The legal battle between Colin the Caterpillar and the lookalike cake critter Cuthbert was one of the big celebrity courtroom dramas of the pre-Wagatha Christie era and it was feared the row would lead to Cuthbert being banished from Aldi’s shelves for ever.
But the cheeky moon-faced larva is back, with even more attitude than before, with Aldi announcing that Cuthbert cakes would go back on sale in its stores from Monday.
The “humble” cake was making his comeback after the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations to “avoid taking any of the spotlight away from her majesty”, the retailer joked.
The copycat cake spat made headlines last year after Marks & Spencer started legal action against Aldi to “protect” Colin from Cuthbert who, for a smaller fee, had been masquerading as Colin on the party circuit. With sweets decorating their hard chocolate shells and a grin on their white chocolate faces, it is difficult to tell the caterpillars apart.
At the time, M&S argued that the similarities meant consumers thought they were of the same standard, enabling the cheaper rival – at the time Cuthbert was £5 and Colin was £7 – to “ride on the coat-tails” of M&S’s reputation for high-quality food.
Colin the Caterpillar, who was recently trending on social media after being linked to Downing Street’s lockdown-busting birthday events, made his debut in 1990. M&S has three trademarks relating to its caterpillar cake, including the words “Colin the Caterpillar” and the packaging.
A truce was reached in the high court earlier this year and although details of the deal were not revealed, both retailers claimed to be pleased. At the time M&S said: “The objective of the claim was to protect the [intellectual property] in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome.”
But Aldi was also upbeat stating: “Cuthbert is free and looking forward to seeing all his fans again very soon!”
It also sent a tweet labelled #freecuthbert: “Getting out early on good behaviour, keep an eye out for Cuthy B this spring.”
Before Cuthbert’s return there was an attempt to extend the hand of friendship, with Colin described as the caterpillar cake’s “new BFF”. However, the discounter has also put cheeky adverts on vans parked near M&S stores with pictures of Cuthbert on them that announce “Aisle be back” and “Made by bakers. Approved by lawyers”. Cuthbert is now £3 cheaper than Colin, who has risen in price to £8.
Where else would we announce it? #CuthBack pic.twitter.com/DWOJzBceoL
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) June 1, 2022
Cuthbert is not the only Colin copycat in town. A veritable caterpillar army is on sale in supermarkets, including Curly in Tesco, Clyde in Asda, Cecil in Waitrose and Wiggles in Sainsbury’s.
