A pig-shaped sweet that contain pig is a bizarre form of honesty from the product designers at M&S, who could presumably have chosen any smiling, anthropomorphic animal from the farm or the forest to be represented in sugar form. Percy was born in Germany in 1992, a product of the company Katjes, a rival to Haribo (also German in origin). Katjes supplied M&S with a foamy-gummy texture for a sweet, and M&S dreamed up the character. (Had someone seen the ingredients list and subconsciously internalised the idea of a pig?) The new sweets have been created to mark the love story of Percy and Penny. The couple ‘met’ 10 years ago and started dating before being ‘married’ five years later, with the supermarket saying ‘they still give each other butterflies every day.’

The Pigs are not, it’s important to note, yet classified as vegan as they still contain beeswax (E901) as a coating. In fact, there is a change.org petition to get M&S to bring out a vegan variety. “As humanity moves forward so does the need for food production to respond,” the petition states. “No longer can these sweets be enjoyed by all, we have another, ever-growing group of people missing out in the joys of this sweet variety: vegans.” July this year marked the 25th anniversary of Percy Pig, impossible though that might seem—for many of us, it feels as though he and his cohort are relatively recent additions to the shelves of Marks and Spencer. Percy, a squishy, vaguely fruit-flavoured sweet in the shape of a smiling anthropomorphic pig has proven himself to be doubly irresistible to the consuming public: cute in appearance; delicious in taste. For the gluten free party food at Waitrose, please have a read of my full party food guide. Here are the Christmas items I’ve found in Waitrose so far this year: Sweet Do you want to stay up to date with the latest news, views, features and opinion from across the city? Outside of the United Kingdom, similar products in other countries are the Canadian "Juiced Up" (introduced 2009), Dominion's "Leo the Lion", the German "Fred Ferkel", the Dutch "Katja Biggetjes", the French "Petit Cochon" (launched 2007) and the Australian "Peggy Pig and Pals" introduced in Coles Supermarkets in 2009.

The history of Percy 

After a brief hiatus from the shelves in 1997, the brand returned, and in 2008 the sweets made UK British Vogue's 2008 hot list at number 11 on the top style bible's 40 hottest people and trends to watch over the coming months. [3] Veggie Percy - Big up the new gelatine free sweet treat". Happytalkinghealth.posterous.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2013 . Retrieved 14 September 2013.

M&S shared the news of the launch on their socials, with fans going wild for the brand new sweets, with more than 16.7k likes and over 600 comments in less than a day. Whisk together 500ml custard, 100g Percy Pig dessert sauce and a few drops of pink food colouring, then spoon into the trifle bowl, smoothing on top.Some outside the United Kingdom are "Juiced Up" in Canada (introduced 2009), "Fred Ferkel" in Germany, "Katja Biggetjes" in the Netherlands, "Petit Cochon" in France (introduced 2007) and "Peggy Pig and Pals" in Australia (introduced in Coles Supermarkets in 2009). Troy-Pryde, Jadie (7 January 2020). "M&S launches Percy Pig ice cream and what a dream". Marie Claire . https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/food-drink/ms-percy-pig-ice-cream-694376 . Retrieved 23 October 2020. and Percy Pig are now very much part of the Christmas tradition too, with a vast range of M&S gifts featuring the celebrity sweet. I love how pink this treat is! Use Percy sponge roll to whip up this tasty trifle, topped with Percy Pig sweets. Serves six. They also have some nice items in the Made Without range again this year, including a pretty Christmas cake and their yummy gluten free chocolate log.

Following on from the success of the original Percy Pig sweets, new varieties, flavours and characters were introduced. Amongst the first were "Percy Pig & Pals", which besides Percy also contained a cow (cola flavour) and sheep (orange and strawberry flavour) and "Percy Piglets", which are smaller versions of the main sweets. A lemon and orange "Penny Pig" sweet was introduced in 1998, and retired a few years later. [1] Marks & Spencer's Percy Pigs are now 100% vegetarian". The Independent. 1 May 2019 . Retrieved 1 May 2019.Whip 450ml cream until stiff peaks have formed. Fold in 150g Percy Pig dessert sauce and a few drops of pink food colouring. Lightly crush 150g fresh raspberries with a fork, then fold these through. For the base, in a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugarwith an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Marks & Spencer Percy Pig sweets originally contained real pig in the form of pork gelatin. In 2011 a "Veggie Percy" range was launched, a vegetarian variety of Percy Pig sweets replacing the gelatin with beeswax and pea protein, with green ears to indicate they were vegetarian. Following on from the success of the original Percy Pig sweets, new varieties, flavours and characters were introduced. Amongst the first were "Percy Pig & Pals", which besides Percy also contained a cow (cola flavour) and sheep (orange and strawberry flavour) and "Percy Piglets", which are smaller versions of the main sweets. Percy gained a girlfriend in Penny Pig in 2010, with her sweets being lemon flavoured. Pour the mix onto the pizza pan or into the lined tin and level the top.Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven andleave to cool.

A third wrote: “Relationship goals,” with someone else responding: “I need a relationship like Percy and Penny.” Rutter, Harry (27 April 2022). "Giant Percy Pig installed at new M&S in Stevenage". The Comet . Retrieved 14 May 2022. For the buttercream, beat together the butter, dessert sauce, icing sugar and milk until smooth. Gradually add drops of pink or red food colouring, mixing after each addition, until the buttercream is as pink as Percy. Discover a HUGE selection of gluten free Christmas products, available in shops now. This easy round up will point you to all the tastiest, coeliac friendly festive treats. Saving you from having to scour the supermarket shelves yourself. Whisk the remaining cream until soft peaks have formed. Spoon over the custard, using a spatula to create soft peaks.Why everyone's talking about Percy Pigs" (in en). The Week UK. 3 May 2019 . https://www.theweek.co.uk/101052/why-everyone-s-talking-about-percy-pigs . Retrieved 19 April 2021. For mega Percy lovers, the letterbox gift is sure to be their favourite Christmas present. It includes Percy Pig Festive Helpers, Merry Percymas Sweets, a net of Percy Pig Pennies, a Percy Pig printed tote bag, and a mini plush Christmas Percy. Another tagged her friend to share the excitement, adding: "oh my goddddd, look how cute that hamper is as well!" Troy-Pryde, Jadie (7 January 2020). "M&S launches Percy Pig ice cream and what a dream". Marie Claire . Retrieved 23 October 2020.