It was shocking to hear that Marmite - the iconic 'love it or hate it' product - was to be removed from all supermarket stores with immediate effect. Due to my warm affection for the distinct, salty paste, I was extremely saddened by this and intended to stock up Marmite, as if a hurricane was imminent. It was more surprising and unexpected however. One day the Marmite was there, the next it wasn't. Was 'Marmitegate' just a blip; a tiny ripple in our future outside the European Union? Or was this a forecast of Brexit Britain? Where companies withdraw investment and products from the UK? Where jobs, businesses and people's livelihoods are at risk?
The dispute began between the major supermarket 'Tesco's' and their Marmite supplier Unilever. Because of the weakening of the pound due to our vote to leave the EU, the price of purchasing products from factories and sending them to retailers vastly increased. This resulted in Unilever wanting supermarkets to raise prices for customers, so the burden of higher prices was sorted. However, the supermarkets, quite rightly, refused, meaning Marmite would be taken off shelves for the considerable future. Almost straight away, there was uproar on all social medias. Many were furious at Unilever for forcing prices up and angry at those who voted leave, seeing our vote as a direct correlation, and causation, of higher prices. Vast swathes of people were buying Marmite in bulk or boycotting Unilever products all together in protest. The whole situation was getting rather sticky. Eventually, supermarkets and Unilever agreed a deal where, thankfully, Marmite would continue to be sold and not disappear. While this was a positive, I do not think it will be the end of the trade and business argument. Interestingly, Marmite is produced, and has been produced for the last century, in the UK: Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. Only 15% is exported abroad and 27 jars are sold every minute in the UK. This shows how, even in a company which doesn't have to import loads of products, the pricing will still be affected. Many local residents in Burton have stopped buying Unilever products and say the company is just trying to unnecessarily increase profits. Prices in Unilever only shops remain vastly cheap, whereas normal supermarkets have to bear the burden. While I understand the need for both the supplier and retailer to make a profit, I wish it wasn't the customer that had to suffer the end result. We are all oblivious as to what future trade plans will involve and result in. I can imagine many food products increasing in price and the cost of living on the rise. I worry the most for small businesses; reliant on trade to succeed and struggling; workers having livelihoods outsourced but most importantly the consumer - paying more for the same product of the same quality, having to budget more tightly and be restrictive, limiting what they can afford to do and how they succeed. Or maybe I'm just being fearful.
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