Vegemite cheaper to buy in England than Australia

A beloved Aussie food product is cheaper to buy in England than it is on home soil - where it has been made since the 1920s.

Aussies are having to fork out more for a beloved Australian household staple on home soil than they would overseas.

A jar of Vegemite – made in Australia since 1923 – is cheaper to buy in England than on Aussie shelves in Coles and Woolworths.

For Brits, a 220g jar of the iconic breakfast spread will cost £2.20 ($A4.25) or £1.00 ($A1.93)/100g from UK retailer Tesco.

The same jar will set Aussies back $5 from Coles.

In Woolworths, a slightly larger 280g jar of Vegemite – which can only be purchased in a 280g quantity from Woolworths – costs $6.20 or $2.21/100g.

Brits can buy a 220g of Vegemite for $4.25 from Tesco. Picture: Tesco

In Coles, the same jar will cost $5.00. Picture: Coles

Coles and Woolworths did not wish to comment when contacted by news.com.au. Bega Cheese Limited, which owns Vegemite, was also contacted but has yet to respond by the time of publication.

‘Outrage’

It comes after the price of a 560g jar of vegemite earlier outraged shoppers after a Woolworths customer shared a photo of the spread on sale for the “low price” of $9.40 on social media last year.

“It’s nearly 10 bucks for Vegemite now? And this is a low price?” Reddit user DarkLake shared on the social media platform alongside a photo of a jar.

The price was part of Woolworths’ campaign to address cost of living pressures in the lead-up to the holidays, which saw a range of products officially discounted last year through the Prices Dropped for Christmas and Low Prices campaigns.

A 560g jar costs the same from Woolworths and Coles today.

The 560g jar of Vegemite was on sale for the ‘low price’ of $9.40. Picture: Reddit

At the time, commentators took aim at the supermarket giant for charging high prices on the household staple.

“Feed your family for under $10,” one person joked with reference to chef Curtis Stone and Coles’ former “Feed your Family” campaign – which has since been mocked heavily online.

“How they put the “LOW PRICE” tag to try and convince us feels patronising to me,” wrote a second.

“We need an insider at Coles and Woolies to start showing the cost price of stuff. Actually show how much price gouging is going on,” a third person posted.

“It’s still overpriced, it would be so cheap to make,” another commentator said in response to people defending the price.

“It’s also over half a kilo of Vegemite. I reckon that would last the average person a long while,” one defender replied.

“Yeah I get its pricey, but that’s a huge jar. Doesn’t seem super unreasonable to me,” added another.

“That’s a bloody outrage, it is!” one person insisted.

ACCC takes Coles and Woolies to court

The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) last week announced it would be launching legal action against Coles and Woolworths for allegedly making misleading claims about discounts.

The ACCC alleged both major supermarkets temporarily hiked prices by at least 15 per cent before slapping them with promotional discount stickers at prices higher than before the hike.

The watchdog said Woolworths did this for 266 products in its Prices Dropped promotion over a period of 20 months, while Coles did it for 245 products in its Down Down promotion across 15 months.

The ACCC announced it would be launching legal action against Coles and Woolworths for allegedly making misleading claims about discounts. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

In scathing comments, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb slammed Coles and Woolworths, saying they breached the Australian Consumer Law by making “misleading claims about discounts when the discounts were, in fact, illusory”.

She said the supermarkets’ actions were deliberate, alleging that “both Woolworths and Coles had already planned to later place the products on a Prices Dropped or Down Down promotion before the price spike and implemented the temporary price spike for the purpose of establishing a higher ‘was’ price.”

Woolworths said it would “carefully review” the claims, while Coles said it intended to defend itself.

Woolworths said it would “carefully review” the claims while Coles said it intended to defend itself. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Meanwhile, the federal government announced last week it would launch a draft of a new grocery code that could slap major supermarkets with multimillion-dollar penalties for serious breaches.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said consumers deserved to “get a fair go when families are doing it tough”, adding that Australians needed a “tough consumer cop on the beat”.

“These are serious allegations that the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is bringing before the courts. If this is found to be true, it’s completely unacceptable,” Mr Albanese told reporters.

“This is not the Australian spirit. Customers don’t deserve to be treated as fools by the supermarkets. They deserve much, much better than that.”

The Federal Court will review the ACCC filings. A court date has not been set.