Shoppers in the UK are paying less for Australian brands including Vegemite and Tim Tams than customers in Australia, despite the classic products being made in Australia.
A comparison of seven Australian products stocked in UK supermarkets shows they are often cheaper to buy in Britain than at Australia’s two major supermarket chains.
Vegemite retails for $1.93 per 100g at Morrisons but costs customers $2.27 at Coles and $2.21 at Woolworths, according to price checks conducted by Guardian Australia.
The phenomenon was spotted by internet users including one follower of TikToker Price Check Guy, who confirmed in a video that “Vegemite is cheaper from a small town in Scotland than from Coles and Woolies in Australia”.
Tim Tams in the UK are 37 grams lighter but Brits are able to pick up a packet for $2.38 or $2.36/100g at Waitrose while Australians pay $6.00 or $3.00/100g at the majors.
A spokesperson for Arnott’s, the maker of Tim Tams, said despite the headline price the company “invests in promotional programs to ensure consumers can buy them at great value prices year-round”.
“The average price paid by Australian consumers in the past 12 months was $3.15 for Tim Tam Original 200g (IRI Grocery Scan data AU MAT to 08/09/2024).”
The Australian sugar-free drinks brand Nexba, which launched into the UK market last year, is also cheaper, with a one-litre bottle of kombucha costing $5.80 at Sainsbury’s but $6.35 in Australia.
Alcoholic products were also cheaper (though tax rates are different) with Coopers drinkers in the UK paying $2.03 less per beer, and a bottle of Bird In Hand sparkling wine, which is made in South Australia, $1 more expensive from BWS and Liquorland in Australia.
Shoppers can buy Coopers original pale ale 375ml at the British online retailer Ocado for $3.97 each – while Australians will pay $6.00 at BWS and Liquorland.
Milo was almost the same price in the two countries, but the product stocked in Sainsbury’s is made in Singapore and a different recipe.
Not all products were more expensive – Bundaberg ginger beer retailed for $11.99 at both Tesco and Sainsbury’s, but was $7.35 at Woolworths and Coles.
The associate dean of business systems and operations at Edith Cowan University, Flavio Macau, a supply chain expert, said brands charge as much as they think they can get for a product, with the willingness to pay at the centre of all price decisions.
Even if products are manufactured in Australia, which both Tim Tams and Vegemite are, brands could be sold to overseas markets cheaper to entice more consumers, he said. Or a lower price could reflect a more competitive market.
“I have fewer brands competing for chocolates in Australia, I have few incentives for selling my chocolates at a better price than if I’m facing fierce competition in the UK,” Macau said.
Australia has much less competition among supermarkets than in the UK, and a different tax regime, including higher taxes on alcohol.
“We do know that the UK market is more competitive,” Macau said. “When you look at supermarket market share, you’ll find a better distribution in the UK than what you find in Australia.
“Also, supply chains. And it may be that it is more efficient to sell that box of Tim Tams in London than it is in regional Australia … it’s cheaper to send the product overseas than to send the products to some places in Australia itself.”
