# What's with the new Vegemite?



## bowman (31 August 2009)

It's been a clever advertising campaign, but I've yet to be tempted to try it.

What's the go here?


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## Gillie (31 August 2009)

My kids have been eating it for a while now. They seem to like it. It isn't as strong tasting as the original vegemite.


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## Krusty the Klown (31 August 2009)

Its basically a blander version of the real Vegemite.

I reckon they are trying to appeal to an international market with it.


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## bowman (31 August 2009)

Going for the US market?

Good luck with that, LOL.

I guess I won't be rushing out to buy it as I quite like the strong original flavour - spread very thinly of course.


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## Krusty the Klown (31 August 2009)

Its just original vegemite mixed with cream cheese.


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## wayneL (31 August 2009)

I always wondered what was with the old vegemite, 

Uurgghh!


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## Sean K (31 August 2009)

A Spanish girl in the office in Lima here became addicted to the old Vegemite. Had it on toast for morning tea every day.

No body else in Latin America would go near it. 

I am very disappointed to hear they're changing the recipe. 

Damn Kraft!

Or Phillip Morris, 

or whoever owns them now.


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## ThingyMajiggy (31 August 2009)

They aren't changing the recipe are they? 

I thought they were keeping both, the original and this new one. I quite like it, its less like "wtf is this, am I eating the road?" than the original. 

Was hilarious the other day, saw some asians trying it for the first time, they had the look on their face like a toddler does when you give them a lemon for the first time, I don't think they liked it


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## LeeTV (31 August 2009)

We bought some for the kids. It's basically like claytons, the Vegemite you have when your not having Vegemite. Very average imo. Even my 3yr old asks for the _real _Vegemite. I have a new name for it "Claytons Vegemite".


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## Krusty the Klown (31 August 2009)

ThingyMajiggy said:


> They aren't changing the recipe are they?




As far as I know they are keeping the original. It would be commercial suicide to can the original. Think "New Coke".



> Was hilarious the other day, saw some asians trying it for the first time, they had the look on their face like a toddler does when you give them a lemon for the first time, I don't think they liked it




That was probably the same look I had on my face when I saw this doco on Mongolian shepherds, who don't use milk in their coffee - they use rancid yak fat!


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## sails (31 August 2009)

wayneL said:


> I always wondered what was with the old vegemite,
> 
> Uurgghh!




Perhaps one has to be born and bred with it to like it! 
I think people new to it spread it too thick as if it were jam.  
Perhaps the secret is to spread  the vegemite quite thin with lots of butter... yum


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## wayneL (31 August 2009)

sails said:


> Perhaps one has to be born and bred with it to like it!
> I think people new to it spread it too thick as if it were jam.
> Perhaps the secret is to spread  the vegemite quite thin with lots of butter... yum




I reckon so. I've tried everything to like it, but just can't. It's not the saltiness or strong taste, I love anchovies, soy sauce... anything like that. Heck, I'll even drink that repulsive XXXX if no half decent beer is available.

Vegemite though... a definite no. :frown:


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## Trembling Hand (31 August 2009)

I fear for the direction foods taking. You can see the influence the yanks are having in changing centuries of great food culture in Italy.

And the mess they are making of imported food/food traditions inside of the States. Just scary. Quantity is the yardstick, literally, for the yanks. This new vegemite is is just another example of the unhealthy relationship they have with food. Next they will be selling Vegemite lite!! 

No better example of the bastardisation of food than the move in NY to "all you can eat" sushi & sashimi FFS!!! Talk about missing the point.


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## sails (31 August 2009)

wayneL said:


> I reckon so. I've tried everything to like it, but just can't. It's not the saltiness or strong taste, I love anchovies, soy sauce... anything like that. Heck, I'll even drink that repulsive XXXX if no half decent beer is available.
> 
> Vegemite though... a definite no. :frown:




Whenever we have been overseas for a while, it would have to be vegemite and roast pumpkin that we crave the most!

I hope they don't mess with the original - it's great the way it is.  But then I'm hungry - had a root canal started this morning and too numb to eat yet.  Some jatz with butter and vegemite is making the mouth water - think I need to find another thread for while!


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## bowman (31 August 2009)

Trembling Hand said:


> No better example of the bastardisation of food than the move in NY to "all you can eat" sushi & sashimi FFS!!! Talk about missing the point.




That's classic! If they can't supersize it, there's always another way to shove more down your throat.

Oh well, at least it's not drenched in fat and sugar.


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## websman (31 August 2009)

Vegemite will never catch on over here.  Us yanks hate vegemite,


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## GumbyLearner (31 August 2009)

websman said:


> Vegemite will never catch on over here.  Us yanks hate vegemite,




I agree haven't met a yank yet that likes vegemite. Likewise for Starbucks in Australia. It just won't work in the States.


