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WORLD’S FIRST CATERPILLAR CAKE SKYDIVE! CUTHBERT IS BACK AND RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITY

• Aldi’s very own Cuthbert cake is cater-pulting back into action to celebrate his return to stores
• His #CaterpillarsForCancer charity skydive sees him raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust
• Fans can donate by sponsoring Cuthbert’s epic escapade via this JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/caterpillarsforcancer.
• Spectacular video footage captures his 50mph journey from 40,000 ft in the sky
• Limited edition world-famous cake will return to Aldi stores nationwide from Monday 17^th May, for £4.99

Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar celebrated his imminent return to stores by descending dramatically from the sky today – as the daredevil lovebug completed the world’s FIRST ever caterpillar cake skydive to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust.

The much-loved chocolatey character made headlines around the world in April – and now he’s back as the nation sees him complete the most epic expedition in the insect world.

Cuthbert, who returns to Aldi stores on May 17th, is raising money for Aldi’s #CaterpillarForCancer campaign, including our long-term partner Teenage Cancer Trust.

His spectacular skydive saw the brave caterpillar reach an altitude of over 40,000 feet above land in a specially built aircraft, lifted by a large hydrogen-filled balloon. The astonishing video captures Cuthbert floating high above the clouds on the border of the earth’s atmosphere, before he triumphantly rose to the challenge. Parachuting from the sky, he travelled at speeds of over 50mph, gracefully landing back safely in the early hours of this morning.

Cuthbert has received a huge outpouring of love from fans since the rival caterpillar cake story first broke, engaging over 130million people on social media^[1]. Singer and songwriter, Fleur East, penned a rap roulette about Cuthbert^[2], and TV’s Judge Rinder offered legal advice^[3], while he received backing from other supermarket caterpillars including; Sainsbury’s Wiggles, Morrisons’ Morris, Tesco’s Curly and Co-op’s Charlie.

Aldi teamed up with stratospheric exploration experts Sent Into Space for Cuthbert’s dramatic skydive. Dr Chris Rose from Sent Into Space, explained: “We ensured Cuthbert was safe to travel into the blue skies as he embarked upon his skydive challenge. As with all our flights, Cuthbert’s aircraft ascended into the sky, where he would have reached temperatures as low as -70°C, before taking his plummet. Cuthbert reached over 40,000 ft in the air before the skydive took place, and then safely parachuted back down to land.”

Throughout the flight, the Sent Into Space team tracked Cuthbert’s journey through the atmosphere with two live telemetry systems – giving real-time positional data within a metre at all times.

Tony Butler, CEO at British Skydiving UK added: “When we were told about Cuthbert’s heroic charity idea, we were thrilled to know we would live to see the day of the first ever skydive by a caterpillar cake! Skydiving isn’t easy and it’s amazing to see him land so gracefully.”

As Cuthbert became a global social media sensation, leading supermarket Aldi decided to bring limited-edition Cuthbert the Caterpillar cakes back to stores nationwide, with all profits donated to charity.

Richard Thornton, Communications Director at Aldi, said: “Cuthbert has been the centre of global media attention and we felt a dramatic return was called for to celebrate him coming back to our stores. And it doesn’t get more dramatic than jumping from the sky at 50mph. Our loyal shoppers have really backed Cuthbert during these last few weeks and we can’t wait to bring a limited edition version of him back to reunite him with his fans and thank everyone for their support, whilst also raising money for charity, including our partner Teenage Cancer Trust.”

Fans can visit @Aldiuk to see his dare devil antics in action and sponsor his epic #CaterpillarsForCancer charity skydive via this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/caterpillarsforcancer.

Limited edition Cuthbert the Caterpillar cakes will be back in Aldi stores nationwide from Monday 17^th May for just £4.99. 

-ENDS-

For further information, images or to request a sample, please contact the Aldi press team on: alditeam@clarioncomms.co.uk

020 7479 0910

www.facebook.com/AldiUK

www.twitter.com/AldiUK

www.instagram.com/AldiUk

Please contact the Aldi team at Clarion to confirm product details and availability prior to print.

^[1] Aldi UK social stats

^[2] Hits Radio YouTube, 23^rd April 2021

^[3] This Morning Twitter post, 20 April 2021