Vegemite launches new product for first time since Bega bought company five years ago

Aussies have reacted after Vegemite launched a new flavour combination for the first time since the company returned to local hands.

It’s the combination of two Aussie classics that iconic brand Vegemite is hoping will put a rose in every cheek.

The company is launching Vegemite & Cheese - which is old-fashioned Vegemite mixed with cream cheese - designed for those who have not tried the savoury spread before.

From Thursday, the new product will be rolled out across all supermarket shelves nationally and replace the brand’s previous Cheesybite product.

Austrlaians have mixed views on the flavour, with News Corp readers saying “don’t mess with it”, to “don’t knock it till you have tried it”.

The arrival of Vegemite & Cheese marks the first time the Bega logo has appeared on a Vegemite product since Bega Cheese returned the iconic brand’s ownership to Australian hands in 2017.

Executive general manager of Bega Foods, Adam McNamara, said the blend of the two ingredients - Vegemite and cheese - had taken a year to develop from the “idea generation to the execution”.

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Happy little vegemites ... Keri Morrison, with son Maxwell, and Jade Smith,,son Oliver. Picture: supplied

“Covid definitely did impact the company,” he said. “What we saw was consumer behaviour and eating habits shifted and with lockdowns there was more in-home consumption of products.

“As a result, we saw a high level of consumption of Vegemite and our other spreads, given people were eating at home and not necessarily going out or breakfast, or they weren’t having breakfast on the run.

“So that certainly saw a change in behaviour associated with Covid and an increase in consumption associated with that with Vegemite.”

Mr McNamara said Aussies should expect to see more products launched next year, when the iconic spread marks its 100 year anniversary.

“We have a pipeline of new products which we will be looking to bring to the market in future years, but we can’t reveal too much yet,” he said.

“What we can say is that people will continue to see not only innovation, but also collaborations to the market, where we will work with other brands.”

Vegemite’s new packaging and name. Picture: supplied

The move comes Bega’s push into higher-value branded products as it moves away from being a company that had previously just supplied milk and cheese to others.

Bega’s $460m acquisition of Vegemite and peanut butter from Kraft four years ago gave it a range of brands it could sell to shoppers and also help protect it from swings in milk prices.

However Bega is still feeling the pinch of milk prices with the company’s shares coming under pressure in recent weeks, after it revealed intense competition was forcing it to pay a higher price for milk at the farm gate.

In December, mining multi-billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest also bought a 6.6 per cent stake in Bega. Shares in the company are down 7.3 per cent since the start of January.