A concentrated black yeast extract that many Britons spread on toast became the latest front Thursday in the UK's ongoing acrimonious debate about the country's decision to leave the EU.
Supermarket giant Tesco stopped selling jars of Marmite, PG Tips tea and other staples of the British diet online amid a pricing dispute with Unilever, the massive British-Dutch conglomerate.
Unilever, the supplier of the goods, wanted to increase its wholesale prices by as much as 10% because the British pound has plummeted against the dollar and the euro since a little over half of the population voted in June to exit the EU.
Much of that fall has been attributed to concern from investors who are not certain what the withdrawal could mean for the U.K.'s access to the EU's single market — a trading alliance that guarantees the free movement of goods, capital, services and people across the EU's 28 member states and 500 million citizens.
Unilever announced Thursday that the dispute with Tesco was resolved, but the issue points out how daily life in Britain could be affected by leaving the EU.
Many of Unilever's products for the British market are made outside of the country. The company says a weaker pound has hurt its profit margins. The pricing argument left many shelves in Tesco stores across the U.K. running low on Marmite as shoppers rushed to acquire a product that Britons have long had a love-hate relationship with.
Britons freak out over shortage of disgusting black spread
Supermarket giant Tesco stopped selling jars of Marmite, PG Tips tea and other staples of the British diet online amid a pricing dispute with Unilever, the massive British-Dutch conglomerate.
Unilever, the supplier of the goods, wanted to increase its wholesale prices by as much as 10% because the British pound has plummeted against the dollar and the euro since a little over half of the population voted in June to exit the EU.
Much of that fall has been attributed to concern from investors who are not certain what the withdrawal could mean for the U.K.'s access to the EU's single market — a trading alliance that guarantees the free movement of goods, capital, services and people across the EU's 28 member states and 500 million citizens.
Unilever announced Thursday that the dispute with Tesco was resolved, but the issue points out how daily life in Britain could be affected by leaving the EU.
Many of Unilever's products for the British market are made outside of the country. The company says a weaker pound has hurt its profit margins. The pricing argument left many shelves in Tesco stores across the U.K. running low on Marmite as shoppers rushed to acquire a product that Britons have long had a love-hate relationship with.
Britons freak out over shortage of disgusting black spread
