The Colin Franchise
Colin the Caterpillar is more than a cake. It is a product empire. Since launching in 1990, the M&S chocolate log has become a non-negotiable feature of British birthdays, office parties, and any occasion requiring a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The character’s reach now extends far beyond the original sponge roll.
The current range is vast. Alongside the classic cake and its miniature versions, there are Colin the Caterpillar Softies, Speckles, Party Cups, and a whole suite of confectionery. The sweet bags alone cover multiple flavour profiles, from Fruit Gums and Cola Gums to Cherry Gums and the genuinely sharp Sourtastic and Fruit Sours variants. It is a huge range.
A Brand Crossover
This new design proposes a direct brand collaboration. The box art merges Colin’s familiar face with the distinctive blue and silver branding of Milky Way Magic Stars, a Mars Inc. product since 1993. The pack also carries the Galaxy logo, nodding to the chocolate used in Magic Stars, and promises an ‘out of this world’ experience.
While M&S regularly releases special editions of Colin, they are almost always seasonal or event-based variations on the original. We see Halloween, Easter, and Christmas Colins, and even a Corgi Colin for the Platinum Jubilee. These are essentially costume changes. A flavour-led partnership with an external confectionery brand would be a completely different strategy. It’s a significant leap from adding a paper crown.
An Ambitious Flavour
The core proposition here is textural. Magic Stars are known for their light, aerated malt chocolate, which contrasts with the solid shell and dense sponge of a standard Colin cake. The mockup doesn’t specify how the flavour would be integrated. Would Magic Stars replace the Smarties-style discs on Colin’s back, or would the chocolate buttercream itself be reformulated? The packaging leaves it open.
Placing another brand’s identity so prominently on the box is a bold move. It treats Colin not just as a product but as a platform for other flavours, much like Oreo or Cadbury Dairy Milk. This is a new direction. While the brand has experimented with sour sweets, it has never fundamentally altered its core chocolate flavour profile with a third-party product.
What the real range looks like
The real M&S Colin the Caterpillar range focuses on confectionery spin-offs like Colin the Caterpillar Softies, Fruit Gums, Sourtastic sweets and Sour Stomps. While the core cake gets seasonal makeovers, a flavour crossover like this Milky Way Magic Stars edition would be an entirely new category for the brand.
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Cake
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Softies
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Speckles
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Cola Gums
- M S Mini Colin the Caterpillar Cakes
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Sourtastic
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Fruit Gums
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Party Cups
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Party Time
- M S Colin the Caterpillar Sour Stomps
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Colin the Caterpillar cake?
- It’s the signature celebration cake from Marks & Spencer. The standard format is a chocolate sponge roll filled with chocolate buttercream, covered in a hard milk chocolate shell and decorated with chocolate sweets.
- Are there other special edition Colin the Caterpillar cakes?
- Yes, M&S releases variations for events like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter. These are typically the same cake but with different themed decorations, rather than a fundamental change in flavour or a brand collaboration.
- Is the Milky Way Colin the Caterpillar cake real?
- No. This is a Snackfish. The image is a mockup created by the online artist UK Snack Attack. The product is not in development and is not for 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