No more Marmite chicken? Iconic umami spread vanishes from Singapore supermarket shelves

AI generated

SINGAPORE – Marmite: You either love it or you hate it. And for those who love it, disappointment is on the menu.

Shoppers across Singapore are being met with empty shelves as Marmite, the iconic yeast extract spread known for its fierce umami flavour, quietly vanished from major supermarkets islandwide.

Checks conducted by The Straits Times on July 24 found that the savoury condiment is out of stock across the country’s major grocery chains, including FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage and Giant.

Representatives from Sheng Siong and Giant confirmed to ST that the spread is currently unavailable, with Cold Storage stating that the product was discontinued by the supplier about three months ago.

Meanwhile, FairPrice said it is working on diversifying its sources “to bring in alternative overseas stocks”.

Posts on social media suggest that Unilever Asia – the regional distributor that carries Marmite in Singapore – has discontinued the product here.

A post on Facebook on July 16 showed a screenshot of a notice which said Unilever Asia delisted the spread from its portfolio starting from April 1.

The notice cited “continued service challenges from the sourcing unit due to tight capacity caused by unexpected long-term major production line down”.

This affects Marmite’s 100g, 200g and 410g pack sizes, said the notice.

Another post on Meta’s Threads on July 22 contained a screenshot of what looked like a reply from Unilever Singapore to a customer saying that “we no longer carry the Marmite brand in Singapore”.

In the reply, the company said “products are deleted where insufficient consumer sales and limited retail distribution occurs”. It added that as a product’s sales decline, “the competition to remain on limited supermarket shelf space becomes extreme”.

ST has contacted Unilever for more information.

According to Reuters, between late 2025 and early 2026, Unilever considered selling historic British brands including Marmite and Bovril – a similar but thinner beef extract paste – to simplify the company’s portfolio.

Marmite was once a common sight in Singapore supermarkets.

But staff at one FairPrice outlet said the product has been missing from its inventory for several months. Employees at a Sheng Siong store said that they had not received shipments of either Marmite or Bovril recently.

At CS Fresh in Plaza Singapura, price tags for Marmite remain, but no products are in sight. Even Mustafa Centre, known for its massive and varied inventory, no longer has any jars in stock.

In Singapore, Marmite is often enjoyed as a traditional British-style toast spread, but has also been uniquely integrated into local cuisine.

Many Chinese zi char stalls feature the brand in popular dishes such as Marmite chicken and Marmite pork ribs.

Some locals even stir in a small amount of Marmite into plain rice porridge to add a rich umami flavour.

Some fans are disappointed about the absence of Marmite at supermarket shelves.

“There goes my childhood, stirring a spoonful of Marmite into hot water and just drinking it. I used to do that for my kid as well,” said a 54-year-old woman who wanted to be known only as Sin.

Britain-imported Marmite can still be found through online sellers, though supplies are rapidly dwindling and prices have surged.

On Shopee, most listings are out of stock as at July 24, though some sellers are offering the tiny 8g packs of Marmite for $4.50 a portion – a steep hike compared with FairPrice’s now sold-out 200g jar, which previously retailed at $7.08.

Over on RedMart, Lazada’s online grocery arm, the same 200g jar is being sold at $24.

However, there remains a glimmer of hope for fans.

According to the Threads post, Unilever Singapore said to the customer: “(We) heard your concern about your interest with Marmite and don’t worry, hopefully we might still consider bringing it back in the future.”