Vegemite Blend 17 is a premium edition of the love-it-or-hate-it iconic Australian spread, packaged in a fancy box and sporting a fancy label, sold at more than twice the cost of plain-old Vegemite.
Reviewers say Blend 17 is a little saltier, though Deborah Pickett’s tweeted reviews are intriguing: “a bitter aftertaste not evident in vanilla Vegemite. Neat, it’s overbearing, but spread on toast it isn’t noticed…The early burst of aromatics upon eating normal Vegemite is still there but indescribably different.”
When asked whether the new product may be a cynical, short-lived marketing ploy to draw attention and stoke lighthearted controversy, Mr. Hill simply encouraged Australians to “embrace the taste.” The company, he said, did not plan to reissue the product after its initial run of 450,000 units. But if the new blend proved popular, Mr. Hill said, Bega might keep making it.
Vegemite, the Beloved Australian Spread, Goes Upmarket
[Adam Baidawi/New York Times]
(via Marginal Revolution)