PERCY pigs will stay vegetarian FOREVER after 100 Marks & Spencer shoppers shockingly voted to keep the new recipe.
The Sun revealed how M&S sneakily turned the sweets veggie by removing pork gelatine earlier this month and it caused uproar on social media.
Rex Features
To keep customers happy, M&S promised to put the recipe change to a vote of 100 Percy Pig lovers to decide if the original recipe should be brought back.
But in devastating news for fans of the original fruit-flavoured sweets, 60 per cent of people voted to keep Percy Pigs veggie forever yesterday.
An spokesman for Percy Pig himself said: “Percy would like to wholeheartedly thank all his mega fans who took time out to take part in this momentous vote.
“He’s really happy that customers have taken the final decision and he can be 100 per cent veggie-friendly alongside his family and friends in the Percy range.”
The Sun interviews Percy Pig
Why did you change, Percy?
Well, I’m a popular pig already but we wanted even more people to be able to have their fill of Percy so earlier this year I went gelatine free.
Did you think this was going to cause such a big fuss?
Turns out it’s quite a pig deal! It’s split the nation’s opinion – we’ve had a big trotters up from some people but not everyone agrees…
What did you think of Piers’s comments?
Piers really got his tail in a spin, but he didn’t need to spit it out! Given he’s such a big fan of the classic Percy, rather than s-whining, perhaps he’d like to join our Percy Pig panel.
Are you enjoying being in the spotlight?
To be honest I’ve got used to the fame over the last 27 years. I’ve got some big celeb fans like Amanda Holden, Andy Murray, Calvin Harris and Lewis Hamilton, gate crashed the arrival of Prince George and have been on Britain’s Got Talent. Some of my mega fans have even got Percy tattoos, it’s always a bit awkward when you meet them…
What are you going to do now?
Some customers aren’t happy…It’s all about the fans! We’re recruiting 100 of my super fans to form a Percy Pig panel and vote on whether M&S should introduce a special pack of classic Percy pigs with the gelatine back in.
Can anyone join the panel?
Yes – fans should trot over to the M&S Facebook page to pitch for their place on the panel. They’ll need to share why they love Percy. I can’t wait to see their reasons… although I don’t want to get a pig head!
How are your wife and piglets?
Penny and our piglets have been veggie for a few years now so are totally on board. As a family we’ve been hogging the limelight at M&S for some time, but we didn’t predict this would be quite a pig deal.
“He’s a modest pig and has found the media attention a little overwhelming but he’s deeply grateful to all the customers who expressed their views and is humbled that people care so much about him.”
The veggie recipe was quietly rolled out as standard a few weeks ago, with the store claiming the flavour is the same.
But some fans have said the new sweets taste like “washing up liquid”.
Piers Morgan was one of thousands who demanded M&S bring back the old sweets.
Analysis of the tens of thousands of posts on Facebook and Twitter showed the nation was split — with 44 per cent in favour, 35 per cent against and 20 per cent on the fence.
M&S launched a Veggie Percy in 2011, which was free from animal product gelatine, but still kept the originals for meat-lovers – until now.
The sweets, introduced in 1992, are one of M&S’s most popular products, with a Facebook appreciation society boasting 250,000 members.
Meanwhile, Ginsters has made its first ever vegan Cornish pasty.
Subway recently changed its garlic mayo recipe forever to make it vegan as it launches a new plant-based sub.
And you can pick up a free spicy veggie wrap from McDonald’s today.
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