Will We All Be Snacking Like Brits Soon?
I tasted the beloved Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig candies now sold at Target.
Image Courtesy of Marks & Spencer
Big news for anglophiles: Colin the Caterpillar, a hugely popular character in the U.K. treat world, has just jauntily crawled onto U.S. retail shelves, making an adorable debut in gummy candy form at Target.
Who is Colin the Caterpillar?
The iconic British retailer Marks & Spencer introduced the character in 1990 as a caterpillar-shaped cake. In the decades since, the cakes became a birthday party staple and major bestseller across the U.K. The candies launched in 2009.
“Colin the Caterpillar sweets are famous for bursting with fun and fruity flavors in every caterpillar-shaped bite," Kathryn Turner, director of product development at M&S, says in a statement.
According to the brand, Colin is more than dessert — he's "a much-loved and famous cultural icon." He's become known as “the king of celebrations,” M&S says, with tons of fans. The character’s official Instagram account has over 80,000 followers and boasts that Colin attends “around 1 million birthday parties each year.” That’s a lot of birthday parties.
Colin has also interacted with celebrities such as Olivia Rodrigo, David Beckham and Kim Kardashian, among others. The brand says Rodrigo even gave the character a shoutout during her set at the Glastonbury Festival in 2025: “I love English sweets, all the sweets from M&S, Colin the Caterpillar specifically.”
Who is Percy Pig?
Colin's friend Percy Pig came to U.S. Targets in March 2025, which M&S calls a “runaway success."
While Colin started out in cake form before inching into the candy aisle, Percy Pig debuted in 1992 as a gummy candy. M&S says it sells 18.7 million bags of the vegan sweets each year. Percy Pig’s official Instagram page has more than 100,000 followers. And the brand says the Percy and Colin characters are “best pals.”
This week, two more varieties of Percy Pig gummies are arriving at Target, too.
Which Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig candies are available in the U.S.?
Three Colin the Caterpillar gummies and two Percy Pig candies are landing in the U.S. for the first time. They are, described by M&S:
- Colin the Caterpillar Sours: tangy, sugar-coated sour gummies.
- Colin the Caterpillar Gummy Candy: classic chewy fruit-flavored gummies.
- Colin the Caterpillar Softies: soft, squidgy fruity-and-creamy foam sweets.
- Percy Pig Phizzy Pigtails: zingy, sugar-coated super-sour twisty gummies.
- Percy Pig Reversy Percy: soft fruit-flavored gummies with more jelly than foam.
My honest review of the Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig candies:
I had a chance to try all five of the new treats — all of which are vegan.
In my estimation, some are better than others. None of them are bad. But I liked the sour candies best and the Percy Pigs more than the Colin the Caterpillars, in both appearance and flavor.
Amy Reiter
Colin the Caterpillar Gummy Candies are generic worm — or, I guess, caterpillar — shapes, with colorful striations. They’re softer to bite into than you might expect and chewier, sticking to the teeth a bit. The ridges are kind of nice texturally. And they are subtle and smooth, not super fruity.
Colin the Caterpillar Softies are adorable: pink and white stripes with little embossed legs, tapering toward the end and at the top… a face? They taste like a fruity marshmallow and were also soft, chewy and subtle.
Colin the Caterpillar Sour Gummy Candies are my hands-down favorite of the three Colin candies. They look like the regular version, striped and colorful, but they’re coated with sugar crystals and taste sweet and sour (and yummy).
Amy Reiter
Percy Pig Reversy Percy Gummy Candies look cute — in the shape of a pudgy pig face — and taste grape-y, berry-ish? They maybe evoke kids’ Tylenol, but not in a bad way. They’re toothsome and satisfying enough.
Finally, Percy Pig Phizzy Pigtails are my overall favorite — the ones I’d for sure buy again. Cute little curly tails in different colors and fruit flavors, they’re sugarcoated and have just the right amount of sourness, with a good bite. I think I identified strawberry and dark cherry flavors — but honestly, I’m not sure. I was too busy enjoying the sweet and sour bliss.
And I’m definitely not the only fan: “PHIZZY PIGTAILS STATESIDE!?!” one Instagram commenter exclaimed. “I just fell to my knees, I used to pray for times like this.”
Where can you get Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig candies in the U.S.?
All five new-to-the-U.S. treats are now available for $3.99 per bag at Target stores nationwide and on target.com.
And British candy fans are psyched.
“Yesssss! Bring us all the Colin and Percy you can. Half my suitcase was filled with the candies coming back to the US from London in November !” wrote one commenter on Instagram.
Colin the Caterpillar
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