Marmite

Marmite in brief

• Rank: #72 of 100 in UK's Most Powerful 100 Brands 2026; #7 of 14 in Consumer & FMCG.
• WCRC Power Score: 63.40 out of 100.
• Founded: 1902, by The Marmite Food Extract Company.
• Owner: Unilever PLC, London, England.
• Leadership: Fernando Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever.
• Latest revenue: €50.5bn revenue (FY2025, year to Dec 2025, -3.8%), group revenue of Unilever PLC, as per company filings.

What makes Marmite powerful

Marmite is one of the most recognisable food brands in Britain, defined by a flavour that divides opinion and a marketing line that embraces it. Its black jar with a yellow lid has been a feature of British kitchens for generations, and the brand has extended into snacks, peanut butter and other spin-offs that trade on its strong identity.

The brand sits within Unilever, a London-headquartered consumer goods group with 2025 turnover of €50.5bn and underlying sales growth of 3.5%. Unilever's Foods business, which includes household names such as Hellmann's and Knorr, generated €12.9bn of turnover. Marmite's link to the brewing industry, using spent yeast that would otherwise be waste, also gives it a story that fits modern interest in reducing food waste.

Marmite is made from spent brewer's yeast, a by-product of beer brewing, in Burton upon Trent.

Why Marmite ranks #72

Marmite ranks 72nd with a WCRC Power Score of 63.40, between Hendrick's above and Admiral below. Positioning and recall (68) is its strongest pillar, built on a love-it-or-hate-it identity few food brands can match in Britain, and trust (66) is solid. Sustainability and governance (60), digital and financial (60) and product and innovation (58) hold it back, as a small brand inside a Unilever Foods business heading for a merger with McCormick.

The Achilles' heel

Marmite is a small brand inside a giant group that is reshaping itself. Unilever has agreed to combine its Foods business with McCormick, with the merged company led from the US, so Marmite is likely to lose its British-headquartered owner. Its polarising taste also limits its appeal outside the UK and a few other markets, and supply depends on brewing by-products.

The 2026 story

In March 2026 Unilever announced a deal to combine its Foods business with McCormick, creating a food group in which Unilever shareholders will own 55.1%, McCormick shareholders 35% and Unilever 9.9%. McCormick's leadership will run the business from Hunt Valley, Maryland, with closing expected by mid-2027. Unilever, led by chief executive Fernando Fernandez, reported 2025 Foods turnover of €12.9bn. Marmite's place in the new structure should be confirmed.

Pillar profile

Provisional desk scores out of 100, for the WCRC Business Intelligence Unit to validate.

Versus its nearest rivals

Questions people ask

Also featured in

• Most powerful Consumer & FMCG brands
• Most powerful brands in England

Key facts

Sources

• Annual report and published financial results of Unilever PLC
• Company website, official announcements and press releases
• Published interviews and statements by the leadership
• WCRC Business Intelligence Unit research: consumer sentiment, ratings and reviews, search demand, media and social data