There's a Marmite shortage as a result of the coronavirus outbreak

Since the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year, many items have been hard to get hold of. Early on during the pandemic, many shoppers were stocking up on a number of household goods - toilet paper was flying off the shelves, hand sanitiser aisles were empty and flour was impossible to find in supermarkets.

You might have also noticed that the large jars of Marmite are nowhere to be found.

The love it or hate it spread is in short supply due to the fact that there's a national yeast shortage.

Brewers yeast, which is a by-product of the beer brewing industry, is one of the core ingredients for making Marmite. However, restaurants and bars have been closed as a result of the lockdown, meaning that factories are currently not producing the same amount as they were previously.

Twitter users were the first to hear the news as one Marmite lover asked the brand why they could no longer find any of the large jars.

'@marmite hello. I need Marmite like oxygen and really need more 400g squeezy jars. Can you advise on which retailers stock those at the moment?' user @trim_obey asked.

Marmite replied, stating: 'Hi Tim, due to brewers yeast being in short supply (one of the main ingredients in Marmite) Supplies of Marmite have been affected.

'As a temporary measure we have stopped production of all sizes apart from our 250g size jar which is available in most major retailers.'

One person called it 'Marmageddon' while another added: 'You hate to see it. Or love to see it.'

While one Marmite fan said, 'Just when you think the year couldn't get any worse,' someone who definitely does not love it said: 'Some good news at last.'

It's unclear when the large jars will return to supermarkets, so if you've got a stash we'd recommend using it sparingly.