Ethical Companies – The Blog

Now £5-a-jar Marmite is more expensive than petrol.

It’s a nursery favourite that has nourished generations of children – but now Marmite is more expensive pound for pound than rump steak, with a large jar costing more than £5.

I love Marmite (not that I eat it very often), but a “nursery favourite” ? I don’t think so somehow. I hated it as a child and I can’t imagine many kids liking the taste, children (in my experience) don’t like “strong” flavours, although I grant you there may be exceptions.

The yeast spread you either love or hate has risen in price by 25 per cent over the past five years for no obvious reason. A 500g pot costs £5.03 at Sainsbury and £5.38 at Waitrose – which means it can cost more than a gallon of petrol in most parts of Britain. Yet sales are booming. They rose by two per cent last year despite the recession – and around 60 million jars are produced for sale annually. The big supermarket chains were last night unable to explain the steep price rise and food giant Unilever, which owns the Marmite name, declined to discuss it.

It sounds a lot of money, but in fairness a £5 jar of Marmite lasts me about 2 years. As for why it’s gone up, it’s obvious isn’t it ? Unilever, like any other company, will charge as much as they think they can get away with. If sales dip, then the price might come down, it’s basic supply and demand Keynesian economics, hardly a “mystery”.

Adam Leyland, editor of the industry magazine The Grocer, said: ‘Compared with bread, which has gone up by around 40 per cent in price over the past five years, this is a relatively modest rise. ‘But Marmite does not appear to contain any ingredients that have been subject to sharp price hikes. This could be a case of Unilever trying to increase its profit margins.’

No kidding Mr Leyland. Unilever is a big big company, and whilst we may criticise them for raising the price of Marmite, I suspect there are other products they manufacture/sell which are not doing so well. So, it’s swings and roundabouts, they have to make the profit someplace and if demand for Marmite exists and people will pay the price then it’s a no brainer really.

The brand’s high price is a far cry from its humble beginnings. It was first manufactured in 1902 using a process that turned yeast sludge left over from brewing beer into a protein-rich food with a high vitamin B and folic acid content. It was given away free in NHS baby clinics until the Sixties because of its nutritional value. A Waitrose spokesman said: ‘We are constantly reviewing our prices to ensure great value and this is something we will look at.’ A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘I don’t know why this has happened.’

Lovely “non” statements there from the supermarkets. Anyhow, I’m sure there’s lot of things more expensive than petrol.

Steve

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The Rotten State Of Britain.

Spotted this title over on Al Jahom’s Final Word.  I’ve not read it yet (I’ve ordered one from Amazon) but I reckon it’s going to be pretty interesting.  We already know pretty much what’s going to be in the book (unless you’ve been out of the country for the last ten years or asleep) but it’ll be interesting to see it all in one place.  As someone who remembers the state the last Labour government left Great Britain in (1979) my heart sank when Labour was voted back into power back in 1997.  I knew then it would end in tears, and the optimism people showed was unfounded and unrealistic.

Perhaps you’d like to check the book out yourself:

Steve

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