Colin & Cuthbert

[Comefromaway]

I have to admit that I've been loving Aldi's twitter feed the last few days along with all the other companies that have joined in.

But now they have appealed to M & S to raise money for charity not lawyers by donating all profits from a limited edition Cuthbert to two cancer charities, one they are linked with and one M & S are linked with.

It's not putting M & S in a good light to be honest.

Bayliss and Harding ripping off Molton Brown?

Yes! That’s it! It was driving me mad!

B&H is cheap crap compared to MB though, imho!

I think the thing I find most galling is why it’s just Aldi that m and a are going for. Either go for all of them or none of them.

It sounds terribly snobbish that they are going after the perceived ( by some) lower grade shop.

I posted about a Kevin the Carrot cake days ago and now M&S are suggesting it to Aldi! Where do I collect my money for the idea?

Aldi can afford to lose the court case. They’ve also lost this type of case before. However I think no matter what M&S will struggle. Aldi quality is good and the argument about lower quality product will be very hard to prove. My experience is that Aldi’s is better, M&S was disappointing but so was Waitrose’s.

I don’t think that you can argue that Aldi are stealing. Copies occur all the time. This wasn’t a well thought out song or design, this is a cake that was born long before Colin and has been in existence for years. M&S just made a version. It’s not stealing. Also not sure why people are concerned about the morals side when you’re talking large billion pound companies.

emilyfrost I think you are way off with your description of Aldi and customers of Aldi as idiots hmm
You asked op to name changes, she named changes, they weren't good enough for you.

Clearly you think Aldi is a lowly supermarket that only poor plebs visit. When actually it has high quality local produce and many different types of people shop there.

Well said @Horehound

I'm loving the Aldi Social Media campaign.
M&S are being ridiculous.
I'm pretty sure I had a swiss roll that looked a bit like a caterpillar for a birthday cake as a child, and that is a LOT more than 30 years ago. It is an easy thing to make for those of us who aren't really cake makers. I've definitely made them for my dc. Every supermarket has them. It is such a daft thing to try to challenge Aldi over.

I would have a bet that nearly all caterpillar cakes are made in the same factory, we used to have the factory that made cakes, biscuits & sandwiches for M & S, Sainsbury's, Tesco & Morrison's near us.

@Nat6999

I would have a bet that nearly all caterpillar cakes are made in the same factory, we used to have the factory that made cakes, biscuits & sandwiches for M & S, Sainsbury's, Tesco & Morrison's near us.

But just because something is made in the same factory doesn't mean that it's made with the same ingredients. My sister used to work in a chocolate factory. They made chocolate for Thornton's, those cheap advent calendars, the chocolates you get on the side of your coffee cup in restaurants, the chocolate you get on your pillow at hotels, fair trade Easter eggs, chocolate bars for supermarkets and more. They all had different production runs and different ingredients/ variation in quality of ingredients etc.

Nat6999, I agree. I once had a client who worked in a factory and they produced the same goods which were then packaged. And sent to several different supermarkets. Personally I find m&s stuff to not be of great quality and very overpriced.

@JamesMiddletonsMarshmallows

Walnut whip is not patented AFAIK. Walnut whip is not a character based on a specific animal.

If you don't understand patent laws, why they exist and what you can patent, maybe do a quick Google before commenting

It's a trademark, not a patent.

The M&S Colin the Caterpillar I mean

I've realised something this morning - whenever people I know refer to any kind of Swiss roll based chocolate caterpillar cake, they call it a Colin the Caterpillar cake. Happened when someone brought the Asda version into work for a birthday and I've seen it just this week with a FB friend posting about a child's birthday. That one was the Tesco version.

@ElfDragon

I assume M&S have taken on this particular case with Aldi because they think, for whatever reason, that the Aldi caterpillar is too close a copy of their brand product. I assume, also, that they have taken advice on whether they have a strong case.

The initial banter from Aldi was funny, but I think enough is enough. Trying to shame another company into donating to charity, or imply that money that is being spent on this legal case would otherwise go to charity, is a step too far.

M&S have charities they donate to, and policies and procedures for how much is donated/how it gets raised. Trying to deflect from an obvious wrongdoing (in copying the cake too closely) by attempting to make out that M&S are the party in the wrong for defending their brand product is not a good look.

I totally agree. My two closest supermarkets are M and S and Aldi. I will now be shopping soley at M and S for as long as my finances will allow. If I need specific brands not available in Marks, I will drive further into town to Sainsbury's.

Does anyone go specifically to aldi for cuthbert, I don't I pick up a caterpillar cake in which ever shop I'm doing the shopping in (never M&S) I don't many kids would notice the difference?

My local community centre has bought loads of cuthbert's to serve at its socially distanced coffee morning. My friend wants 8 cuthbert's to serve at her wedding in the summer.