For 100 years Australians have cherished Vegemite. 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. [Ed: Nutella it ain’t.]
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.
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 was made in heaven.
In Australia during World War II, Vegemite was included in Army rations, creating some scarcity, and making hearts grow progressively fonder back at home. By the late 1940s, Vegemite was being used in nine out of ten Australian homes and its iconic status was established.
Vegemite’s rise to popularity was given a further boost in 1954 by marketing campaigns created by J. Walter Thompson advertising, 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.”
Watch the video below and/or watch an adorable 1954 studio version HERE.
First aired on radio in 1954, the jingle was transferred to television in 1956. This advertising campaign continued until the late 1960s when, 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.
But novices beware, don’t spread it on too thickly. Less is definitely more.
Personal Postscript
Heather Mitchell is a long-time Remo friend. In addition to being an acclaimed Australian actor, she’s a talented visual artist who paints portraits of her fellow cast and crew on toast using Vegemite.
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