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## bowman (31 August 2009)

websman said:


> Vegemite will never catch on over here.  Us yanks hate vegemite,




I agree.  But that's OK by me. After all Vegemite is made from used brewer's yeast - a waste product from beer making so it's eminently Australian. 

Now for God's sake tell me who came up with spray cheese in a can. 

Sounds like acid casualties from the 60's are now working in your food manufacturing industry. :


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## websman (31 August 2009)

bowman said:


> I agree.  But that's OK by me. After all Vegemite is made from used brewer's yeast - a waste product from beer making so it's eminently Australian.
> 
> Now for God's sake tell me who came up with spray cheese in a can.
> 
> Sounds like acid casualties from the 60's are now working in your food manufacturing industry. :




Spray cheese?  yuck!   I used to like it as a kid, but hate it now.   You're right...Some old hippie probably got stoned and invented it.


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## Happy (31 August 2009)

Gillie said:


> My kids have been eating it for a while now. They seem to like it. It isn't as strong tasting as the original vegemite.




I suspect that they reduced salt content.


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## moXJO (31 August 2009)

Trembling Hand said:


> No better example of the bastardisation of food than the move in NY to "all you can eat" sushi & sashimi FFS!!! Talk about missing the point.




Hey TH are you just back from holidays from the US? Did your stomach supersize from their food


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## Trembling Hand (31 August 2009)

moXJO said:


> Hey TH are you just back from holidays from the US? Did your stomach supersize from their food




Yep just back. I didn't gain weight but since i clocked up about 80Ks in overnight walks in the mountains + about 60 ks of running training + the usual tourist on the feet all day it would of been a big achievement.

What I did find ridiculous was the sizing of serves. The quality is still good if you take the time to find it, as applies anywhere I guess, but the size of everything just stupidly big. Its like order 1 dish for two people. No wonder there is such a **** fight over public funded healthcare. I wouldn't want to pay the bill either.


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## Gillie (31 August 2009)

Happy said:


> I suspect that they reduced salt content.




WOuld also be the cream cheese they put in it.


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## tech/a (31 August 2009)

*Vegemate*


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## bowman (31 August 2009)

tech/a said:


> *Vegemate*




Is that your new name proposal?

I like it.


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## drsmith (31 August 2009)

Gillie said:


> WOuld also be the cream cheese they put in it.



I suppose that will depend on how much salt is in the cream cheese.

According to Choice Vegemite contains 3380mg of sodium per 100g.


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## moXJO (31 August 2009)

how about
*vegegag*  or perhaps *vegevom*


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## Tink (31 August 2009)

LOL

I dont really like Vegemite(original), though my kids do

Mixed with cream cheese - sounds just smashing


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## Happy (31 August 2009)

drsmith said:


> ....
> 
> According to Choice Vegemite contains 3380mg of sodium per 100g.





Thank heavens other foods are lower in salt content as our kidneys can only neutralise 100 mg per 100 g.

Hope people are not surprised to have high blood pressure with all the fun from that, or kidney failure.


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## Prospector (31 August 2009)

tech/a said:


> *Vegemate*




Hey Tech, my hubby submitted that name in the Competition.  He couldnt believe that no-one else has submitted it!  If a name had already been submitted then you couldnt re-submit it.

My son hates vegemite.  But we were in Sydney for the 2000 Games, and on Darling Harbour there were cameras everywhere doing stories.  He was with two other kids when a TV crew approached them and asked them to eat this stuff called Vegemite. So never one to shirk a good picture, Son scoffed the lot and said he loved it.  But has never eaten it since!

The new version of vegemite tastes like creamy vegemite without the salt.  We prefer the original.


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## DAZT49 (31 August 2009)

Vegeshoite


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## moXJO (31 August 2009)

DAZT49 said:


> Vegeshoite




Hehe vege$hite has my vote


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## tech/a (31 August 2009)

"P"

OK I'll come clean--8000 posts and you've sprung me.

Meet you in the kitchen in 10.

Hubby.


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## jono1887 (31 August 2009)

websman said:


> Vegemite will never catch on over here.  Us yanks hate vegemite,




Isn't vegemite banned in USA?? You cant take it through customs!


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## drsmith (31 August 2009)

It's not banned in USA but I do recall reading somewhere today that Kraft don't put their brand name on the product in the USA.


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## Julia (31 August 2009)

Marmite is better.


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## websman (1 September 2009)

jono1887 said:


> Isn't vegemite banned in USA?? You cant take it through customs!




Our constitution says that we have the "right to bear arms"...It does not say that we have the right to "bear vegemite".


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## Prospector (1 September 2009)

tech/a said:


> "P"
> 
> OK I'll come clean--8000 posts and you've sprung me.
> 
> ...




