The UK’s leading supermarket chains have jumped to Aldi’s defence in the viral caterpillar cake war over this past weekend.
In case you missed it, which would be a pretty impressive feat at this point, it was announced last Thursday that Marks & Spencer had decided to launch legal action against Aldi over its iconic Colin the Caterpillar cake, claiming that the budget supermarket’s own larvae dessert – Cuthbert the Caterpillar – is too similar, infringes its trademark and should be removed from shelves.
A spokesperson for M&S said: “Because we know the M&S brand is special to our customers and they expect only the very best from us, love and care goes into every M&S product on our shelves.
“We want to protect Colin and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value”.
As you would expect, Aldi then decided to bring out the big guns on social media in response, by launching a #FreeCuthbert hashtag and marketing campaign on Friday.
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It spoke out in defence of its own caterpillar cake in a series of amusing tweets that mercilessly mocked its rival, before the British public typically chipped in to take matters into their own hands and turn it into the full-blown cake war it’s now become.
And now a number of other major supermarkets have waded in too.
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We all know that several major supermarkets also have their own versions of a caterpillar cake – including Sainsbury’s’ Wiggles the Caterpillar, Tesco’s Curly the Caterpillar, and Asda’s Clyde the Caterpillar – but despite this, M&S has stated that Aldi’s Cuthbert is too similar to Colin, and that the dessert “rides on the coat-tails” of the retailer’s reputation.
Determined not to be out on the battlefield alone, Aldi then decided to recruit the support of its fellow caterpillar cake competitions.
“Cecil, Wiggles, Curly, Clyde. We got you. #FreeCuthbert” Aldi said on Twitter.
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Even though Aldi made sure to tag its rivals in the tweet, Waitrose was the only one of them to directly respond to being dragged into the argument by admitting that “Cecil is watching from the sidelines”.
The supermarkets seemingly left out of the conversation had a lot more to say though.
Morrison’s responded to Aldi’s tweet saying: “When you find out your friends have a group chat without you #whataboutMorris”, with Coop then echoing the same sentiment in response to Morrison’s adding: “We feel your pain, it’s the 2nd time we’ve been left off the invite list.
“We call for co-operation for all caterpillars. #FreeCuthbert“.
Iceland – which had successfully managed to stay out of the firing line up until it decided to join in and take Aldi’s side on the matter – also took to Twitter to say: “Just wait till they see our ‘Colleen the Butterfly’ cake #FreeCuthbert“.
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And the Irish arm of fellow budget supermarket chain Lidl also posted a hilarious snapshot of their “legal team’s search history”.
When will all this mayhem be resolved then? Honestly, we have no idea.
It’s said that if M&S’s intellectual property claim to the High Court ends up being successful, that Aldi will need remove Cuthbert from supermarket shelves right across the UK and refrain from selling any similar products in the future.
For now though, at least we have the endless raft of memes and supermarket responses to entertain us.
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Helen Flanagan describes psychosis diagnosis as she breaks social media silence
Daisy Jackson
Helen Flanagan has broken a months-long social media silence to explain to fans that she has been going through struggles with her mental health.
The former Coronation Street star explained that she’d had a ‘really bad reaction’ to some ADHD medication, which triggered psychosis.
The 33-year-old actress also said that she had been ’emotionally struggling’ after splitting with Scott Sinclair, with whom she shares three children.
Helen Flanagan wrote on Instagram that she’s had ‘a lot of difficult things going on’, explaining why she has stepped back from the public eye since January.
She also said that she was unaware that she was in the psychosis, which lasted for days.
It left her unable to continue with theatre rehearsals and instead Helen stayed at home with her family to recover.
Helen also said that she’d decided to try the medication after struggling with her mental health throughout December and January, so that she could ‘cope better with being a working single mum-of-three’.
But the Bury-born beauty then assured her one million followers that she was in a ‘really good happy place now’ and ‘feels lighter’.
She wrote, alongside a fresh-faced selfie on Instagram: “Had a few months off from social but I’m back now. So basically I really struggled mental health wise December/ January. I felt really not great in my head over Christmas and I didn’t really feel that much different when I took the kids away for new year.
“I had a lot of difficult things going on, things I just can’t talk about on Instagram.
“I felt terrible, so I was due my theatre tour which I was excited about so when I came back from holiday I thought it was best for me to take some medication so I’d feel better and be able to cope better with being a working single mum of three and I was emotionally struggling with the break up from the father of my kids but I had a really bad reaction though to the medication ( an ADHD medication) and it sent me into a psychosis for a few days which I didn’t know I was in. I just love my kids so much.
“This bad reaction though was a few days before rehearsals were starting and sadly I just wasn’t mentally well enough to do it.
“I was heartbroken as I’ve always been professional as an actress but i needed to stay at home and feel better for me and my kids, with the help of my amazing parents.
“I’ve always been honest on here and I feel in a really good happy place now. Therapy can be amazing and I feel like I’ve worked on myself with things that were quite tough to me but I feel lighter now. Anyway sending love and please be kind.”
She’s been flooded with well-wishes since sharing the very personal update.
Her former Corrie co-star and on-screen sister Brooke Vincent wrote: “Nice to see you back my girl. Love you lots xx”
Another Corrie legend, Cath Tyldesley, said: “Beautiful girl love you lots you are so brave . Health comes first. Well done for sharing as I’m sure it will help others xxxx.”
Another person said: “I read the word struggle, but I felt the word strength. There’s so much strength in seeking help, especially as a busy, working mama. You don’t even need to explain.”
Stockport lad lands ‘world’s sweetest job’ as Aldi’s new Easter egg taster
Emily Sergeant
A young lad from Stockport has just landed himself the “sweetest job” in the world, as he’s been chosen as Aldi’s newest Easter egg taster.
It’s hard to see someone else live out your dream… but on the eve of what is undoubtedly one of the most chocolate and sweet treat-filled holidays of the year, a five-year-old from Stockport has been revealed the Aldi ‘Chief Easter Egg Tasting Officer’ for 2024.
And it really does sound like the “world’s sweetest job”, to be fair.
Little Levi Hallows has beaten hundreds of hopeful applicants to become the supermarket‘s newest recruit in-charge of easting Easter eggs.
As he assumes his new role, chocolate lover Levi will receive a selection of Aldi’s Easter eggs in exchange for reporting back his thoughts to the company’s Buying Team, and his feedback will be valuable, as it’ll help guide what goes on shelves for Easter 2025.
The cracking job generated hundreds of special entries on social media from all across the UK, with applicants sharing videos as to why they were right for the role.
Levi caught the attention of the judges after submitting a video entry where he sang a song dedicated to the role of a lifetime, and can be seen holding his favourite Aldi chocolate bar and belting out the words: “Do you have a sweet tooth? I do! I’ve had it since I was a boy!”
As well as being a massive chocolate fan and having a long-time sweet tooth, Levi is also a budding Karate star, and has a keen interest in all things outer space too.
Levi says he’s “so excited” to have been chosen for the coveted role and “can’t wait to taste the eggs”, before going on to add: “My mum and grandparents are very proud of me, and I can’t wait to tell all my friends at school.”
Five-year-old Levi Hallows will give his feedback to help Aldi’s Buying Team curate their 2025 Easter collection / Credit: Aldi
The Greater Manchester youngster’s mum, Mary, says her son was “absolutely over the moon” when he was told he’d landed the job.
Julie Ashfield, who is the Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, added: “Our Easter eggs are hugely popular, but it’s important that we continue to amaze shoppers with innovative, fun products each year, and that’s why the role of our Chief Easter Egg Tasting Officer is such an important one.