Branding Marmite

Brands communicate their values through many facets including how they are packaged, promoted or marketed. Marmite, a British breakfast or savory spread, communicates its values in its various evolutions of containers. Analyzing two containers, one from after the 1920’s and second the current container, differences and similarities in how the product is and was used and what was and is important to consumers of both time periods are evident.

Both containers are small, round and brown with yellow lids that screw onto the jars. Similarities include the red banner with large white letters, small yellow pot labeled Marmite and color scheme of a white center, green ring under the banner, and a yellow perimeter. The Marmite label has stayed essentially the same, allowing the product to be recognizable or created a product image. This is helpful in increasing revenue because the product is more well-known and sales may increase due to brand loyalty and being able to easily recognize the product. This continuity also communicates the value of this company in having a loyal following of customers because the similarity of the product means it has not tried to alter who is buying the product. Anyone who eats breakfast in England or enjoys the savory addition in other meals, most of the population, would then be the target consumer group for Marmite.

The older container that was created after the 1920s and the container used today have several differences from one another that communicate life differences between the two time periods. First, the older jar was made out of glass with a metal lid as opposed to the modern squeezable plastic container with a hard plastic lid. This is important to note because it tells us what materials were common or available, which would be determined by economic conditions and cultural norms.

The squeezable container suggests today’s users of Marmite are more interested in convenience due to the ability to squirt marmite as opposed to the necessity of the older jar of spreading the marmite with a utensil. In the past when people were not as fast-moving or busy as today and there was often a family member whose sole job was to take care of home duties including cooking, using a kniwfe to evenly spread Marmite may have been more appealing. Also, the change in material used to make the container displays what could have been important to the consumer and/or Marmite company. The material may have changed due to the availability of plastic through the years or could have been altered due to cost of material in order for the company to manufacture the same product for less to gain a larger profit. It also may have adapted to a form that was lighter, less breakable and in keeping with today’s society’s desire to more often throw out consumer goods. In the past the squeezable container may not yet have been invented or may have been difficult to produce.

Another important aspect of Marmite’s communication of its values is the cultural shift evident in the differing of the words that appear on the product. The older container says “savoury and good” in red letters at the bottom of the label and has 4oz and 113g in black on either side of the picture of marmite on the label. In addition the lid displays the white Marmite wording on the red banner with the words “Spread thinly. Delicious in sandwiches or on toast. Add just a small spoonful for rich tempting soups, stews and gravies.” The modern day marmite lacks all three of these wordings. The modern container says “yeast extract” under the red banner, and instead of a small slogan displays the words “Rich in B vitamins” and “100% Vegetarian” and is without words of any kind on the lid. These changes suggest differences in how the product may be used or the differences between what appealed to people in the past as opposed to what is alluring in the present. A simply worded slogan may have been popular in the past while substituting the words with factual info about the product would be useful to people buying marmite in the present who are more concerned with health factors and ingredients. Clearly defining what is in marmite as opposed to what it could be used for would make more sense for modern consumers who can use the Internet, or what they and others have done in the past as a reference for Marmite recipes and uses. Another possibility for Marmite which has existed for decades, it that the slogan may be famous enough that it would not have to be written, because it is already associated with the product through memory or in pop culture.