Hell      You are supposed to be facilitating a training session at Football Park right now!   

Wouldnt that be funny though, two partners in a forum and both spilling their guts and neither knowing the other is a participant.


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## LeeTV (2 September 2009)

Julia said:


> Marmite is better.



While in England I had to switch to Marmite and while tasting a little different to Vegemite it's quite nice too


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## nunthewiser (2 September 2009)

LeeTV said:


> While in England I had to switch to Marmite and while tasting a little different to Vegemite it's quite nice too





makes a pretty good hot drink whilst there also


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## GumbyLearner (2 September 2009)

It used to be Kosher.

But I still eat it! :emp:

The original that is!!


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## cuttlefish (27 September 2009)

Holy cow check out the new name, what a shocker:   iSnack2.0

Thats just embarrasing ... I won't eat the stuff out of principal after that - quite clearly this is no longer an Australian owned company if they can ratify such a poncy geeky name.    

I can just see it now ... Men at Work singing "he just smiled and gave me an iSnack2.0 sandwich".

http://www.smh.com.au/executive-sty...26-a-happy-little-vegemite-20090926-g73s.html


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## Nyden (27 September 2009)

cuttlefish said:


> Holy cow check out the new name, what a shocker:   iSnack2.0
> 
> Thats just embarrasing ... I won't eat the stuff out of principal after that - quite clearly this is no longer an Australian owned company if they can ratify such a poncy geeky name.
> 
> ...




It seems quite apt, really. Being that this crap won't be around next time this year. A flavor of the month name, for a flavor of the month item


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## cuttlefish (27 September 2009)

There should be a national boycott on both products until they fix it.  This is an Australian icon we're talking about after all.


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## MrBurns (27 September 2009)

If you're a Vegemite lover, which i am, you know that the best way to have it is on bread or toast with just the right mix of butter or margarine, that tones the strong flavor down to suit.

The new one is mixed with cream cheese to do that for you, I prefer the old one but the new one may appeal to the next generation.

What a crappy name


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## Nyden (27 September 2009)

cuttlefish said:


> There should be a national boycott on both products until they fix it.  This is an Australian icon we're talking about after all.




There's part of the problem. Scrapings from the bottom of fermentation drums have become an Australia icon ... yuck


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## Prospector (27 September 2009)

Crappy name.  It sounds like a Baby Boomer thought this would be a cool name that Gen X'ers would like.  But they dont do the damn shopping! :
The whole promotion was pretty pathetic and they didnt even give the name of the person who thought of it.

Which makes me think, conspiracy theory, that they decided on this name before the competition started.


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## ThingyMajiggy (27 September 2009)

I agree, totally stupid name. 

Whos going to yell out " YEP PASS THE iSNACK TWO POINT OH PLEASE". Its like they're trying to be "cool" with the iPod style take off, but its a spread for goodness sake. Suppose its working though, we are talking about it.


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## Prospector (27 September 2009)

Just did a search on the trademark base, and isnack is a trademark owned by Breville since 2001 for category 11.  I dont think Kraft can use it.


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## MrBurns (27 September 2009)

Prospector said:


> The whole promotion was pretty pathetic and they didnt even give the name of the person who thought of it.
> 
> Which makes me think, conspiracy theory, that they decided on this name before the competition started.




They gave the name out yesterday, forget who, relative of one of the board I suppose.


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## many@k (27 September 2009)

iMite 
FTW


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## cuttlefish (27 September 2009)

I do recall that a while back, foreign takeovers of previously Australian owned brands inspired this response from Dick Smith    (who also released 'Ozemite' but I think kraft won the battle on that one).


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## Dowdy (27 September 2009)

I just hate the stupid name iSnack 2.0

Who the **** came up with that garbage. And on the commercials they said they asked Australia for the name.

It sound like something i can put into my USB slot.

It the mums and dads who buy it anyways, not teeny boppers with their gadgets.


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## cuttlefish (27 September 2009)

It sounds very gimicky and American ... I wonder if it was  Australian executives that chose the winner or American executives.  

Given the iconic status of Vegemite in Australian culture, a name like iSnack2.0 hardly conjures up images of a sunburnt country with a land of sweeping plains.  There's nothing Australian about it and actually nothing particularly vegemite about it either.

What always amazes me is that there is someone out there getting paid to spend their day making stupid decisions like this.


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## Saucebottle (27 September 2009)

websman said:


> Our constitution says that we have the "right to bear arms"...It does not say that we have the right to "bear vegemite".




Surley bearing Vegemite, would be less harmful to ones health!!


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## Zird (27 September 2009)

What an ransacking of our heritage. I support the boycot and have gone  across to Marmite. Mrs Zird and the little ones prefer it.


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## jono1887 (28 September 2009)

I don't eat the stuff.. can't stand it. But it is quite a ridiculous name to give a food product.

