Price of Marmite, tasty British slime, at heart of latest Brexit imbroglio

Marmite is a popular, exceedingly British food product spread on toast, crackers or directly onto one's tongue. It is dark, sticky, and delivers a stark "love it or hate it" kick to the tastebuds. Marmite originated in the thick, yeasty dregs generated by beer production; Bovril, its great enemy on the British condiment aisle, was made in similar fashion from slaughterhouse goop. And thanks to Brexit, there is a Marmite shortage and pricing run.

When a nation's currency suddenly falls in value, as the pound has since the Brexit vote, imports cost more. This means prices in the shops will inevitably rise. Most people can grasp that simple, frictionless, model. Yet the Marmite affair highlights that there are many other economic factors involved and that things are (rather like the polarising "yeast extract" itself) stickier in practise.

Marmite is manufactured in Burton upon Trent. This fact prompted provoked accusations of "profiteering" from some Tory MPs and right-wing newspapers. "How can a falling pound justify a price hike for a UK-made product?" they demanded to know. Some suggested that this must be a plot by Anglo-Dutch Unilever to discredit Brexit.

But Unilever does not solely manufacture Marmite. It has reduced its transaction costs and increased its profit margins by bringing a wide range of consumer products into a single multinational business.

Photo: Kent Fredric (CC-BY-2.0)