Bovril to lose beef to attract vegetarians

LONDON -- The beef is being taken out of Bovril, makers of the British essence of bouillon announced Thursday, saying they want to appeal to vegetarians and overcome export restrictions imposed because of mad cow disease.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bovril beef extract has been a staple of British kitchen cupboards for more than 100 years, but the central beef ingredient will be replaced by a yeast mix, said Unilever Bestfoods UK, a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever PLC.

"It was not an easy decision to make because we know people like the taste of beef," said David Webster, a spokesman for Unilever Bestfoods. "Many people have a strong affection for the Bovril brand but that doesn't necessarily come through in sales."

Webster said that in blind taste tests, 40 percent of people preferred the original Bovril, 50 percent preferred the new product and 10 percent didn't notice any difference.

Bovril, sold in a distinctive dark glass pot with a red lid, can be mixed with hot water to create a warming winter drink or be added to soups and stews instead of stock cubes. Nowadays, however, it is mostly used as a spread on hot toast.

Sales of Bovril have declined about 1-2 percent per year over the last four years in Britain, Webster said. Sales have also fallen outside the United Kingdom because of import restrictions on British beef products imposed by some countries because of mad cow disease -- although the beef in Bovril isn't British.

"Our export market which used to account for 20 percent of sales has dropped to 7 percent," Webster said. "One of the areas where we think we can grow sales is in this export market, particularly in Asia where it is very popular.

"In Malaysia they stir it into porridge and coffee but the government there was becoming quite restrictive on non-halal meat," he said.

In addition, he said, "we wanted to broaden the user base and it is now suitable for vegetarians as well."

Unilever's U.S. shares were up 8 cents at $36.45 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other Unilever brands include Lipton tea, Dove soap, Surf washing powder and Slim-Fast diet foods.