View source for Vegemite

=== Beginnings ===
[[File:Fred Walker.jpg|thumb|left|Fred Walker's company first created and sold Vegemite in 1922.]]
In 1919, following the disruption of British [[Marmite]] imports after [[World War&nbsp;I]], the Australian company Fred Walker & Co. gave Cyril Callister the task of developing a spread from the used yeast being dumped by [[Brewery|breweries]]. Callister had been hired by the chairman [[Fred Walker (entrepreneur)|Fred Walker]].<ref name=":0" />

Callister used [[Autolysis (biology)|autolysis]] to break down the yeast cells from waste obtained from the [[Carlton & United Breweries|Carlton & United brewery]]. Concentrating the clear liquid extract and blending with salt, celery and onion extracts formed a sticky black paste.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanan |date=25 April 2020 |title=Vegemite |url=https://alldownunder.com/australian-food/vegemite.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232333/https://alldownunder.com/australian-food/vegemite.htm |archive-date=6 November 2020 |access-date=23 August 2021 |website=All Down Under |language=en-US}}</ref>

Following a competition to name the new spread with a prize pool of [[Australian pound|£A]]50 ({{Inflation|AU|50|1919|fmt=eq|cursign=[[A$]]}}), "Vegemite" was selected by Fred Walker's daughter Sheilah,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deliciouskitchen.com.au/products/krafthistory/fredwalkerfounder/fredwalker.aspx |title=Fred Walker, Founder |publisher=[[Kraft Foods Inc.|Kraft Foods]] |year=2010 |access-date=23 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920191432/http://www.deliciouskitchen.com.au/Products/KRAFTHistory/FredWalkerFounder/FredWalker.aspx |archive-date=20 September 2013 }}</ref> and it was registered as a trademark in Australia in 1919; the name of the person who coined the name is not known.<ref>{{Cite web |title=VEGEMITE Story - VEGEMITE |url=https://vegemite.com.au/heritage/the-vegemite-story/ |access-date=11 September 2023 |website=Tastes Like Australia |language=en-AU |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608175640/https://vegemite.com.au/heritage/the-vegemite-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Vegemite first appeared on the market in 1923 with advertising emphasising its value to children's health, but it failed to sell well.<ref name=100gi>{{cite book |title=100 Great Icons |last1=Sheedy |first1=Chris |author2=Jenny Bond |year=2006 |publisher=Random House Australia |location=Milsons Point, New South Wales |isbn=978-1-74166-501-7 |pages=34–35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJgQh7pd8Y4C |access-date=12 November 2011 |archive-date=11 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911220010/https://books.google.com/books?id=OJgQh7pd8Y4C |url-status=live }}</ref> Faced with growing competition from Marmite, from 1928 to 1935 the product was renamed "Parwill" to make use of the advertising slogan "Marmite but Parwill", a two-step [[pun]] on the new name and that of its competitor; i.e. "If Ma [mother] might ... then Pa [father] will." This attempt to expand [[market share]] was unsuccessful and the name reverted to Vegemite, but it did not recover its lost market share.<ref name=Story/>