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Marmite, Bovril, Colman's Sold to US Firm McCormick

(66 Posts)
mae13 Wed 01-Apr-26 06:03:02

Unilever, according to The Telegraph and The Guardian, have sold their foodstuffs division to the US manufacturer McCormick for approx. 44 billion.

Oh dear.

Bearing in mind the trashing of Cadbury's Dairy Milk when that was sold to an American outfit, how long before the shops will be stocking vanilla-flavoured Marmite with pistachio sprinkles?

ViceVersa Sun 05-Apr-26 08:11:11

BlueBelle

Nanna8 she’s right though Vegemite s not an equivalent at all 🤮

No, it's definitely not. Just not the same as the real thing.

BlueBelle Sun 05-Apr-26 07:59:44

Nanna8 she’s right though Vegemite s not an equivalent at all 🤮

BlueBelle Sun 05-Apr-26 07:57:54

Jennerdysphoria

You can buy Marmite equivalents - supermarkets have their own brands. There's also the Australian Vegemite.

They’re not a patch on real Marmite though would rather go without tbh

Grandmabatty Sun 05-Apr-26 07:20:22

There's no need to be rude or patronising. I think it was a reasonable assumption given when you started the thread.

mae13 Sun 05-Apr-26 01:24:14

Grandmabatty

April Fool?

No, Dearie. Read the FT more often.

It's there in black and white.

Tra-la!

nanna8 Sun 05-Apr-26 01:10:41

NotSpaghetti

And Vegemite’s quite unpleasant.

Ohh wash yer mouth out ! 😀😀😀

NotSpaghetti Sat 04-Apr-26 23:58:06

Essential Trading's Vitam-R Yeast Extract is delicious but not Marmite...
I like to have both!
grin
(But not at once)

NotSpaghetti Sat 04-Apr-26 23:55:42

And Vegemite’s quite unpleasant.

NotSpaghetti Sat 04-Apr-26 23:55:04

No, sadly it isn't at all the same Pittcity.

nanna8 Sat 04-Apr-26 23:51:31

You’ll have to get on to Vegemite, nothing else for it. At least it is still Australian not American ( for now ) . Happy little Vegemite’s as bright as bright can be.

Catterygirl Sat 04-Apr-26 23:32:56

Bovril is the only way to go. Especially after a swim.

Moth62 Sat 04-Apr-26 21:48:49

I have to say that, as a long-time Marmite lover, I bought some Tesco own brand “Marmite” and it’s actually rather good. Spreads easier and much cheaper as well.

sodapop Sat 04-Apr-26 19:40:10

We can't get Marmite here so family brought several jars over for us. Some different flavoured ones, truffle, chilli etc. We will never need to buy Marmite again now.

Rocketstop2 Sat 04-Apr-26 18:13:17

Fallingstar

Yep it will soon taste rubbish like Cadburys does. I used to love Cadburys but now it is chocolate flavoured not actual chocolate.
I buy ‘actual’ chocolate from Lidl or Aldi, I believe is German chocolate.

Agreed !

jocork Sat 04-Apr-26 18:07:24

There are only a few things I refuse to eat but Marmite and mustard are two of them, so it won't affect me. Sorry for those of you who like them if they cease to be what you enjoy.

Sady so many products seem to have changed for the worse in recent years. I'm not sure how much is that my tastes have changed or if the products have changed, but many things I used to love no longer give me the same pleasure. I guess it comes down to cost cutting along with shrinkflation! Some products can no longer call themselves chocolate coated eg Club Biscuits. I think they have to describe them as having chocolate flavoured coating.

arum Sat 04-Apr-26 17:55:06

Fallingstar

Yep it will soon taste rubbish like Cadburys does. I used to love Cadburys but now it is chocolate flavoured not actual chocolate.
I buy ‘actual’ chocolate from Lidl or Aldi, I believe is German chocolate.

Yes, the Aldi Chocolate is from Stollwerck, which now belongs to a Belgian firm, the Baronie Group., The Lidl chocolate is also from a german company, Ludwig/Trumpf, now belongs to the Krüger Group.

MayBee70 Sat 04-Apr-26 17:35:30

Allira

Does anyone remember the champagne marmite?

Yes. I bought some. Still have the jar (I tend to keep nice jars). It was horrible. The whole point of Marmite is it that it’s savoury, not sweet!

arum Sat 04-Apr-26 17:32:38

Greyduster

I’ve never found a suitable substitute for Marmite. None of them taste the same. Vegemite is horrid! Regarding Bovril, Morrisons do a very good own brand product which I buy all the time.

Agree. I remember the Vegemite we used to buy in South Africa, round about the late 60's. It was comparable to the Fray Bentos spread. But . . . I recently bought some Vegemite from the Oz Shop here in Germany, it tasted awful!! Simply smelling the "stuff" upon opening the jar was enough to put me off. My parcel from the Oz Shop was delivered by our DHL driver, coincidentally an australian. She was so excited that I had bought from her favourite shop, declared that she buys loads of Vegemite. Love it or hate it. It is sad that so many companies alter the recipe to suit their "budget". The recent debacle with Milka and Cadbury's proves it. Both were bought out by Mondelez.

Trixee Sat 04-Apr-26 15:25:50

My great grandfather sold all of his land in Thorpe St Andrew , Norwich to Colmans for mustard growing.
Just saying.

Colls Sat 04-Apr-26 15:21:21

Stockpile before it is changed! It lasts forever.

Greyduster Sat 04-Apr-26 14:51:53

I’ve never found a suitable substitute for Marmite. None of them taste the same. Vegemite is horrid! Regarding Bovril, Morrisons do a very good own brand product which I buy all the time.

DS54 Sat 04-Apr-26 14:46:49

When was it decided that anything had to be available for sale to anybody in the world regardless of what they intended to do with it? Shareholders obviously don’t care they just want the best price they can get other people have an interest too.

missdeke Sat 04-Apr-26 14:43:07

The Americans definitely wrecked Cadbury's chocolate, but they also ruined Heinz Baked beans. I'm not a fan of marmite, not actually a hater but I really have to be in the mood for it. I wonder what Americans will think of Colman's mustard compared to their own weak version. Let's hope some of our artisan food producers will continue and grow and build up our once great food industry to what it once was.

Pittcity Wed 01-Apr-26 17:15:04

I use the Aldi equivalent, which is almost the same, mainly because of the price.

Lovetopaint037 Wed 01-Apr-26 17:12:05

Usually American take overs have been the stuff of profit rather than taste. They buy up a best selling product and look at what they can achieve by adding more sugar instead of usual ingredients. American sweets are rubbish for the same reason.