looking up, the Marmite and Vaseline teams together announced a limited-edition product: Vaseline Lip Therapy with Marmite. Promotional materials. Quotes from brand managers. A claimed exclusive Facebook availability.
The countries where Marmite has been, briefly, illegal
In 2011, Denmark enforced a long-standing food regulation that requires added vitamins in commercial food products to be specifically approved by the Danish authorities. Marmite, which is fortified with extra B vitamins (B12 in particular), did not have the approval.
The summer the jars ran dry: Marmite's 2020 yeast shortage
In June 2020 Marmite vanished from shelves in everything but the 250g jar. Pure lockdown logic: the pubs shut, the breweries slowed, and Marmite is made from what is left over when beer is brewed. No pints, no spread.
OzEmite versus AussieMite: the time two Australian yeast spreads went to court
To understand the 2016 case you need to know the two products, both Australian, both yeast extracts, both founded specifically to give patriotic shoppers an alternative to Vegemite after Vegemite was sold to Kraft (later Mondelez) in the United States. AussieMite , the smaller one.
The Great Marmite Heist
Last week thieves broke into a warehouse in West Yorkshire and stole over £60,000 worth of Marmite Christmas stock, including 15,000 bars of the newly launched chocolate bar which at this stage is critical â high-peak Christmas season / limited edition and stock available.
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