Colin the Caterpillar, the iconic chocolate cake from Marks & Spencer, has been named the worst among nine supermarket caterpillar cakes in a taste test by Which?. The consumer champion’s panel of 75 cake testers gave Colin a score of 64%, with 44% complaining the sponge was “too dry”.
Waitrose’s Cecil topped the rankings with 78%, earning a “best buy” award. Testers praised his “remarkably moist” sponge, flavoursome shell and perfect sponge-to-buttercream ratio. Co-op’s Charlie and Sainsbury’s Wiggles tied for second place on 73%.
Colin, which has been a party favourite since 1990, was also found to have the highest levels of sugar (46.3g) and fat (21.3g) per 100g among the caterpillars. At £9.50, he was one of the most expensive. Aldi’s Cuthbert, whose design was amended after a legal dispute with M&S, finished fourth on 72%.
Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “There are better options out there than the original Colin.” M&S defended its cake, citing a recent poll of 2,100 adults that named Colin the nation’s favourite, and noted its highest chocolate content at 39.5%.
