M&S has reached a settlement with the confectionery company Swizzels, which it accused of copying its popular Percy Pig Sweets.
The Derbyshire-based confectionery company has now agreed to change the design of its Pigs Mugs sweets after the high-street retailer had reached an “amicable resolution” with the business.
M&S first took legal action against the sweetmaker Swizzles back in November 2022, where M&S lawyers claimed the sweets were so alike customers may have ended up buying the wrong ones.
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 currently 271 bags were sold a minute.
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A spokesperson for M&S stated: “Marks & Spencer Plc and Swizzels Matlow Limited confirm that they have agreed to settle on confidential terms the trademark dispute concerning the appearance of Swizzels Matlow’s ‘Pigs Mugs’ sweets and have reached an amicable resolution whereby Swizzels has agreed to change the design of its product.”
The spokesperson added: “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.”
This follows on from M&S’ past action when it accused Aldi of copying its Colin the Caterpillar cake and then launching a legal claim against the discount supermarket for allegedly copying its ‘Light Up’ Christmas gin.
Brands have been actively fighting back against copycats as of late, with Lindt winning a court battle against Lidl over its foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies and Thatchers suing Aldi for allegedly copying its Cloudy Lemon Cider.
