Caterpillar Cakes in Combat

[pete9012S]

Split from another topic.


Forget world peace, Royal family wardrobe dramas, infectious diseases etc, etc as this urgent vital matter must be sorted before things escalate and get out of hand:

M&S say Aldi are ‘riding on the coat-tails’ of their reputation by imitating Colin

Marks & Spencer has launched legal action against Aldi, claiming it has infringed the copyright of its Colin the Caterpillar cake. M&S lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court this week over its rival’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake.

The supermarket says the similarity between the two products leads consumers to believe they are of the same standard. It says it has allowed Aldi ‘ride on the coat-tails’ of M&S’s reputation and wants the chain to remove the product from sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/04/15/ms-sues- ... -14414732/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was no easy way to break this news to you - but many here like to keep abreast of world events that could possibly impact on their own lives..

A taste test between these two examples of chocolate Lepidoptera would surely be of great interest to the scientific community as well as the whole of humanity??

[Katharine]

A taste test between these two examples of chocolate Lepidoptera would surely be of great interest to the scientific community as well as the whole of humanity??

Pete, thanks for bringing this important issue to our attention.

If it's not too much of a risk, would you be prepared to carry out the taste test?

[Fiona1986]

We'd better not tell Markies about Curly the Caterpillar (Tesco, who also do a really good dairy & gluten free version) or Clyde the Caterpillar (Asda) but maybe you'd like to include all those in your taste test too, Pete?

[Katharine]

I'm sorry if it offends M & S, but if Tesco do a gluten and dairy free one, then I'll be getting one asap.

[Courtenay]

I think a taste test is definitely in order, Pete. Preferably a blind taste test so you can't be swayed by any preconceptions of either brand.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Hope you don't mind, Pete, but I'm giving this colossal cogitative caterpillar cake comparison a thread of its own!

I'd like to judge the cakes but I live alone and need to avoid the temptation of munching my way through all those tasty caterpillars!

A few months ago my son and I held blind taste tests of different varieties of Jaffa Cakes and different varieties of cola. McVitie's Jaffa Cakes and Pepsi were the winners for us both.

About eighteen months ago my daughter, her friend, my son and I set up a test to see whether Fox's Party Rings of different colours tasted different. Having eaten them a number of times in the past (though not for ages), my daughter and I said before the test that we were convinced they had slightly different flavours, but the other two said they didn't think there was any real difference. As none of us felt we remembered the biscuits well enough to identify colours from taste, we did it so that a contestant was blindfolded and offered bits of biscuit one at a time. They had to say whether the biscuit they were tasting was the same as the last one, the same as a previous one (e.g. the same colour as three goes back) or a new colour. Funnily enough, my daughter and both got as far as eight goes before making a mistake (it turned out that we both felt the white biscuit was the nicest and most distinctive) while the other two struggled and were out after three goes each. Maybe a look at the ingredients on the packet might have clarified things (if different ingredients were listed for different colours) but we never did get round to checking. I wished I had because I was itching afterwards, which suggests I may have been allergic to something in them.

Incidentally, have there always been white Party Rings? I don't recall seeing them in the past.

[Fiona1986]

I'm sorry if it offends M & S, but if Tesco do a gluten and dairy free one, then I'll be getting one asap.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p ... %26w%3D540" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I bought this for Ewan's birthday a few years ago, it was either because my nephew was dairy-free at the time or his mum was because she was feeding him. Anyway, we all agreed we couldn't tell that it was 'free from' cake as it was every bit as good as the regular Carl.

[Boatbuilder]

We'd better not tell Markies about Curly the Caterpillar (Tesco, who also do a really good dairy & gluten free version) or Clyde the Caterpillar (Asda) but maybe you'd like to include all those in your taste test too, Pete?

I don't think M&S have a 'hope in h***'s' chance of winning this one when there are so many other similar ones being sold by all the other supermarkets.

[pete9012S]

A few months ago my son and I held blind taste tests of different varieties of Jaffa Cakes and different varieties of cola. McVitie's Jaffa Cakes and Pepsi were the winners for us both.

That's brilliant Anita - what a great idea!

I was always a Coke guy - but my wife insisted she liked Pepsi better.
But like yourselves, a taste test convinced me that Pepsi - to my taste buds was much nicer.


When I was young we drank coke in a bottle like the ones above - in the 1970's I always preferred Coke to Pepsi.
Maybe the recipe has changed??

Back to the cake though.

I am completely flattered and honoured that Katharine has suggested I can do a taste test.

I'm not sure how much a Colin the Caterpillar cake & Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake actually cost??

And now that Fiona has informed me of the hitherto unknown (to me) of Curly the Caterpillar and Clyde the Caterpillar it looks like I will have to raid my piggy bank to do an exhaustive test.

Interestingly, my wife who has worked for Marks & Spencer for over twenty years said Aldi and Marks & Spencer share the same supplier for many items (re-packaged) and sometimes Aldi items would come to the Marks & Spencer store in error!

Yes, I think Aldi can definitely claim that they are not the only store doing a choco caterpillar cake like Marks & Spencer.

Why are Marks & Spencer singling out Aldi??? Do they view them as the real competition in the choco caterpillar market but are a bit too snobby to admit it??

I do hope Aldi don't re-call their Caterpillar cake before I get to try it..

[Barnard]

Other caterpillar cakes for sale are Wiggles the Caterpillar from Sainsbury’s and Morris the Caterpillar from Morrisons.

[pete9012S]

It seems M&S may have bitten off more than it can chew chew by taking on Aldi over the recent chocolate caterpillar spat of late.
A spokesperson from Aldi's Chrysalis Cake Dept. said "It was never going to end well for Colin The Caterpillar, he remains a quiescent insect pupa, whilst Bertha The Butterfly is succulent, full bodied, moreish and totally satisfying!"
Marks & Spencers have declined an invitation to comment on the latest emerging development..

[Courtenay]

I think Pete is having us on a bit here, but that certainly looks to be the Monarch of all cakes...

[Wolfgang]

For a moment I thought that was Barclay James Harvest's cover of their new album .

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

The matter is exercising the nations leading legal minds

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-56768197" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Viv

[Anita Bensoussane]

Heh - Bertha the Butterfly is inspired!

Imitations are pretty common in supermarkets, even of big brand products (e.g. Seal, Puffin and Polar instead of Penguin) so I can't see why caterpillar cakes are any different.