How you could pay 25% more for Colin the Caterpillar cake in M&S cafe than from store just yards away
In Maidstone, Kent, the price of the mini-roll was £1.80 in the food aisles — but just a few feet away in the cafe, they sell for £2.25.
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It was the same story in Durham, Wilmslow, Cheshire and Pudsey, West Yorks, where the 52g cake cost 45p more to sit down and eat.
And if you pick up a small Colin with your petrol, you can fork out ten per cent more than in the shop.
At Leeds Central and London Bridge stations, they also cost £2.25.
Consumer expert Martyn James said: 'In challenging times, we all need a little consistency. So why is the iconic Colin the Caterpillar costing more depending on where you find him?
'It's bonkers to see such a price hike for the pleasure of dining with Colin in the same building where he's much cheaper to take home.
'So come on M&S, keep Colin consistently priced so we can all enjoy him.'
We investigated the cost of Colin across the country and found that prices varied in supermarkets, cafes and petrol stations.
And while there was little difference in price between locations, you pay a premium for the cake in London's Lewisham, where the price of a 52g mini Colin was £1.90 — 10p more than in other M&S stores.
In the M&S superstore in Durham's Arnison Centre, shoppers were surprised to find out they were being charged more for Colin in the cafe.
The tiny sweet treat is £2.25 if you want to eat it at a table upstairs, but just £1.80 in the shop downstairs.
Courier Mario Condurache, 27, is dad to three-year-old Andrei.
Mario said: 'It's very greedy of M&S to charge so much more in the cafe. It's all about the profit. I have a little one and you are forced to fork out more money. It's a rip-off.
'This would definitely stop me from going to the cafe.'
Grandmother Maureen Waugh, 69, said: 'I think it's greedy, especially when M&S markets itself as family-friendly. I have grandkids, and it would put me off buying mini Colins. It makes you wonder what else is more expensive in the cafe. I'm shocked.'
Launched by M&S in 1990, Colin soon became a national favourite.
The store typically sells more than 450,000 of the chocolate roll treats each year, with 15million sold since 1990.
An M&S spokesman said: 'There are additional costs when it comes to dining in at cafes and coffee shops across the UK, including legislated 20 per cent VAT, which plays a part in why some prices may vary to those in store.'
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