A Tropical Brand Crossover
A new design concept places one of the UK’s most recognisable soft drinks inside one of its most famous cakes. The mockup shows a Colin the Caterpillar box, redesigned in the distinct orange and blue livery of Rubicon. Specifically, it’s for a Rubicon Mango flavoured edition of the M&S birthday party staple.
The execution is thorough. The familiar M&S branding architecture is all there, but the colour palette is pure Rubicon. The caterpillar illustration on the pack has been recoloured with an orange body and blue feet, mirroring the design of the drink can. Even the M&S logo is rendered in a complementary blue. It’s a clean and convincing piece of packaging design.
The Colin the Caterpillar Range
Colin is more than a single cake. He is a platform. For years, M&S has expanded the character’s footprint into a sprawling range of confectionery and adjacent baked goods. This is a brand with serious line extensions. The core chocolate sponge roll is supported by Mini Colin the Caterpillar Cakes for individual portions, and even themed Party Cups.
The sweet aisle is where the brand truly diversifies. There are Colin the Caterpillar Softies, Fruit Gums, Cola Gums, and Cherry Gums. Then there is the entire sour sub-category, a market in itself, with Sourtastic sweets, Sour Stomps, and Fruit Sours. A brand crossover, however, is new territory. The existing variants all play within the M&S house style, using familiar sweet profiles. A partnership with a major external drink brand would be a significant step in a new direction.
From Drink to Dessert
Bringing a soft drink’s flavour profile into a completely different format is a well-established move in the UK snack market. Soft drink brands frequently lend their flavouring to ice lollies, boiled sweets, and even chocolate. It’s a reliable way to generate interest and leverage the brand recognition of two separate products.
Rubicon is known for a very specific flavour portfolio, with Mango being its undisputed flagship. While other drinks have a fizz that can be replicated with sherbet or popping candy, Rubicon’s appeal lies in its still, intensely fruity character. The challenge would be translating that specific mango flavour, recognised from the liquid in the carton, into the buttercream and sponge of a cake. This concept sits right on the edge of plausibility.
What the real range looks like
The current M&S Colin the Caterpillar range is extensive, moving far beyond the original cake. It includes confectionery like Colin the Caterpillar Softies, Speckles, Fruit Gums, and a whole sub-range of sours like Sourtastic and Sour Stomps. A crossover with a drink brand like Rubicon would be a first, placing it outside the established cake and confectionery lines.
- 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 flavour is the Colin the Caterpillar in the mockup?
- The concept proposes a crossover with the soft drink brand Rubicon. The specific flavour is Rubicon Mango, known for its distinctive tropical taste, which would be incorporated into the classic sponge roll cake.
- Has Colin the Caterpillar done brand crossovers before?
- While Colin’s own range is huge, featuring sweets like Cola Gums and various mini cakes, a direct crossover with another major food or drink brand is not something M&S has done. This Rubicon concept would be a new direction for the character.
- Is the Rubicon Mango Colin the Caterpillar cake real?
- No, this product is not real. The image is a Snackfish, a piece of digital art and a mockup created by the online artist UK Snack Attack. It is not available to buy in M&S or any other stores.
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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