Swizzels agrees to change design of rival sweet to M&S’s Percy Pig

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 it 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 designs of the two sweets were so similar that 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 are sold every minute.

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.

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.

“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.