For an everyday snack for a young child or toddler, it’s better to choose fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread rather than a biscuit multipack, in line with advice from the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. If you want to pack a biscuit now and then, decide how much to give your child rather than treating a whole individual packet as one portion, and check the label and the childcare setting’s rules.
If you want to pack something every day, the first question is whether biscuits are a suitable choice. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread as snacks for young children and toddlers.
An individual packet is easy to take with you, but its contents don’t have to match the amount you want to give your child. Also check what the childcare setting offers for snacks and what rules it has in place.
Read the label on the pack you’re buying before putting a biscuit in your child’s bag. Albert Heijn lists wheat, soya and cereals containing gluten for the Lotus Biscoff Snack Pack; also check the rules at your child’s nursery or school.
First decide whether you’re looking for an everyday snack or something to pack as an occasional treat. If you’re choosing biscuits, check the amount in each individual packet, the current label and the childcare setting’s rules.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday food choice | Consider whether this is for an everyday snack; if so, compare biscuits with fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread. | If I pack something every day, I want my choice to follow the advice for toddlers. Around 33% of consumers considering a biscuit multipack for a toddler’s snack put this everyday food choice first. |
| A portion for on the go | Check how many biscuits are in each individual packet and decide how much you want to give your child at a time. | For a lunchbox, I want to be able to pack something without letting the packet size decide how much I give. Around 27% of these consumers prioritise having control over the portion. |
| Allergens and childcare rules | Read the current label and ask what rules the nursery or school has for snacks brought from home. | If ingredients or childcare rules are important, I want to be able to check them before packing a snack. For around 27% of these consumers, this check is the top priority. |
| Household supplies | Compare the number of biscuits and individual packets with the amounts you’ll actually use. | If I buy biscuits to have at home for several occasions, I want to know whether the pack size suits the way my family will use it. Around 13% of these consumers prioritise this when choosing what to stock up on. |
An individual packet may contain more than one biscuit. For example, Albert Heijn lists two biscuits per packet in the Lotus Biscoff Snack Pack.
Check what’s inside before packing it; you don’t have to use the whole packet.
A name such as fruit biscuit or cereal biscuit doesn’t, on its own, tell you what ingredients the product contains or how much you should give your child. For an everyday snack, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread.
First choose the type of snack you want, then check the label of the specific biscuit variety.
A product may contain allergens that matter to your child. The childcare setting may also have its own rules about snacks and treats.
Check the current label and ask the nursery or school what you’re allowed to pack before putting the product in your child’s bag.
Worth comparing if you’re looking for individually packed speculoos biscuits: Albert Heijn lists eight packets of two biscuits each for the Snack Pack, while Jumbo lists ten packets of two biscuits each for an XL version.
Jumbo’s own-brand range includes fruit biscuits in packs of 6 × 3 and cereal biscuits in packs of 9 × 2.
Sultana is a useful point of comparison when looking at fruit biscuit multipacks. Jumbo describes a FruitBiscuits Mix 8-pack, but says this variety is no longer available in its online range.
ALDI lists mini biscuits under its Biscotto brand in a pack of 6 × 6, with a total weight of 225 g.
This pack of biscuits is suitable for an occasional treat when you want to decide how much to give your child. For everyday snacks, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre continues to recommend fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread.
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For anyone who wants to pack biscuits now and then and decide how much to give their child. The pack contains 150 g; read the current label and check the childcare setting’s rules before packing.
For an everyday snack, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends foods such as fruit, vegetables and wholemeal bread for young children and toddlers. If you want to give your child biscuits now and then, decide how much to pack rather than letting the pack size determine the portion.
First decide whether you want to give your child one biscuit or the contents of the whole packet. The Lotus Biscoff Snack Pack described by Albert Heijn contains two biscuits per packet; having them in an individual packet doesn’t automatically make them a toddler-sized portion.
Check the label on the pack you’re actually buying. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority lists 14 allergens that must be labelled; for the Lotus Biscoff Snack Pack, Albert Heijn lists wheat, soya and cereals containing gluten.
Check with the nursery before packing biscuits. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises parents to ask about the setting’s food policy, what it provides for snacks and what rules apply to treats.
