Sanitarium’s yeasty spread Marmite has declared ‘Marmageddon’ over, as it gets set to ship its first load of the Vegemite competitor to Australia since the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

Following the 2011 quakes the Sanitarium factory responsible for stocking the South Pacific was forced to suspend production with major repair works underway.

The spread made its way back into New Zealand stores in March with the first Australian shipment heading across the ditch now to be in store at the start of October.

At the time of publication Sanitarium had not yet responded to B&T’s request of information regarding advertising activity around Marmite’s return.

 Todd Saunders, general manager Sanitarium Australia, said: “Demand for Marmite is strong and we have been amazed to see the level of passion that the product inspires in the hearts of both Australians and New Zealanders who have been clamouring to get their hands on fresh supplies.”

On its Facebook Page Marmite is giving out 100 free Marmite jars to the first 100 Australian-based fans who like their return announcement post.

The brand is also encouraging fans to use the hashtag #MarmitetoOz on Twitter and Instagram. 

A recent Marmite ad in the UK caused a flood of complaints to hit the UK's Advertising Standards Board for trivialising animal cruelty. Sanitarium does not own Marmite in the UK. 

The video (below) was filmed like a documentary and showed a rescue team visiting homes to save abandoned Marmite jars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHjssdNNzP0