M&S is officially launching a gluten-free Colin the Caterpillar cake this week after thousands of requests over the years. The store said it is “about to make some serious birthday wishes come true.”
A delicious icon is about to become available in a gluten-free version: Colin the Caterpillar.
M&S confirmed that after thousands of requests over the years, a gluten-free Colin will finally become a reality this week. It will be available from tomorrow and priced the same as the original at £9.50.
Largely, the cake will be the same, with a chocolate sponge cake interior, a chocolate coating, buttercream, and a white chocolate face and feet.
“You’ve been asking in your THOUSANDS,” M&S posted in a reel on Instagram. “Now we’re about to make some serious birthday wishes come true … Watch this space for a giant helping of @official_colinthecaterpillar news, coming Wednesday!”
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Customers have been begging M&S for a gluten-free Colin for years. The cake is a staple at birthday parties, particularly office ones. Almost everyone in the UK has received a Colin cake at some point in their lives, with sales growing steadily since it launched in the 90s. But people who are gluten-free by choice, or live with coeliac disease, have missed out.
Becky Excell, a gluten-free recipe creator and blogger, shared her excitement at the news on Facebook : “Did you hear the news?! We are getting a GLUTEN FREE Colin the Caterpillar!! What do you think?”
“All I ever say is us gluten free folk want to feel NORMAL and INCLUDED. NOT separate and left out… And products like Gluten Free Colin are exactly what we need!” she said. “I’ve been to many birthday parties (even my own!!) where I wasn’t able to eat the cake. So to have the most iconic of all birthday cakes not only with a gluten free option BUT the SAME PRICE and SAME SIZE is epic.
“Gluten free folk need NOT MISS OUT!”
Excell thanked M&S for the launch, adding: “it made me feel like they actually understand the gluten free community.”
An M&S spokesperson told the Metro it has taken a long time to bring the gluten-free version of Colin to stores.
“It’s been part of our plan for more than five years, however from the beginning we were keen for our Gluten Free Colin cake to be made at the same supplier who has been making the original Colin cake for over 35 years,” they said. “Before starting recipe development, our supplier needed to invest in a dedicated production facility with equipment exclusively for gluten-free product.”
A big part of development was ensuring that there was no risk of cross-contamination, because even the slightest amount of gluten can cause a reaction to coeliacs.
“Since investing in this facility, our supplier has been working for over a year to perfect the recipe without compromising on M&S quality and flavour,” the spokesperson added.
