CLASH OF THE CATERPILLARS - CEASEFIRE DECLARED!, Geraint Lloyd-Taylor

In the UK, cakes have become synonymous with controversy of late.

Whether it's parties in Downing Street, or the will-they-won't-they ban on unhealthy food advertising, and who could forget the clash of the titans: M&S's Colin the Caterpillar versus Aldi's cheeky Cuthbert the Caterpillar.

But now, great news for cake fans, the Caterpillar Wars appear to be over.

You can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs

Regular readers will know that hostilities spilled over into all out war back in early 2021.

It reached a head when Aldi stopped selling its cake in February 2021, and in April 2021 M&S accused the supermarket of infringing its Colin the Caterpillar trademark.

The lawyers went to work defending their multi-legged clients.

Memorably, Cuthbert took to social media to plead his case in the court of public opinion.

Carving up the spoils

Fast forward to early 2022, just when politicians were giving cakes everywhere a bad name...

"Oh crumbs, can't we just be friends" said one of the caterpillars to the other. Probably. We might never really know, because the two supermarkets have confirmed that a settlement has now been reached in this case, but very few details are going to be shared. It is wrapped in a confidentiality agreement.

But we know that neither party seems to be eating humble pie.

An M&S spokesman said: "The objective of the claim was to protect the [intellectual property] in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome."

M&S said it was "pleased" with the outcome, and Aldi said its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake was "free" and "looking forward" to seeing his fans.

In typical Cuthbert fashion, Aldi Stores UK said in a tweet: "Getting out early on good behaviour, keep an eye out for Cuthy B this spring".