TIME FOR A TRUCE?
As the government crumbles, the cost of living soars and those nice people at Shell congratulate themselves on quadrupling their profits during 2021, it’s good to know that there’s still room for cake wars.
Or, to be more precise, the end of a cake war. After months of legal wrangles, Marks & Spencer has struck a deal with German discount retailer Aldi over Cuthbert, the copycat version of the famous Colin the Caterpillar cake.
Sadly, the details are ‘confidential’ but – quite perplexingly – both sides seem to be exceedingly happy with the deal.
An M&S spokesperson said, ‘The objective of the claim was to protect the IP (intellectual property) in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome.’
While Aldi declared, ‘Getting out early on good behaviour, keep an eye out for Cuthy B this spring!’
But who won? And what does it mean for those of us who like to eat chocolate cake shaped like creepy crawlies?
Well, we can only assume that when Cuthbert makes it back into his natural habitat (Aldi’s shelves) in a few weeks’ time, he’s going to look rather different.
When they first introduced Cuthbert, the cake looked EXACTLY like Colin,
which has been around since 1990. With its hard chocolate shell, white chocolate face, big brown eyes and brightly coloured beans on the back, you couldn’t tell them apart. Hence the lawsuit. (To add insult to injury, Cuthbert was also £2 cheaper at £5.)
Other imitators seem to have got away with it. Take Tesco’s Curly Caterpillar or Co-op’s Curious Caterpillar, which have orange faces, or Asda’s Clyde, whose face is yellow. Waitrose’s Cecil, Morrisons’ Morris and Sainsbury’s’ Wiggles all have a white face, just like Colin, but look different enough to avoid a legal letter.
So, there you have it. We await the new-look Cuthbert with bated breath.
Now, it’s on to round two between M&S and its cut-price rival – the gin wars. Will Aldi still be stocking a light-up gin liqueur with edible gold flakes this Christmas? My money’s on… nope.