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Marks and Spencers has started legal action against Aldi over its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake, which the retailer argues infringes on its Colin the Caterpillar cake trademark.
The supermarket chain lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court earlier this week, noting that the similarity between the two products gives consumers the impression they are one of the same or of a similar quality, accusing Aldi of trying to “ride on the coat-tails” of M&S’s reputation.
Colin the Caterpillar cakes were launched by M&S in 1990 and sell for around £7, while Cuthbert sells for around £5.
As part of their case, M&S wants Aldi to stop selling Cuthbert cakes and promise not to sell anything similar in the future.
On Instagram, the retailer posted a picture of Colin the Caterpillar cake, with the caption: “You might have seen @official_colinthecaterpillar is in the news… Colin won’t be commenting, but says thanks for your support.”
In response, Aldi wrote on Twitter: “This is not just any court case, this is… #FreeCuthbert.”
Aldi did not respond when asked to comment on the case.
