M&S shoppers are just discovering the ‘mind-blowing’ truth about Percy Pig

Are you a fan of Percy Pig products?

The pink sweets first appeared in Marks & Spencer stores in 1992 and have gone on to become a firm favourite in the Foodhall.

So popular has the treat become that M&S sells roughly 36 packets per minute, and more than 18 million bags each year.

And Percy himself has become a British icon, appearing in Christmas adverts, having his own social media account, and even featuring on clothing and home decor.

But many shoppers have just learned something they consider to be ‘mind-blowing’ about the sweets.

It all started when Irish record freediver, Megan Lyons, took to Instagram to share her Percy Pig discovery.

‘I’ve had my f***ing mind blown today because I went to the supermarket and I got these sweets,’ she tells her followers, before showing off a packet of Katja Peggetjes, which look strikingly similar to Percy Pig.

She continued to say: ‘I Googled it, and this brand is the Percy Pig maker, and M&S just sells their candy under the Percy Pig brand.

‘So M&S don’t make Percy Pigs; it’s never been them. What?!’

Her video went viral, being watched more than 141,000 times and garnering thousands of likes and dozens of comments.

People were equally as stunned, with @aisling_mullan replying: ‘What!!!??? We have been had!!!!’

‘You really do learn something new every day,’ agreed @planet.vnus.

While @rosanna.blackman wrote: ‘I’m telling Aldi.’

And @noble.man3000 commented: ‘My mind is so blown, I’m going back to bed and [will] start again tomorrow with less trauma.’

So what’s the truth about Percy Pig? 

First, it’s worth noting that this information about M&S Percy Pig isn’t actually new – and it’s also not a big secret.

M&S has been working in partnership with German confectionery brand Katjes (known as Katja in the Netherlands) to create the sweets for decades.

The sweets are made in Germany under licence by Katjes International, and if you take a look at the back of a packet of Percy Pigs, under the barcode it clearly states they are ‘made in Germany’. 

While Katjes makes the sweets, M&S created and has trademarked the Percy Pig brand and character.

An M&S spokesperson told Metro: ‘Made exclusively for M&S to our own unique recipe and quality standards at a specialist confectionery manufacturer, Percy Pig has a distinctive taste, texture, and quality our customers love and expect.’

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Katjes, a rival to Haribo, also makes its own pig-shaped candy known as Fred Ferkel (ferkel means piglet). Like Percy Pig, the sweets feature a foamy, marshmallow-like base, with fruity gummy ears. 

These are sold across Europe, but aren’t available in the UK, where we have Percy Pig instead.

In the Netherlands, the brand also sells a similar product called Biggetjes, which is the Dutch word for piglet, or little pig.

As well as Percy Pig, Katjes also produces another popular brand of sweets sold in the UK: Candy Kittens.

This comes after an M&S custard cream controversy took the internet by storm.

The retailer’s viral custard cream spread has been selling out since hitting the shelves, but one postal cake company has been accused of causing controversy after buying 80 jars of the stuff.

Cakes Contour has been using the spread to make a delectable-looking custard cream millionaires shortbread, but shoppers aren’t happy with how much spread they’ve used.

‘People like you keep buying all the jars,’ complained one person.

While another said: ‘That’s why nobody else can get any.’

Others demanded to know why the business was sourcing ingredients in bulk from a supermarket, instead of a wholesaler, and some thought M&S should impose strict limits on the product to stop people clearing the shelves.

The owners of the business have had a good time winding people up about the spread online and have said they won’t stop buying it.

‘I could make my own spread, but that misses the point,’ baker Jordan Grey told Metro.

‘The novelty of using a new, recognisable M&S product is part of what makes our Custard Cream Millionaires Shortbread appealing to customers.

‘As a small business, we have to make commercial decisions based on customer demand, and this particular ingredient has helped generate interest in a slice that might not otherwise have attracted the same attention.’

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