The M&S Icons Collide
Marks & Spencer has built its food hall reputation on a handful of iconic own-brand products. Two of the most recognisable are Colin the Caterpillar, the undisputed king of the office birthday party since 1990, and the classic Battenberg cake. A new design concept brings the two together in a format that already exists in M&S freezers: the ice cream tub.
The Colin brand is no stranger to expansion. Over three decades, the original chocolate log cake has spawned miniature rolls, giant versions, a counterpart in Connie the Caterpillar, seasonal variants for Halloween and Christmas, and a popular range of gummy sweets. Even a jar of “Fruity Colin the Caterpillar Sauce” exists. An ice cream tub combining two bakery staples is, in this context, a logical fantasy.
Birthday Cake Smash Branding
The mockup’s packaging immediately signals its intent, replacing the usual Colin green with the unmistakable pink and yellow squares of a Battenberg. The visual shorthand is powerful, instantly communicating the flavour profile before you read the text. That text is rendered in Colin’s familiar, playful font, beneath a new sub-brand: ‘Birthday Cake Smash’.
This name seems to embrace the potential chaos of combining so many elements, suggesting a celebratory, anything-goes mixture rather than a refined dessert. The tub features Colin’s white chocolate face, the one element that has remained consistent across almost all his product variations. It’s a strong piece of visual design that merges two separate, powerful M&S identities into one cohesive concept.
A Complex Flavour Profile
The practical challenge of such a product would be translating both cakes into a single frozen dessert. A traditional Battenberg is built from delicate, distinct components: yellow almond sponge, pink almond sponge, apricot jam, and a thin layer of marzipan. The Colin the Caterpillar profile, by contrast, is a full-on chocolate assault: chocolate sponge roll, chocolate buttercream, and a thick milk chocolate shell, plus his sugar-coated chocolate bean decorations.
The existing Colin ice cream focuses only on the chocolate elements. Merging that base with the almond and apricot of a Battenberg would create a seriously crowded scoop. It raises the question of which flavour would dominate, and how the distinct textures of sponge, marzipan and solid chocolate could co-exist in an ice cream.
Frequently asked questions
- What exactly is a Battenberg cake?
- A light sponge cake with a distinctive pink-and-yellow check pattern, held together by apricot jam and covered in a layer of marzipan. It’s a classic British cake, strongly associated with M&S.
- Is there a real Colin the Caterpillar ice cream?
- Yes. M&S launched a Colin the Caterpillar ice cream tub in 2020. It features chocolate ice cream with chocolate-coated swirls, chocolate chunks, and Colin’s signature white chocolate face.
- Can I buy Battenberg Colin the Caterpillar ice cream?
- No. The Battenberg version does not exist. It is a Snackfish—a fictional product concept designed and mocked up by the creative page UK Snack Attack. It is not on sale anywhere.
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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