Locals should expect that Marmite will soon reappear on retail shelves in Stellenbosch after the product had been temporarily discontinued due to a shortage of yeast supply, during lockdown.
This was according to Mandy Murphy, managing executive for condiments and spreads at Pioneer Foods, the production and distribution group that supplies the spread to stores in the country.
The production of Marmite was temporarily discontinued after lockdown level 5 was implemented earlier this year. Shelf space usually reserved for the spread in a number of Stellenbosch stores is now empty. PHOTO: Rebecca Pitt
According to Murphy, the two main breweries that supply Pioneer Foods with yeast –the key ingredient in Marmite – have started to deliver yeast to the production and distribution group once again since the move to lockdown level 1.
“Our main suppliers of yeast in South Africa, AB-Inbev and Heineken, were not permitted to operate [during initial lockdown],” Murphy said.
Because Marmite is a live product, Pioneer Foods was unable to stockpile the product and the production unit had to stop functioning, said Murphy.
“The last few months have been tough at our Marmite factory,” she said.
Out of stock
According to the store manager of Pick n Pay on Bird Street, Yusuf Oyekunle, the last time his store received Marmite stock was in July. The shelves where the spread usually stands are empty in his store, he said.
“If I look at our stock levels, most of our stores [in the Western Cape] don’t have stock of Marmite. Only a handful of stores have, like Parklands and Wynberg,” said Oyekunle.
There is “definitely” a high demand for the product in the local Pick n Pay, Oyekunle said.
“For every time I buy 20 [Marmite jars], I sell 20 out…So, I am not really sitting with the stock,” he said.
The last time Spar’s Western Cape distribution house received Marmite stock from Pioneer Foods was on 24 August, said Thato Nlapo, the category manager for condiments and spreads.
Locals will no longer need to stock up on Marmite. Since the move to lockdown level 1, breweries can once again supply yeast to Pioneer Foods, the producers and distributors of the product. PHOTO: Rebecca Pitt
According to Nlapo, Spar stores would not have been able to get more stock if the stores had run out.
The Paul Roos Spar in Stellenbosch has been out of the product for almost a month now, said Aziza Raymers, manager at the store.
“Every two days someone is coming to ask for Marmite,” she said. “There was one customer who wanted to use Marmite in a new recipe and she couldn’t find Marmite anywhere in Stellenbosch,” Raymers said.