Star comment: Love it or hate it, we got Brexit
This was one scare story that was never aired during the referendum campaign. Why were we not told that Marmite was under threat?
The battle royal between two corporate giants, Tesco, Britain's largest retailer, and Unilever, Britain's biggest food and grocery firm, has its comical elements, but underlying it is a serious issue.
Tesco has cast itself in the role of the consumers' champion, and is painting Unilever as the villain.
Unilever wants to put up its prices but Tesco wants to stand up for consumers, or at least that is the way things are coming across from Tesco's public relations machine.
It is unusual in that the dispute is being played out in public. Consumers noticed something was up when Unilever products like Marmite, PG Tips and Pot Noodles became unavailable on Tesco's online site.
This has a dimension which goes beyond commercial arm-wrestling between heavyweights. So... is Brexit to blame?
Unilever says it is putting up prices because of the drop in the pound's value. It is fairly obvious that the pound has fallen in value as a result of the referendum vote, as the beginning of the slide coincided exactly with that night when it became clear Britain had voted to leave the EU.
As economists and politicians wade in with their own takes, things get murky. A falling pound makes imports more expensive but, according to the Government, Marmite is made entirely in Britain entirely from British ingredients. So why the price rise?
There are economists, too, who see positives from the fall in the value of the pound.
As metaphors are much in vogue to describe the impact of the Brexit vote, we can say that these are the swings and roundabouts you get from the bumps in the road on a rollercoaster ride amid stormy seas.
If imported goods are going to soar in price, it is a good reason to support our Fair Deal For Farmers campaign and buy local produce, locally.
There are some who have not reconciled themselves to the implications of what happened on June 23 who are inclined to look for reasons to be able to say "we told you so", and will continue to do so if there are further consequences like rising inflation.
But this is a new world and we are starting to adjust to it and what it means. The cliche is that there are opportunities to be seized. If you have an unopened jar of Marmite in your larder, that is true – just think what you could get for it.
