Doesn't matter what you call it - it tastes like shit.

H/T Joe, the Yank in Kiwiland for the language!

From Bloomberg

Sydney - Kraft Foods Inc. will change the name of its new, milder version of Vegemite after its first choice, iSnack2.0, caused a storm of complaints from Australian consumers. “The new name has simply not resonated with Australians,” said Simon Talbot, Kraft’s corporate affairs head for Australia and New Zealand, in an e-mailed statement today. “Particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it. We have been overwhelmed by the passion for Vegemite.” Australian and New Zealand consumers will vote to decide on iSnack2.0’s new moniker and Kraft will announce details of the process on Oct. 2, according to the statement. The original Vegemite remains on sale.

Vegemite, a dark, pungent spread made from yeast extract, has been in Australian kitchen cupboards since 1923 and cemented its status as a national icon when it was referenced in Men At Work’s hit song “Down Under” in the early 1980s. The unveiling of iSnack2.0 on Sept. 26, after a nationwide competition that furnished nearly 50,000 suggestions, roused indignation amongst Vegemite lovers, with thousands expressing disapproval on blogs, social networking sites and videos uploaded to YouTube. “Sounds like a circuit board on toast,” one disapproving commenter said on the Food Week Web site.

Kraft has some 500,000 jars of the iSnack2.0-labeled product in warehouses in Sydney and Melbourne, which started arriving on supermarket shelves today, Talbot said in a phone interview from Melbourne this morning. “Consumers like the taste; they just don’t like the name,” Kraft said in today’s statement. iSnack2.0 will remain on sale until the vote is completed.

 I've never tried Vegemite but I have had Marmite, which is the same thing but sold in Europe and the United States. Both are rotten yeast. Gooey, sticky, pungent rotten yeast. I cannot imagine having it on a sandwich. I use it as a base for stews and and soups and for that it is marvelous but very expensive. A small jar is around $7.00 here. I've talked to people in both countries and found no one who actually eats it on a sandwich. I think it's a sort of right of passage. Like saying, 'I am Australian/British and I am so tough I can even eat this shit and like it - so there'. Why in the world someone would opt to change the name  of either is beyond me. Both names sound barely edible. I'm willing to bet the person who came up with this ad campaign never tasted Vegemite - they knew it only from the song. Can you imagine them changing the name of some other iconic brand like ... Coke?

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Comments

[Joe]

LOL! OK, now I know what YOU were on about, Steel.

I've never eaten either Vegemite or Marmite. It is really a cultural thing; I couldn't stand the look or the smell of it, so there was no way I was going to eat it. I have quite a few co-workers who keep a jar at their desk to put the stuff on their morning toast.

And you're right about one thing when you wrote, "I am Australian/British and I am so tough I can even eat this shit and like it - so there." I read in an Aussie magazine where the writer was trying to make some "we're better and healthier" kind of argument, citing that Aussies eat Vegemite as opposed to "obese Yanks" who eat peanut butter. Whatever...

[Steel]

Actually, I love the stuff - it imparts something to stews and soups that can't be found elsewhere.

I don't use it because it is far too expensive.

Next time you make French Onion Soup, add a healthy dollop and you'll love it.

But I'd no sooner eat it on a sandwich than I would Worchestershire Sauce.

Which by the way, is largely made from distilled rotten anchovies - the equivalent of Asian fish sauces.