It’s a copycaterpillar! M&S sues Aldi over lookalike cake
FOR 30 years he’s been a children’s party favourite.
And until a decade ago, Colin the Caterpillar had the field of larvae-inspired cakes pretty much to himself. But now supermarket shelves are crawling with products seemingly imitating the money-spinning Marks & Spencer favourite.
That has led to a legal bunfight, as M&S announced yesterday it is taking Aldi to court over its ‘copycaterpillar’, Cuthbert.
Both cakes are log-shaped chocolate sponges, with a solid chocolate shell topped with sweets. Cuthbert has near identical design to its more established rival, down to the white chocolate face, but at a cost of £4.99 in the UK, it is more than £2 cheaper.
M&S has lodged an intellectual property claim with the London High Court, arguing that Aldi is ‘riding on the coattails’ of its reputation, with the similar look of Cuthbert leading consumers to believe it is of the same quality as Colin.
It is demanding the product be removed and wants Aldi to agree not to sell anything similar in future. Colin was launched in 1990 and his appearance has remain largely the same since 2004, except for adaptations for occasions such as Halloween and Christmas.
The brand includes sweets and minicakes – and even Colin’s girlfriend Connie, who is decorated with a pink bow and flowers. They are central to the retailer’s partnership with Macmillan and it has created a Colin product for the cancer charity’s annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning fundraising event. M&S has three trademarks relating to Colin.
A spokesman said: ‘Because we know the M&S brand is special to our customers and they expect only the very best from us, love and care goes into every M&S product on our shelves.
‘So we want to protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value.’
However, yesterday Aldi said its cake has not been on sale since February. ‘The Cuthbert cake is a seasonal product,’ it said. ‘Aldi has only been made aware of the claim by M&S today.’
Aldi has faced several accusations of selling copycat products.
However, it denies deliberately making its lines similar to popular brands in order to win sales.
In 2019, Aldi withdrew its Moo range of ‘gourmet yogurt’ after the maker of a similar product complained that they looked like its pots.
And the Saucy Fish Co brought legal action over Aldi’s packs of Saucy Salmon fillets. The case was settled out of court.