Do we like them?

Do we like Vegemite?

Iconic Australian yeast-extract spread, made and sold by Bega Group, based in Bega, NSW.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A much-loved Aussie staple with Australian ownership again. We found no scandals in our searches, but also little on its ethics, so we'd give it a cautious yes.

Vegemite first went on sale in the early 1920s, made by Fred Walker's company. Kraft came in through a joint venture in 1925. Sources disagree on some of the early dates.

For decades it sat under American owners, Kraft and then Mondelez. In January 2017 Bega Cheese agreed to buy it, plus Zoosh, Bonox and some Kraft licences, in a deal reported at A$460 million. That put it back in Australian hands.

The deal came with some friction. A later dispute with Mondelez over peanut butter packaging was reported to have cost Mondelez $9.25 million. A search summary reported that Bega sold the Port Melbourne Vegemite Way facility in 2023 for A$114.6m.

These days the brand keeps itself fresh. It has a lower-salt Vegemite Kids range sold nationally and a premium edition. In February 2026 it signed sprinter Gout Gout as an ambassador. We found no big scandals, so it gets a solid but not glowing score.