Marks & Spencer’s Percy Pig is wallowing in glory after the British confectioner Swizzels agreed to redesign a sweet that the retailer alleged had been masquerading as its popular pink treat.
M&S said it had reached an “amicable resolution” with Swizzels under which the maker of Refreshers and Parma Violets had agreed to change the design of its Pigs Mugs sweets, which have been on sale since 1996.
Lawyers for the high street chain had claimed that the two sweets’ designs were so similar that its customers might have bought the wrong item in error.
A 37-page document filed at the high court in London in November said the Percy Pig brand had generated a £131.7m turnover since its launch in 1993 and that today 271 bags a minute are sold.
The brand has been a key part of M&S’s efforts to reinvent itself as a family food retailer, featuring in its Christmas ads and a plethora of different products from pyjamas to cupcakes as well as the original confectionery.
In its legal submission, M&S cited an example of a customer who loved the fruit gums so much they had got a tattoo of Percy’s face.
Percy is not immune to controversy, however, causing a stir in 2019 when M&S changed the recipe to remove gelatine and make him vegetarian, prompting complaints of a deterioration in flavour.
Responding to the Swizzels victory, an M&S spokesperson said: “M&S has a proud history as a leading innovator and for almost 140 years customers have turned to M&S for unique, original, quality products – conceived, created and developed alongside trusted suppliers and produced to the highest standards.
“M&S has made a significant investment in building a strong Percy Pig brand over the past 30 years and believe it is important to protect the registered trademarks relating to Percy Pig’s appearance.”
The group’s latest triumph in a food fight comes after M&S successfully brought legal action against Aldi to protect its bestselling Colin the Caterpillar cake.
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M&S had called in the lawyers over concerns that the German discount chain’s rival chocolate sponge roll, Cuthbert, was making copycat appearances at birthday parties and picnics.
Aldi also lost a court battle against M&S earlier this year after being accused of copying its light-up Christmas gin bottles.
