After all, the rest of Europe rejected its unique taste whilst we embraced it. Indeed, the fact that the rest of the world just doesn't ‘get’ Marmite is a large part of its appeal.

With sales topping 23.5 million, Marmite is one of (if not the) UK's most popular savoury spread, dominating the meat and vegetable extract market in a way Bovril and Vegemite can only dream of (although Marmite and Bovril enjoy close association, and have done since the 1930s).

According to Marmite’s official website, 25 per cent of us pack Marmite in our bags when we go away. But imagine the mess if a big jar of Marmite leaked in your luggage! The beloved British blend is also one of the most requested products in stores around the world catering for expats. Although, it can be so tricky to get hold of that many travellers and expats rely on specialist mail-order companies to deliver their cherished condiment, along with their PG Tips, Heinz Baked Beans and HP Sauce.

Kay McMahon, editor of British Expat.com lives in New Delhi, where she spends her days craving Walkers crisps and Arbroath smokies. Although she hates Marmite, her husband craves it…

It's relatively easy to get most things here, although imported foodstuffs can be expensive. I confess we lugged out a few big jars of Marmite in our hand luggage – unaware that it would be so easy to get here!

Family Favourite

Loved by all the family (but especially kids), good old-fashioned Marmite is something most of us grew up with, and consequently hold very dear.

Many of us are introduced to the dark stuff at a young age and carry on our love for it through to adulthood. Indeed, by the 1970s, the pungent paste had triggered the advertising slogan: “The growing up spread you never grow out of”.

And this is certainly a justified point – most of us never will grow out of Marmite. And not only do we stand by our beloved blend, it also conjures up incredibly fond childhood memories in most Brits, triggering a strong sense of nostalgia in its most hardened fans, and unequivocal fondness in its more on-the-fence followers.

Thoughts of being a kid again usually include an affectionate Marmite memory or two. Think about it: Marmite and cheese sandwiches soggying nicely in your school lunchbox…Marmite on toast in bed when feeling poorly (or pretending to anyway…) Marmite soldiers and dippy egg…

Then as a parent, Marmite comes full circle and becomes the saviour of breakfast time quibbles when hungry but fussy eaters refuse to eat anything else. And there is no feeling like the smugness felt when one manages to scrape just enough Marmite from the jar for another piece of toast – especially whilst living off the contents of a student house kitchen.

This abiding ability that Marmite has to penetrate itself into people’s lives and memories must be a marketing wet dream. Marmite has an incredibly strong advertising heritage; indeed, the nation’s favourite piquant paste can attribute its huge and long-lasting popularity to decades of heart-warming and very clever advertising campaigns. The Love it/Hate it advertising campaign (which began in 1996) arguably stands out in most people’s minds as the most memorable and intelligently intuitive.


Generation to generation

A long-standing British institution and true culinary treasure – Marmite links young and old, rich and poor, gourmet chefs and midnight snackers. The nation’s favourite toast topper celebrated its 100th birthday in 2002, and public demand for the unique and intensely flavoursome foodstuff shows no signs of waning.

Most UK households have a jar in their kitchen cupboards (by the way Marmite can last for years unspoiled, just try and keep the butter knife out of it), the vast majority of British expatriates continue to long for it, and generation upon generation are swearing their allegiance to the dark stuff  – long live our mate, Marmite!