Aldi’s “Cuthbert the Caterpillar” cake, the focus of legal action by fellow UK supermarket Marks & Spencer, is returning to shelves in a charity drive.
M&S sued Aldi last week, alleging that the cake infringed on its well-known “Colin the Caterpillar” trademark. The two cakes are visually similar, though M&S’s Colin costs £7 while Aldi’s Cuthbert costs only £7, prompting accusations from M&S that Aldi was attempting to “ride on the cot-tails” of its reputation for quality food.
The litigation caused a stir on social media, with the Aldi-backed “FreeCuthbert” hashtag trending on Twitter. Aldi had stopped selling the cake in February, two months prior to the legal action from M&S.
Now, however, it is introducing a limited-edition version of the cake with profits to go towards Macmillan Cancer Support and Teenage Cancer Trust, partner organisations of M&S and Aldi respectively.
“Let’s raise money for charity, not lawyers,” the company said in a tweet.
M&S’s Colin the Caterpillar product is central to its partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, and the supermarket has three trademarks relating to it. The product’s design has remained largely unchanged since its launch 30 years ago, which the company believes lends it a distinctive character and reputation.
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In its intellectual property claim filed with the High Court last week, M&S stated that it wants Aldi to remove the Cuthbert the Caterpillar product from sale and agree not to sell any similar products in the future.
