Australian take on a British product
Chemist CP Callister invented Vegemite in Melbourne in 1923 when Australian food manufacturer Fred Walker asked him to create a spread similar to British Marmite.
Vegemite was initially slow to catch on but sales improved in 1930 when Walker secured the Australian rights to Kraft's processed cheese and co-marketed it with Vegemite.
During the Second World War, Vegemite captured the Australian market. Marmite was unobtainable and the Australian Army supplied Vegemite to its troops.
In the 1950s and 60s, despite acquisition by the American company Kraft, Vegemite became a distinctively 'Australian' food. It featured in songs, on souvenirs and other popular culture ephemera. Vegemite returned to Australian ownership in 2017 when purchased by dairy company Bega.
