Elton John gave himself away: fans spotted a shelf stacked with Marmite jars behind him in a birthday photo. The brand crowned him a 'true lover' and turned it into a four-year, one-million-dollar partnership for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Marmite Articles
Explore our collection of articles about Marmite, Britain's most divisive spread.
Showing articles from: 2026 | View all articles
Ricky Gervais and Marmite: the Reading comedian who does the maths on a jar
When the 2016 Marmite shortage hit, Ricky Gervais did the maths: 'How can there be a Marmite shortage when one jar lasts most families two years?' He claims no strong feelings either way, which makes him the man holding up the middle of the love-hate graph.
Anthony Albanese and Marmite: the Australian PM who called it 'rubbish'
Asked about a Vegemite row in Canada, Australian PM Anthony Albanese backed his country's spread and dismissed the British one in a single word: 'Marmite, which is rubbish, frankly.' A clear hater, delivered with more authority than most.
Marmageddon: the year New Zealand ran out of Marmite
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.
Idris Elba and Marmite: the star who got it served as his 'Food Hell'
Idris Elba had Marmite served to him as his 'Food Hell' on Saturday Kitchen, paired with tofu and kale. No grand denunciation, but you do not put a food in hell if you love it, so we have him down as a sceptic rather than a sworn enemy.
Madonna and Marmite: the one thing the Queen of Pop won't do for her kids
At the 2011 premiere of her film W.E., Madonna drew a line: 'I would do anything for my children. Except have a Marmite sandwich. My daughter's insistent that I eat one, but I won't! Vile!' One of the most quotable hater verdicts ever given.
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.
John Cena and Marmite: the wrestling champion who exercised his right to hate it
Handed a taste of Marmite, sixteen-time WWE champion John Cena recoiled, then used the brand's own logic to justify himself: the advert says love it or hate it, so he was entitled to hate it. One of the more honest verdicts on the list.
Nigella Lawson and Marmite: the cook who turned it into a pasta sauce
Nigella Lawson doesn't just like Marmite, she cooks with it, building a whole spaghetti dish around it and defending it as offering 'saltiness and savouriness the way a stock cube might'. Firmly, and deliciously, on the love side.
WeMite: Marmite bet on England and picked the middle jar
For the 2026 World Cup, Marmite renamed itself WeMite and released jars sized to how much you believed: reach the quarters, reach the semis, or go and win it. The jars went out through Heathrow Express to fans flying to the States. England then lost 1-2 to Argentina in the semi-final on 15 July, which means the medium jar was right. There was also a Scotland jar, carrying the saltire and the words get out of the group, that almost nobody wrote about. Scotland did not get out of the group.
