Vegemite sales soar during the COVID—19 pandemic as Australians eat it on more than just toast
Australia has been surviving lockdown by turning to one of its most iconic spreads — Vegemite. But it’s not just on toast. See how we are consuming it for more than just breakfast.
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Exclusive: Australia has been surviving lockdown by turning to one of its most iconic spreads — Vegemite.
The brand has seen sales of its products skyrocket by more than 55 per cent across the country compared to the same time last year.
According to its parent company, Bega Cheese, the three top performing spreads are Vegemite Less Salt which has seen a 181 per cent increase, followed by the original Vegemite recipe that has risen in sales by 118 per cent.
Vegemite’s Gluten-Free option was in third place with sales up 74 per cent.
Bega Foods Head of Marketing Matt Gray told News Corp the company had also seen a spike in online traffic for its recipes.
“Our cheesy Vegemite hot cross buns were our most visited recipe on Vegemite.com.au during March and April, closely followed by our Vegemite glazed chicken drumsticks and our cheese and Vegemite Scrolls.”
The demand comes as Vegemite was also crowned as one of Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands in 2020, where it took out the Australian Iconic brand category yesterday.
Vegemite’s popularity has also hit the nation’s cooks, with Australia’s largest No. 1 food site Taste.com.au seeing recipe searches increase by more than 50 per cent for comfort food favourites like cheese and Vegemite scrolls, five ingredient Vegemite pasta, cheesy mite scrolls and Vegemite beef pies.
Taste.com.au Food Director Michelle Southan said Vegemite can be one of those secret pantry ingredients and used in ways most of us wouldn’t even think of.
“On one hand, Vegemite can be used when your cooking with your kids to make scrolls and pasta and on the other hand it’s a quick and easy way to boost flavour and add saltiness to recipes like our beef pies or even bolognese,” she said.
But Australians are not just baking with Vegemite — they are also ordering it in with their takeaway.
Data from Menulog obtained by News Corp has also shown Vegemite toast and sandwiches remain steady, with these being a constant favourite.
But Vegemite-inspired dishes that have been recently ordered include Vegemite pizza, gyoza, chicken, mac ‘n cheese and ribs.
The popular spread also made world headlines when Hollywood actor Tom Hanks uploaded a photo to social media showing his piece of toast bathed in the spread while he was recovering from COVID-19 on the Gold Coast.
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Fans mocked him for how much he had used, which prompted him to admit he now knew “not to spread my Vegemite so thick”.
He also joked about it when he hosted Saturday Night Live and pretended to be an Australian man who asked: “I’ve got a question for Tommy Tim Tam, what’s the right proper way to get a daily dose of your Vegemite?”
The camera then cut back to Hanks who laughed before saying: “Enough of that”.
In response to the craze, Vegemite is hosting some quarantine cuisine classes led by former MasterChef winner Adam Liaw from today on Zoom at 5pm AEST.