Marmite’s worst nightmare—Vegemite—has the upper hand in the South Pacific battle for toast-spread supremacy. As New Zealanders struggle through a nationwide shortage of Marmite, a thick, black salty spread made from yeast extract most commonly eaten on bread, some have resorted to eating Vegemite (gasp!), the Australian take on the same idea.
The February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch damaged the country’s only Marmite factory, which closed in November for repairs and won’t open again until July.
