Guinness Marmite

Region

United Kingdom

Associated With

Unilever and Diageo - Marmite and Guinness brand collaboration

Defining Feature

Guinness-exclusive yeast strain and black-and-white co-branding

Status

Discontinued - 2007 limited edition; exact final-sale date not established

Overview

Guinness Marmite was a 2007 UK limited edition containing a Guinness-exclusive yeast strain.

Its dark jar used a white lid and black-and-white co-branding. The label called it “Limited Edition” and “Alcohol Free”; Unilever said 30% of the yeast mix came from the Guinness-exclusive strain.

It launched in the UK in February, and in March forum users reported purchases while others were still looking for a jar. A licensing trade article put sales at approximately 200,000 jars in two weeks.

Why It Mattered

A beer brand found a place in the kitchen cupboard through an alcohol-free spread. The collaboration formed part of a wider Guinness-branded food programme and became a finalist in the 2007 Licensing Awards.

Recipe, Label and Manufacture

• “Alcohol Free” appears as a claim on the photographed label; it is not compositional test evidence.
• A University of Cambridge case study preserves a Unilever statement that 30% of the yeast mix came from a strain exclusive to Guinness.
• Etiquette Labels states that it manufactured the edition’s labels, but does not claim packaging-design authorship.

Batch, Sales and Availability

• License Global reported a limited batch of 300,000 jars, without establishing whether this meant planned production, completed production or retail allocation.
• A 2007 licensing-trade article reported approximately 200,000 jars sold in two weeks; the figure is not an audited sales return.
• Digital Spy posts dated 6 March 2007 include individual purchase reports and accounts of difficulty finding a jar; they are not representative sales evidence.

Launch Scope and Record Limits

• Supplier and licensing accounts support a 2007 launch, probably in February in the United Kingdom; no exact launch day is established.
• The United Kingdom is the documented launch market, not evidence of where the edition was conceived, developed or manufactured.
• No exact final-sale date, formal discontinuation announcement, later relaunch or institutional physical holding has been established.
• The Commons photograph dates from April 2007; its summary and EXIF data differ by one day.

Gallery