Colin’s Empire
Colin the Caterpillar is more than a cake. He is a multi-million-pound brand asset for Marks & Spencer, a character whose simple chocolate-log form has been spun out into an entire ecosystem of products. He started as a birthday party centrepiece in 1990. Now he’s a franchise.
The M&S food hall features Colin-branded gummy sweets, chocolate faces, mini cakes, and seasonal specials. The freezer aisle was a logical conquest. A standard Colin the Caterpillar ice cream tub already exists, translating the cake’s flavour profile—chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate pieces, a chocolate sauce ripple, and sugar-coated milk chocolate beans—into a frozen format. It’s a faithful tribute. This new concept, however, suggests a more ambitious direction. It’s a brand collaboration.
The Party Rings Crossover
The other brand in question is Fox’s. Specifically, their Party Rings biscuits, a fixture of children’s parties since their launch in 1983. The product is defined by its unique physical properties: a crunchy, circular biscuit base topped with a distinctively brittle, pastel-coloured icing. The hole in the middle is non-negotiable.
While M&S is known for creating its own premium versions of classic treats, a direct, co-branded product with another manufacturer for one of its flagship characters like Colin would be a significant move. The mockup shows shattered pieces of the iconic biscuit stirred through the ice cream, promising a textural change-up from the soft base. It’s not just a flavouring. It’s an ingredient inclusion, bringing that signature crunch into the mix.
A Very Modern Core
The final element specified on the tub is the salted caramel core. If Party Rings bring the nostalgia, salted caramel brings the product firmly into the 2020s. The flavour has dominated dessert innovation for over a decade, shifting from a high-end restaurant staple to a default setting for mainstream ice creams, chocolates, and yoghurts.
It’s a reliable shorthand for an indulgent, slightly more complex product. The ‘core’ format is also a key feature in the premium tub market, concentrating the sauce into a dense column through the middle of the container. This construction offers a different eating experience from a simple ripple or swirl.
What the real range looks like
The core Colin the Caterpillar range from M&S is extensive, starting with the original chocolate roll cake and its female counterpart, Connie. The brand also includes gummy sweets, chocolate gift bars, mini rolls, and the existing Colin the Caterpillar Ice Cream Tub. This Party Rings concept would be a new flavour variant within that established frozen dessert line, sitting alongside the original chocolate and vanilla version.
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Frequently asked questions
- What are Fox’s Party Rings?
- Fox’s Party Rings are a popular British biscuit first introduced in 1983. They are known for their circular shape with a hole in the centre, a crunchy biscuit base, and a layer of hard, colourful pastel icing.
- Does M&S already sell Colin the Caterpillar ice cream?
- Yes, Marks & Spencer produces a real Colin the Caterpillar Ice Cream tub. The existing product features chocolate and vanilla ice cream, solid chocolate chunks, a chocolate sauce ripple, and mini chocolate beans, mimicking the flavours of the original cake.
- Is Colin the Caterpillar Party Rings ice cream real?
- No, this product does not exist. This is a Snackfish – a mockup of a fictional product created by the online design page UK Snack Attack. It is not available to buy from M&S or any other retailer.
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You have been Snackfished!
Snackfish :
[sn-a-ck-fish] verb
A snack that lies about its legitimacy as an official product online for internet clout and attention. Most commonly fabricated in Adobe Photoshop or using the unofficial Snackfish AI