"Colin the Caterpillar" is a chocolate roll cake sold by the British retailer

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

. More than 15 million Colin the Caterpillar cakes have been sold since it was introduced in 1990.

Overview

Colin the Caterpillar is a chocolate sponge roll cake filled with chocolate

buttercream Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing or frosting, is used for either filling, coating or decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar. Buttercream is commonly flavored with vanilla. Other common flavors a ...

and covered in a milk chocolate shell, with sugar-coated milk chocolate beans for decoration. The cake has a decorative face and feet made of

white chocolate White chocolate is a confectionery typically made of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter. It is pale ivory colored, and lacks many of the compounds found in milk and dark chocolates. It is solid at room temperature because the melting point of cocoa ...

. The dessert is available in large and small sizes. According to Marks and Spencer, it takes 38 people to assemble each cake from start to finish, and 8.4 tonnes (8,400 kg) of sugar coating are used each year for the decorative spots. Initial success for sales of the cake has been attributed to the ongoing popularity of

Eric Carle Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 – May 23, 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sol ...

's children's picture book ''

The Very Hungry Caterpillar ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' is a 1969 children’s picture book designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle. The book features a hungry caterpillar that eats a variety of foods before pupating and emerging as a butterfly. It has won m ...

'', and that a bestselling cookbook by

Jane Asher Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946)The International Who's Who of Women, 3rd edition, ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 29 is an English actress and author. She achieved early fame as a child actress and has worked extensively in f ...

, published the same year that the cake launched, also featured a recipe for a caterpillar birthday cake. However, Colin the Caterpillar has since become a staple of children's birthday parties, but is also popular with teens and adults. In 2020, Marks & Spencer marked the cake's 30th anniversary by declaring Colin's Birthday, Wednesday 26 August, as National Colin the Caterpillar Day.

Variations

Over the years, there have been several seasonal and limited edition variations on the original Colin the Caterpillar cake: * Colin the Caterpillar Cake * Connie the Caterpillar Cake – A female version of the original Colin cake, wearing a pink bow * Personalised Cake – As part of its "Food to Order" offering, Marks & Spencer offers giant versions of the Colin and Connie cakes. The larger sized cakes can serve up to 40 people, and are also personalisable, with a space for a name and the exact occasion being celebrated piped on. * Wedding Cakes – In 2017, Marks & Spencer launched a Colin the Caterpillar wedding cake range. The range features 2 cakes, the first called "Colin the Groom" is a larger than standard Colin cake (weighing just over 2 kg) with the face featuring a bow tie and top hat. The bridal version – named Connie the Bride – features a lace veil, confetti and a flower posy and also weighs just over 2 kg. Each cake currently costs £10-£15. * 25th Anniversary Cake – In August 2015, Marks & Spencer marked the 25th anniversary of the dessert with a limited edition "Colin the Caterpillar" featuring a party hat and multicoloured feet, and additional candy spots. * Count Colin the Caterpillar Cake – For

Hallowe'en Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

, Marks & Spencer launched a Count Colin cake. The colouring of Colin's face and feet changes from white to green, and his body is decorated with chocolate

maggots A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies. Entom ...

. It is said to resemble either

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

or a

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...

. * Christmas Cake – For

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, a festive version of Colin the Caterpillar cake is produced. Colin wears a Santa hat, and his body is adorned with a range of festive decorations, including

candy canes A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but they also come in a variety of other flavors and colors. ...

, holly leaves and snowflakes. * Coffee Morning Colin – In 2018, Marks & Spencer launched a limited edition Colin Cake for Macmillan Cancer Support's

World's Biggest Coffee Morning World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event. Each year, people in the UK and worldwide host their own Coffee Morning. The donations received go towards Macmillan services. In 2016 alone, World's Biggest Co ...

. Colin's feet were changed to purple, and his body was covered in green and purple

sprinkles Sprinkles are very small pieces of confectionery used as an often colourful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally use ...

, instead of the usual multi-coloured ones. Marks & Spencer donated 10% of sales to Macmillan Cancer Support after purchasing. * Count Colin Gummies – For Hallowe'en, Marks & Spencer sold packets of maggot

gummies Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummi bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are availab ...

, similar to the maggots on the body of the Count Colin cake * Colin the Caterpillar Faces - In 2020, to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Colin the Caterpillar cake, Marks & Spencer began selling bags of Colin the Caterpillar faces. The snacks have

faces and milk chocolate eyes, just like the one that come on the cake. * Mini Colin the Caterpillars – Miniature milk chocolate-coated chocolate sponge rolls, filled with chocolate buttercream. Decorated with milk chocolate beans and a white chocolate face. * Flower Power Connie – A redesigned version of Connie the Caterpillar, decorated yellow and pink flowers and a sporting a floral headband, released in 2021 for

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...

* Easter Eggs – For

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

2021, M&S launched a series of Colin the Caterpillar themed Easter Products. This included a hollow milk chocolate

Easter Egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

, containing a bag of Colin the Caterpillar faces, and a re-designed Colin the Caterpillar cake, which featured Colin wearing a top hat with mini bunny ear and chocolate eggs along his back. * Colin the Caterpillar Cake Jars – In April 2021, M&S launched a series of cakes in jars, which featured raspberry ripple and trillionaire's cake, as well as a Colin The Caterpillar cake version. The Colin The Caterpillar jar featured layers of chocolate sponge with Belgian chocolate sauce, chocolate ganache, milk and white choc chips and was topped with Colin's white chocolate face. *My Hero Colin - A smaller, redesigned version of Colin the Caterpillar, decorated blue cape and a superhero mask, released in 2023 for

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...

Other retailers

Similar caterpillar cakes are available in other rival retailers. Thse include: * Cecil the Caterpillar at

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

* Chris the Caterpillar at

Poundland Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by ...

* Clive the Caterpillar at One Stop * Clyde the Caterpillar at

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...

* Curious Caterpillar Cake at the

Co-Op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

* Curly the Caterpillar at

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

* Cuthbert the Caterpillar at

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

* Morris the Caterpillar at

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headqu ...

* Wiggles the Caterpillar at

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

Gluten Gluten is a structural protein naturally found in certain cereal grains. Although "gluten" often only refers to wheat proteins, in medical literature it refers to the combination of prolamin and glutelin proteins naturally occurring in all grai ...

and

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

free versions are also available; Carl the caterpillar from

, Frieda the caterpillar from

, and Eric the caterpillar from

Sainsbury’s J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company w ...

. In April 2021, Marks & Spencer announced that it had lodged an intellectual property claim for infringement of three trade marks with the High Court against Aldi in relation to the latter's Cuthbert the Caterpillar product. In its complaint, Marks & Spencer claimed that Aldi's Cuthbert the Caterpillar was too similar to the Colin the Caterpillar cake, which could lead consumers to believe that they are of the same standard and allows Cuthbert to "ride on the coat-tails" of the M&S cake's reputation. In February 2022, the lawsuit was settled between both parties for an undisclosed amount. In reaction to the media generated around the court case Papa's Fish and Chips, a

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop, is a (often fast food) restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and c ...

in Cleethorpes, began selling

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

Mini Colin the Caterpillar cakes. Profits from the sales were used to raise funds for the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. I ...

. Emanuel's, a fish and chip shop in

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

, later gained media attention for selling a full-sized Colin the Caterpillar cake that had been deep-fried in batter.

References

External links

Colin the Caterpillar
at MarksAndSpencer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Colin The Caterpillar Chocolate desserts British cakes Marks & Spencer Fictional butterflies and moths

Overview

Variations

Other retailers

See also

References

External links