If a strong cocoa flavour is your priority, choose a biscuit with an explicitly stated cocoa percentage. If you mainly want biscuits to take along and share, look for small individual packs. The word ‘dark’ and the proportion of chocolate in a biscuit do not, on their own, prove that it has a high cocoa percentage. If you’re buying for someone with an allergy, base your choice on the latest ingredients and allergen information on the packaging.
If you want a dark chocolate flavour you can assess from the label, look beyond the word ‘dark’. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre points out that no separate legal cocoa percentage is set for the terms ‘bittersweet’ and ‘extra bittersweet’.
If you’re handing out biscuits while you’re out and about, an inner pack with just a few biscuits may be more convenient than opening a whole pack that then has to stay open. Check how many biscuits are actually in each portion.
If you’re buying for yourself or a group where allergens are a concern, check the latest packaging. The dark biscuits and chocolate snacks described by Jumbo and Albert Heijn contain ingredients including milk, cereals containing gluten or soya; nuts are also relevant for some varieties.
First decide whether cocoa flavour, sharing, allergens or portion size matters most to you. A biscuit with a dark chocolate coating, one with mixed chocolate pieces and a filled chocolate snack with biscuit pieces offer different combinations of biscuit and chocolate.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa flavour | Look for an explicitly stated cocoa percentage and distinguish it from the proportion of chocolate in the whole biscuit. If flavour is your priority, compare the ingredients too. | I’m looking for a strong cocoa flavour and don’t want to rely on the word ‘dark’. This is the top priority for around 31% of consumers. |
| Taking them along and sharing | Check how many biscuits are in each inner pack and the storage instructions, especially if you want to hand them out while you’re out and about. | If I’m handing out biscuits, I want to be able to open small portions without opening the whole pack straight away. Around 31% of consumers give this convenience the highest priority. |
| Allergens | Read the ingredients, highlighted allergens and any ‘may contain’ warnings on the latest packaging. | I’m buying for someone who needs to avoid certain ingredients; a dark chocolate coating doesn’t tell me anything about that. For around 23% of consumers, whether a product suits their dietary restrictions is the first consideration. |
| Nutrition and portion size | Compare the nutritional information per 100 g and work out how it relates to the portion you want to take with you, including sugars and saturated fat. | If I’m taking several small packs, I want to know how many biscuits make up a portion. That’s why around 15% of consumers look first at portion size and nutritional value. |
If you prefer a high cocoa content, check what the percentage refers to. Jumbo lists 30% chocolate in the product for Lotus Biscoff with dark chocolate, and 48% dark chocolate for LU Scholiertje Puur. These are not cocoa percentages for the chocolate. Albert Heijn lists a minimum of 60% cocoa for Galler Puur biscuits, but describes the product as filled chocolate with biscuit and biscuit pieces, rather than a comparable traditional biscuit.
The percentage of chocolate in a biscuit is different from the cocoa percentage of that chocolate. The terms ‘bittersweet’ and ‘extra bittersweet’ also don’t indicate a fixed cocoa percentage, according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre.
If you want to choose by cocoa content, look for an explicit statement on the packaging. Otherwise, compare the ingredients and the balance of biscuit and chocolate without trying to infer a cocoa percentage.
Dark chocolate or a dark-sounding product name doesn’t rule out ingredients such as milk, wheat and soya. Nuts or warnings about the possible presence of allergens may also be relevant for some varieties.
Check the latest label every time you buy, even if you’ve bought the product before. Look at both the ingredients list and the allergen information.
A saved description can help you compare products, but it doesn’t tell you whether you’ll be able to pick up the biscuit on your next shopping trip.
Check availability when you’re doing your festival shopping and, if necessary, choose an alternative with suitable packaging and an ingredients list that meets your needs.
With small inner packs, the number of biscuits you actually eat determines the portion you’re comparing. The word ‘dark’ tells you nothing about that portion on its own.
Check the nutritional information per 100 g as well as the amount per pack or biscuit, so you can compare products based on a similar serving.
These examples show the kinds of products you may come across. The features mentioned apply to the varieties described, not to every product from each brand.
Speculoos with a chocolate coating for anyone who wants a familiar biscuit to take along.
Scholiertje Puur combines butter biscuits with a bar of dark chocolate.
An alternative if you’re looking for chocolate filled with biscuit and biscuit pieces, rather than a traditional biscuit.
These biscuits with a dark chocolate flavour are suitable for taking along to a street festival. If you’re specifically looking for a proven high cocoa content, check whether the latest packaging states a cocoa percentage.
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An option if you want to take small portions of biscuits with a dark chocolate flavour: the product information says they’re individually wrapped.
If cocoa percentage is important to you, check the packaging. If you have allergies, check the latest label for wheat, milk, egg and possible traces of soya. Also check the figures for sugars and saturated fat.
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A pack of biscuits with a dark chocolate flavour for anyone who wants a ready-to-go snack.
The stated minimum of 9% chocolate ingredients is not a cocoa percentage. Check the inner packaging if you want to hand out individual biscuits, and if you have allergies, read the latest label for wheat, soya and milk.
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An option for taking along and sharing when individually wrapped biscuits are useful.
If you want to choose by cocoa percentage, check the packaging. Also read the latest nutritional information: the ingredients described include sugar, while the nutritional information states 0.0 g sugars. If you have allergies, check the label for wheat, soya and milk.
No. The word alone doesn’t tell you that the whole biscuit has a high cocoa percentage. Check whether the packaging states the cocoa percentage of the chocolate, and don’t confuse it with the proportion of chocolate in the product. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre also points out that ‘bittersweet’ and ‘extra bittersweet’ do not have a separate legally defined cocoa percentage.
No. A vegan label doesn’t rule out gluten or soya. For the specific variety, check the latest ingredients, highlighted allergens and any warnings on the packaging.
Check the ingredients list on the packaging, where relevant allergens must be clearly stated. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority describes a mandatory declaration for 14 allergens; if you have an allergy, also read any warnings about their possible presence.
Follow the storage instructions on the packaging and check whether the inner packs suit the number of people you want to share with. The Lotus and LU varieties described by Jumbo should be stored in a dry place and protected from heat.
No. The flavour description doesn’t tell you how much sugar or fat a biscuit contains. Compare the nutritional information per 100 g with the amount you’ll actually eat as a portion, and don’t judge the whole product from a single figure.
