Yahoo Finance Ice cream parlour renames Percy Pig flavour after letter from M&S
An ice cream parlour has been forced to rename a Percy Pig-inspired flavour after Marks & Spencer (M&S) complained about the use of its brand.
Fabio’s Gelato, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, began selling a "Perky Pig" ice cream last week.
The flavour mimicked M&S's popular sweets, which taste like strawberry and raspberry. Individual Percy Pigs were also dotted on top of the ice cream tub in a photo used to promote the ice cream online.
Owner Fabio Vincenti said his business quickly received a letter from M&S demanding he stop using their brand to promote his products.
A letter from the retailer, which Mr Vincenti posted on social media, said: “While we are flattered that you have been inspired to create a flavour based on our Percy Pig Sweets, and in no way wish to stop you selling this flavour or from using our sweets to top it, we would be grateful if you could avoid using the name Percy Pig to do so.”
The letter suggested alternative names such as "Pig Faces" and "Pig Sweets" for Mr Vincenti's ice cream.
The ice cream has now been renamed ‘Fabio’s Pig’.
Mr Vincenti told the BBC: “It is what it is, they’ve got to protect Percy Pig.”
M&S said Percy Pig was “one of our ‘hero’ brands” and it risked losing trade marks if it did not take steps to protect them.
Percy Pig sweets were introduced by M&S in 1992 and have become one of its best-selling treats.
Last year, M&S took sweets manufacturer Swizzels to court for selling a range of sweets Pigs Mugs it claimed were “highly similar” to Percy Pig.
M&S claimed in court documents it had sold £131.7m of the sweets since their launch and that 271 bags of the sweets were being put through the tills every minute.
Mr Vincenti has recreated the flavours of other notable brands in the past, including Marmite. He said the feedback from companies was usually positive but that he had "wondered why no-one ever moaned and always knew someone might say something".
M&S was approached for comment.
