Marmite shortage sparks panic buying in NZ

Residents of New Zealand are panic buying Marmite.

The craze, which has been dubbed Marmageddon, to purchase the food spread has grown after it was realised the country is running low on supplies of the snack. Production in the nation came to a halt when Marmite factories were destroyed in last year's devastating Christchurch earthquakes.

Shoppers have been spotted with baskets full of the product, and president John Key has also revealed he's been rationing his Marmite as he is perilously close to running out.

A spokeswoman for Foodstuffs grocery store said: "Clearly Kiwis took the news of the impending shortage very seriously."

Another food retailer explained: "We anticipate running out of stock of Marmite in the next two to three weeks across all our stores, and unfortunately we have no control of the situation."