After a long two-year shortage of stock, the legendary Marmite is finally back in business, and Mzansi couldn’t be happier!
For two years now, it has been an increasing struggle to find Marmite on the retailers’ shelves. What started as a COVID-related alcohol ban, turned into a short supply of this savoury spread due to the disruption of yeast production. Spent-yeast, a by-product of the beer-making process, is a key ingredient in Marmite. When the alcohol bans came into effect in 2020, beer production companies couldn’t supply enough spent-yeast to Pioneer Foods, who produces Marmite.
But as the alcohol bans lifted in the last year, this production of spent-yeast once again picked up.
“As of last week, the supply of spent yeast has stabilised,” reported Deborah-Ann Sharwood, communications lead at PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa, as shared by Business Insider SA.
Marmite-lovers would’ve started noticing the reappearance of Marmite in early May, but shoppers are quick to grab the jars.
“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”, explained Sharwood.
Retail stores are happy to have Marmite back on the shelves; however, some stores have reportedly put restrictions in place to limit how many jars can be bought by a single shopper. Larger retail stores, such as Pick n Pay and Woolworth, though, are allowing customers to restock their pantries to their hearts’ content.
“We are very happy to have Marmite back on our shelves in selected stores for our customers, although deliveries from our supplier remain limited at this stage,” reported Pick n Pay. They are not limiting customers, but are asking shoppers to be responsible with their purchases.
Woolworth has also not put any restrictions on how many jars customers can buy, but they emphasise their limited stock. “We have been informed by the producer of Marmite that due to limited supply of raw material, they have opted to only focus production on the 250g pack size,” confirms Woolworths.
To keep up with the sudden influx of demand, the Marmite factory is doubling up their shifts and aim to stabilise stock levels across South Africa as soon as possible.
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Picture: marmite_sa / Instagram