Trying to sound 'hip' or 'cool', but its quite simply pathetic...


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## overit (30 September 2009)

_*Vegemite 'iSnack2.0' is toast, says Kraft*_

September 30, 2009 03:30pm

JARS of Vegemite labelled 'iSnack 2.0' are destined to become collectors items after Kraft announced today it will change the name.

Just four days after Kraft announced the name of the new Vegemite, the company has issued a press release admitting that Australians “just don’t like the name”.

Kraft chose the name from more than 48,000 suggestions collected from a public competition

But the name - announced during the AFL Grand Final on Saturday - attracted an unprecedented outpouring of derision from Australians.

About 3 million jars of the new, creamier version of vegemite have been sold since it was launched in July.

“The new name has simply not resonated with Australians - particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it,” Kraft corporate affairs boss Simon Talbot said.


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## Prospector (30 September 2009)

I dont think they have started releasing the new name jars yet - they are still called 'Name me' in all the shops I have been in this week.

Serves them right - marketing screwed up big time - they dont even know their target market and that is a basic premise in marketing.


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## dalek (30 September 2009)

Kraft may not have produced any product with new isnack packaging, in which case this has been a brilliant advertising exercise grabbing heaps of attention and media for no cost.
They can now release the real product and get another round of cheap exposure,,,brilliant !!
They meant this to happen....didn't they ???
Well Nigel in marketing said so and now he can have his job back,.. probably.


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## Krusty the Klown (30 September 2009)

They're dumping the new name?

What a shock!!!!

To quote that guy who runs the comic book store in my town......

"Worst name everrrrr......"


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## jono1887 (30 September 2009)

Krusty the Klown said:


> They're dumping the new name?
> 
> What a shock!!!!
> 
> ...




Are they having a new comp or going over the previous entries??


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## Prospector (30 September 2009)

I think a new competition.  I didn't realise that once opened, it has a shelf life of 30 days and has to be refrigerated.  We can't go through it that quickly.  Not that we liked it anyway but I guess some might.


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## GumbyLearner (30 September 2009)

Krusty the Klown said:


> They're dumping the new name?
> 
> What a shock!!!!
> 
> ...




No surprise!

Regionalism has always been a huge battle for multi-national conglomerates.

The "Ã'm sorry, your version is unpalatable" is a marketing oversight. But not in their eyes.

Who knows best? This is always what it comes down to.

As this website always advises DYOR!! LOL


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## jbocker (30 September 2009)

Guy at work was spewing when he heard the winning name, because he thought he had a pearler but didnt put it in. I wont tell you what it is because now he probably will enter it.

I will let you know if he wins (his name is Ron S). What is the prize anyway?

If I entered it I would suggest vegewill (not mite) or Dadmite (not Marmite)...

ok I will tootle off to bed now, I think i need sleep!


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## jono1887 (1 October 2009)

jbocker said:


> Guy at work was spewing when he heard the winning name, because he thought he had a pearler but didnt put it in. I wont tell you what it is because now he probably will enter it.
> 
> I will let you know if he wins (his name is Ron S). What is the prize anyway?
> 
> ...




Isn't the prize like a lifetimes supply of iSnack 2.0?? :


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## Nyden (1 October 2009)

Prospector said:


> I think a new competition.  I didn't realise that once opened, it has a shelf life of 30 days and has to be refrigerated.  We can't go through it that quickly.  Not that we liked it anyway but I guess some might.




Yet another reason not to buy this stuff. As I said earlier, the name wouldn't last, (and it hasn't!) and neither would the product. I give it 2 months before it's off the shelves for good.


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## Prospector (1 October 2009)

The prize can't be returned - it was two tickets to the AFL Grand Final!  Seems they are running some 'independent surveys' right now to determine the new name and it will be announced tomorrow!


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## Calliope (1 October 2009)

jbocker said:


> If I entered it I would suggest vegewill (not mite) or Dadmite (not Marmite)...




I would suggest Vegescam.

The problem Kraft had with Vegemite was that a jar lasts forever. They had to come on with a product that had to be spread on thickly and costs more than Philly and Vegemite spread separately. Hence Vegescam.


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## Blitzed (1 October 2009)

Prospector said:


> I think a new competition.  I didn't realise that once opened, it has a shelf life of 30 days and has to be refrigerated.  We can't go through it that quickly.  Not that we liked it anyway but I guess some might.




One of our kids (teenager) wanted to try it.....it did not last 30 days as we put it in the bin the next day. Even the smell of it made me feel sick not to mention the taste.


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## Tisme (1 June 2015)

I had a block of the new Cadbury Vegemite chocolate on the weekend :






And then I started getting bombarded with alternatives. The best one being the Winfield Blue slab. 




Some others can be found here:

http://popculturegay.com/


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