The best supermarket caterpillar cake has been crowned — and it’s not M&S’s Colin

When it comes to chocolate caterpillar cakes, there’s long been a rivalry between M&S and Aldi.

Their ‘supermarket cake war’ began in 2021, when M&S sued Aldi over its Cutherbert cake, claiming it was too similar to Colin.

The pair later reached an agreement to settle the dispute, but it seems a new cake feud could be on the cards, as the best supermarket caterpillar cake has been revealed – and it wasn’t either of these retailers.

In fact, in an absolutely shocking turn of events, Colin the Caterpillar was actually crowned the ‘worst’ of nine different chocolate log cakes, in a blind taste test conducted by the consumer champions at Which.

Here’s everything you need to know…

Which supermarket has the best caterpillar cake?

M&S has officially been dethroned, and there’s a new champion in town. 

According to a panel of 75 shoppers, it’s Waitrose’s Cecil Chocolate Sponge Cake (£9.50) that’s actually the best of the bunch. 

Cecil garnered a score of 78% overall and was awarded a best buy rating, too, despite being at the top end in terms of cost. This is because at 744g it was the ‘largest specimen’ in the taste test, which makes it ‘more cost-effective’ than Colin and other budget rivals.

Cecil was praised for having a ‘flavoursome thick chocolate shell’ and a ‘perfect’ sponge-to-buttercream ratio, according to 69% of the group.

And, while some will hate this, the cake was also deemed to be ‘remarkably moist’. 

Following closely behind in joint-second place were Co-op’s Party Time Charlie Chocolate Cake (£9.85) and Sainsbury’s Birthday & Celebration Wiggles the Caterpillar Cake (£8.50), which both scored 73%.

Charlie was the priciest on the list but wowed taste testers for its ‘spot on’ chocolate flavour and ‘rich’ buttercream, which compensated for a slightly dry sponge, while Wiggles was declared the ultimate ‘lookalike’ for Colin, but without the price tag. The only reason it didn’t score higher was that its sponge ‘lacked the moistness of the Waitrose winner’.

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Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar Cake (£6.99) came in third place alongside Morris the Caterpillar Celebration Cake from Morrisons (£9). Both scored a very respectable 72%.

Cuthbert proved he was more than a marketing stunt thanks to his ‘creamy’ texture, but the sponge wasn’t quite as good as that of the higher scorers, while Morris had the lowest sugar content and the best-rated buttercream texture of all the cakes.

Asda’s Letty the Caterpillar Cake (£9) was next, followed by Lewis & Green’s Caterpillar Celebration Cake (£4.50 at Iceland).

At the bottom of the scale were Tesco’s Slinky Caterpillar Cake (£9) and, most shockingly, M&S’s Colin the Caterpillar Cake (£9.50) in last place. 

Those who tried the cakes only scored Colin 64%, with around half thinking it was ‘too dry’ and two in five claiming the chocolate flavour was ‘too weak’. 

To make matters worse, Colin was found to be the least healthy cake in the test, with the highest levels of sugar (46.3g) and fat (21.3g) per 100g. 

What does M&S have to say about this?

M&S has responded to these results by pointing out that Colin was named the nation’s best caterpillar cake in an independent YouGov poll from March 2026 and that it has the highest chocolate content on the market. 

An M&S spokesperson said: ‘Colin the Caterpillar is the UK’s number 1 caterpillar cake – over a million are sold every year. 

‘Made and finished by hand in the UK for over 35 years, it leads the market on quality and taste. It has the highest chocolate content on the market at 39.5%, with milk chocolate made from 31% cocoa solids and 100% Fairtrade cocoa.

‘At M&S, blind taste testers regularly taste our products against the market to ensure we remain number one for taste and quality – this includes our Colin cakes, which consistently come first in taste tests.’

How were the cakes tested? 

A panel of 75 people tested the cakes in a blind taste test, which took place in March 2026.

The group consisted of people of all ages from the UK, who like to eat this kind of celebration cake. 

Each cake was sampled in a private booth, so no one could discuss their thoughts or be influenced by anyone else, before rating them on taste, texture, aroma and appearance. 

The final scores were based on 50% flavour, 30% appearance, 10% aroma and 10% texture. 

Tasters rated the overall visual appeal of the cakes separately to tasting a slice.

Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which, added: ‘For many of us, a caterpillar cake is the ultimate nostalgia trip, but our test shows that you shouldn’t let brand fame dictate your birthday budget. 

‘While M&S created the category, rivals like Waitrose and even budget-friendly Iceland are now delivering a better slice of the action. Whether you’re looking for the best taste or the best price, there are better options out there than the original Colin.’

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