For 100 years Australians have cherished Vegemite, a thick and salty black paste made from yeast extract mixed with various vegetable and spice additives.
It has a notoriously acquired taste.
A common way of eating Vegemite is on toast atop a layer of butter. Only a very small amount of Vegemite is required due to its strong flavour. Nutella it ain’t.
The Vegemite back story is interesting. In 1919, following the disruption of British Marmite imports after World War I, the Australian company Fred Walker & Co. gave Cyril Callister the task of developing a spread from the used yeast that was being dumped by the Carlton & United Breweries in Melbourne, Victoria.
Vegemite first hit stores on 25 October 1923.
Early advertising emphasised the value of Vegemite to children's health, due to it being a rich source of B vitamins. Sales were slow until Walker had the idea to piggyback the success of Kraft Walker Cheese (his joint venture with US-based Kraft Foods) to promote Vegemite. In a two-year campaign to build sales, a small jar of Vegemite was given away free with his processed cheese products … and a match made in heaven was born.
In Australia during World War II, Vegemite was included in Australian Army rations, creating some scarcity, and making hearts grow progressively fonder back at home. And indeed, by the late 1940s, Vegemite was being used in nine out of ten Australian homes. Its iconic status was established.
Vegemite's rise to popularity was given a further boost by marketing campaigns created by J. Walter Thompson advertising that began in 1954, using groups of smiling, healthy children singing a catchy jingle titled "We're happy little Vegemites".
Most Australians would know these lyrics:
“We're happy little Vegemites, as bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea.
Our mummies say we're growing stronger ev'ry single week
Because we love our Vegemite, we all adore our Vegemite,
It puts a rose in every cheek.”
First aired on radio in 1954, the jingle was transferred to television in 1956. This advertising campaign continued until the late 1960s but, as it was targeted to children, it was discontinued in favour of ads promoting the product to all ages.
The Vegemite brand returned to Australian ownership when it was acquired by cheese maker Bega Group in 2017. Vegemite is made at their Port Melbourne manufacturing facility, which produces more than 22 million jars annually. Its composition is virtually unchanged from Callister's original recipe.
No products or brand has been embraced with the same amount of love, as the Vegemite brand has been in Australia. It’s completely woven into the fabric of the nation, and is the black sticky thread that connects expatriate and travelling Australians all over the world. As the new brand owners are keen to point out: “It isn’t just owned and made in Australia; it tastes like Australia.”
But once again, and whatever you do, don’t spread it on too thickly. Less is definitely more.
Story Idea: Remo Giuffré
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Personal Postscript
Heather Mitchell is a long time friend of Remo. Heather has a delightful pastime. In addition to being an acclaimed actor, she’s a talented visual artist who paints portraits of her fellow cast and crew on toast using Vegemite.
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegemite
vegemite.com.au
abc.net.au/news/2023-10-25/vegemite-celebrates-100-anniversary
theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/25/vegemite-100-years-anniversary-australia-national-treasure
broadsheet.com.au/sydney/art-and-design/article/sydney-actor-who-paints-portraits-her-cast-members-toast-vegemite
Images
1. Jar of Vegemite
2. Number 2 or 3 would be the smart choices
3. Inventor of Vegemite, Cyril P. Callister. Credit: Federation University.
4. War time ad for Vegemite, The Australian Women's Weekly, 13 June 1942
5. Happy Little Vegemites: "Make sure you put Vegemite next to the pepper and salt whenever you set the table."
6. Video: Happy Little Vegemites, Australian Television Archive
7. Happy Little Vegemites sheet music
8. Cinema advertisement shows Bob Gibson and his four-piece ensemble performing Happy Little Vegemites with the Vege-Mites singing group, 1954
9. Video: Down Under, Men At Work, 1981 … “He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich”.
10. Grandson of the creator of Vegemite, Jamie Callister, with his book about his grandfather's story. Credit: ABC Ballarat (Lexie Jeuniewic)
11. Too much Vegemite! Twitter responds to a Tom Hanks post.
12. Heather Mitchel with toast art on broadsheet.com. Photo: Kitti Gould.
13. Remo, Melanie, Lola and Roman on toast. Gift to Remo for his 60th birthday in 2020.
