Sales of own-brand yeast extract have shot up by 25% following the furore over Marmite prices, data from MySupermarket has suggested.
The spat between Unilever and Tesco over potential price rises fuelled a 102% increase in searches for Marmite in October compared with September, data from the site’s 50,000 monthly users shows.
While the saga led to an inevitable rise in interest in Marmite - 48% more users added a Marmite product to their baskets - there was also a 25% rise in shoppers adding an own-label equivalent.
The big four all stock cheaper own-brand alternatives but the biggest price difference is at Tesco, whose yeast extract retails at £1.75 for a 225g pack compared with £2.35 for a 250g pack of Marmite - working out as 17% cheaper per 100g.
Elliot Wilson, partner at The Cabinet Agency, said the interest in own label showed a growing trust in retailers compared with brands that were perceived as “profiteering” off consumers.
“I think the quality of own brand is increasing for the better, as is the design that goes into packaging. People’s expectations are being met as well as they are with mainstream brands,” he said.
Wilson said consumers were wary of brands that seemed to be raising prices in connection with Brexit. “People don’t respect brands and businesses that blame others for their downfall. It’s often seen as a convenient excuse to raise prices,” he added. “Unilever is lucky there is such a passion towards Marmite, because otherwise people would have stopped buying it.”
The news of the potential price rises sparked a social media backlash, which saw #marmitegate become the top hashtag on Twitter. Tory MP Gerald Howarth urged Unilever not to use the falling pound to “exploit the consumer”.
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