--- description: News that a major British supermarket will no longer be stocking Marmite following Brexit has sparked outrage across the U.K. title: Britain Panics Over Brexit-Sparked Marmite Shortage image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcdc26f2de360e66/6988a9e3f887dc3e93e97caa/gettyimages-614261876.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Britain Panics Over Brexit-Sparked Marmite Shortage by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 13, 2016 2:46 PM CUT  A jar of Marmite is arranged for a photogaph in Brenchley, south east England, on October 13, 2016\. British staple Marmite was taken off the virtual shelves at British supermarket Tesco on Thursday, following a reported row with supplier Unilever over pricing after the pound plummeted on fears over the UK's Brexit plans. Jars of Marmite were "currently not available" in the online store of Tesco -- the world's third biggest supermarket chain -- after the company reportedly refused Unilever's request to hike prices. / AFP / BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) A jar of Marmite is arranged for a photogaph in Brenchley, south east England, on October 13, 2016\. British staple Marmite was taken off the virtual shelves at British supermarket Tesco on Thursday, following a reported row with supplier Unilever over pricing after the pound plummeted on fears over the UK's Brexit plans. Jars of Marmite were "currently not available" in the online store of Tesco -- the world's third biggest supermarket chain -- after the company reportedly refused Unilever's request to hike prices. / AFP / BEN STANSALL (Photo credit should read BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images)BEN STANSALL—AFP/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 13, 2016 2:46 PM CUT News that a major British supermarket will no longer be stocking Marmite following [Brexit](http://time.com/tag/brexit/ "undefined") has sparked outrage across the U.K., leading the hashtag #MarmiteGate to trend on Twitter. [Tesco](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1209951,00.html "undefined") pulled a range of products, including Marmite, PG Tips tea bags, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Persil washing powder and Lynx body spray, from its website after a row over pricing with the major food and household goods supplier Unilever. According to [_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/13/unilever-finance-director-graeme-pitkethly-defends-company-tesco-price-row-marmite "undefined"), Unilever is trying to charge Tesco an extra 10% for its goods due to the pound’s fall against the euro and the dollar following the vote for Brexit in June. Graeme Pitkethly, Unilever’s chief financial officer, described these price increases as a “normal” part of business. “We are taking price increases in the UK. That is a normal devaluation-led cycle,” he told analysts. > [](https://twitter.com/suttonnick/status/786451604211892224) Marmite fans have not taken the news well, packing social media full of photos of shelves being emptied of the “love it or hate it” yeast spread. Tubs of Marmite have even gone [on sale on eBay](http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?%5Ffrom=R40&%5Fsacat=0&%5Fnkw=marmite&%5Fsop=16 "undefined") for up to £4million ($4.78 million)—although no bids have been placed so far. One of the Marmite jars for sale is described as “Rare 2016 genuine retail Marmite jar (unopened).” The product description reads: “One of the last remaining examples of this fabled product in private hands. Unsealed, it is in the same condition it was when it was plucked from the supermarket shelf. Little did I know it would be the last Marmite I ever bought – and now, you, too, can buy your last ever Marmite.” > [](https://twitter.com/smbthomas/status/786332903793983488) > [](https://twitter.com/Digital%5FPhillJD/status/786439739503177729) > [](https://twitter.com/banalyst/status/786286182946725890) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4529747/marmite-shortage-tesco-brexit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4529747/marmite-shortage-tesco-brexit/"},"headline":"Britain Panics Over Brexit-Sparked Marmite Shortage","datePublished":"2016-10-13T14:46:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:16:27.161Z","description":"Tesco pulled a range of products from its website following a pricing row with Unilever","url":"https://time.com/4529747/marmite-shortage-tesco-brexit/","keywords":["United Kingdom","Brexit"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcdc26f2de360e66/6988a9e3f887dc3e93e97caa/gettyimages-614261876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdcdc26f2de360e66/6988a9e3f887dc3e93e97caa/gettyimages-614261876.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRITAIN-EU-ECONOMY-RETAIL-BREXIT","caption":"BRITAIN-EU-ECONOMY-RETAIL-BREXIT","creditText":"BEN STANSALL—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4529747/marmite-shortage-tesco-brexit/","name":"Britain Panics Over Brexit-Sparked Marmite Shortage"}}]}] ```