If you’re serving biscuits from a fixed table, a bulk pack is a good choice. For self-service or visitors who want to take a biscuit with them, individually wrapped portions are more practical. Then check how many biscuits you can actually hand out, and keep the packaging with its ingredients and allergen information to hand if you open a pack.
If visitors are helping themselves or taking a biscuit away, individually wrapped portions can be handy. Jumbo lists ten bags of two biscuits each for Lotus Biscoff XL; Albert Heijn lists a Lotus Biscoff dispenser containing 150 individually wrapped biscuits.
When catering for a group, it’s not just the weight that matters, but also how many biscuits or portions a pack contains. Compare those quantities with the number of visitors you expect.
If you’re offering biscuits to visitors you don’t know, you need to be able to check the information for the exact variety. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says that allergen information for prepacked products must be shown on the label.
First decide whether visitors will take biscuits from a platter or take individually wrapped portions with them. Then compare the number of servings, the labels and the type of biscuit.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| How you’ll serve them | Check whether the pack contains loose biscuits, two-biscuit portions or individually wrapped biscuits. | For self-service, I don’t want lots of visitors reaching into the same open pack. Around 36% of consumers prioritise handing biscuits out individually. |
| Number of biscuits | Compare the number of biscuits or portions as well as the weight; two biscuits in one bag count as one serving. | For a busy stall, I want to know how far my stock will go. Around 29% of consumers prioritise the number of servings. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the label for the variety you’ve chosen and keep the information clearly identifiable with each product you serve. | If visitors ask about allergens, I want to be able to show them the right pack. Around 21% of consumers give this information top priority. |
| Type of biscuit | Choose deliberately between, for example, plain speculoos and a filled biscuit; check the label again for each variety. | For coffee or tea, I want to offer a biscuit that suits my serving table. Around 14% of consumers consider the choice of variety most important. |
A pack of individual biscuits gives you a different number of servings from a pack of two-biscuit portions. Jumbo lists around 32 biscuits in Lotus Biscoff 250 g and ten two-biscuit portions in Lotus Biscoff XL; ALDI lists 48 biscuits in Biscotto Baker’s Speculaas 600 g.
Count the portions shown on the pack before deciding how many packs you’ll need.
A label such as ‘vegan’ doesn’t tell you which allergens a biscuit contains. For the Lotus Biscoff vanilla sandwich biscuit, Jumbo lists wheat and soya, and says it may contain milk.
Read the allergen information for each individual variety and keep the label with the biscuits.
If you’re serving biscuits on a platter, it can be hard to tell which ingredients and allergen information apply to them.
Keep the original packaging by the serving area and make sure different varieties are clearly separated.
Albert Heijn points out that product information, including ingredients and allergens, can change.
Before serving, check the label on the pack you’re actually using.
Speculoos available in both sharing packs and individually wrapped varieties.
Own-label range that includes Marie biscuits in a larger pack.
An own-label range with a variety of biscuits and cookies.
The brand of the Baker’s Speculaas pack shown by ALDI.
Lidl’s own-label range includes cookies and biscuits; Lidl also lists Sondey Speculoos biscuits.
This selection of Joybuy products includes speculoos and other biscuits for a serving table, as well as varieties you could consider for handing out individually. Check the number of portions in each pack and the information on the packaging you receive.
Image unavailable
A speculaas variety to hand out to visitors in portions.
Before planning how many to serve, check how many biscuits are in each portion. Refer to the label on the packaging you receive for allergen information.
Image unavailable
Vanilla biscuits to hand out if you’d like to offer this flavour alongside speculoos.
The pack weighs 403 g. Check how many individual portions it contains, and read the ingredients and allergen information on the packaging before serving.
Image unavailable
Mini biscuits as an alternative to plain speculoos on a serving table.
The pack contains 3 x 77 g. Check how many portions this gives you, and keep the label with its allergen information to hand.
Image unavailable
A sharing pack for serving biscuits with coffee or tea from a fixed spot.
The pack contains 250 g. Jumbo lists around 32 biscuits for the 250 g Lotus Biscoff variety. Check the ingredients and allergens on the label of the packaging you receive.
Image unavailable
Consider this selection for a serving table if you’d also like to offer savoury crackers, rather than sweet biscuits alone.
For each inner pack, check the number of portions, storage instructions and allergen information.
Choose portion bags if visitors will help themselves or take a biscuit with them; a bulk pack is better for serving from a fixed table. Count the bags and biscuits separately when planning how many to serve: Jumbo lists ten bags of two biscuits each for Lotus Biscoff XL.
No, check the label for each specific variety. For the Lotus Biscoff vanilla sandwich biscuit, Jumbo lists wheat and soya, with a possible presence of milk; don’t assume the information is the same as for another Lotus Biscoff product.
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says that allergen information must be shown on the label of prepacked biscuits. When serving them, keep the packaging for each variety available so visitors can check the right information.
Follow the storage instructions on the packaging for the biscuits you’ve chosen and seal the pack tightly after use. For AH Marie biscuits, Albert Heijn recommends storing them in a sealed tin once opened; if you transfer the biscuits to another container, keep the original label to hand too.
