UK consumers change course of Marmite price hike
Marketing managers are familiar with the importance brand loyalty. Across the pond, here’s how consumers fought back against increasing the cost of a popular product.
Don’t mess with the price of Marmite in the United Kingdom.
That’s the lesson that Unilever will learn from its latest dustup with the country’s largest retailer, Tesco.
On Wednesday, the company removed all Unilever products from its website after the Marmite maker called for a 10 percent hike on all of its products. Unilever blamed the pound’s falling value, which can be attributed to this past summer’s Brexit vote.
British journalists are casting Unilever as the villain. Many are referring to its owners as “greedy Marmite bosses” and calling their request for a price hike a “great Marmite scam.”
On Thursday, separate statements from each company acknowledged that the issue had been resolved.
From Unilever:
Unilever is pleased to confirm that the supply situation with Tesco in the UK and Ireland has now been successfully resolved. We have been working together closely to reach this resolution and ensure our much-loved brands are once again fully available. For all those that missed us, thanks for all the love.
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