When choosing a digestive biscuit to enjoy with your coffee, first consider any restrictions relating to gluten or other allergens, or whether you want to limit sugar. Then compare the ingredients and nutritional information per 100 g and per serving: a claim such as ‘wholemeal’ or ‘0% sugar’ doesn’t tell you what else goes into the biscuit.
You’re looking for a crunchy biscuit to enjoy with your coffee, without any specific dietary restriction being your main concern. Think about the flavour you’d like and how many biscuits make up a serving. Check the ingredients too if wheat or other allergens are relevant to you.
You want to take the sugar content on the label into account. For a ‘0% sugar’ variety, check the sweeteners, polyols and other nutritional information too. Albert Heijn warns that excessive consumption of its Digestive 0% sugar may have a laxative effect.
You’re looking for a biscuit with a suitable product claim and clear allergen information. A gluten-free digestive may still contain other allergens: Jumbo’s listing for Schär Digestive Landtaler says it contains soya and may contain lupin and egg.
Before choosing a flavour, decide which ingredients or allergens matter most to you. Then compare the nutritional information for each biscuit on the same basis: per 100 g or per serving.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Classic coffee-break biscuit | Check the flavour, serving size and ingredients. | I want a simple biscuit to enjoy with coffee and don’t have any specific dietary restrictions. For around 33% of consumers, that everyday coffee break comes first. |
| Sugars and sweeteners | Compare sugars and polyols per 100 g and per serving; read any warnings. | If I want to limit sugar, I also want to know what else the biscuit contains. Around 25% of consumers put this consideration first. |
| Gluten and allergens | Check for a gluten-free claim and read the up-to-date ‘contains’ and ‘may contain’ statements. | I need to be able to check whether all the ingredients are suitable for my dietary restrictions; ‘gluten-free’ alone isn’t enough. For around 25% of consumers, this is the most important factor when choosing. |
| Fibre and grains | Check the fibre per 100 g, the grain ingredients and the rest of the nutrition table. | If I enjoy biscuits with coffee regularly, I want to compare the grains rather than rely on the product name. This matters most to around 17% of consumers. |
Albert Heijn lists 0.3 g of sugars, 14 g of polyols and 465 kcal per 100 g for its Digestive 0% sugar. According to the product information, excessive consumption may have a laxative effect.
As well as the sugar content, check the energy, other nutritional values and serving size, and look out for the warning on the packaging.
Schär Digestive Landtaler, as listed by Jumbo, is gluten-free but contains soya and may contain lupin and egg. So the gluten-free claim doesn’t answer every question about allergens.
Before buying, check the full ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging.
Jumbo lists both wholemeal wheat flour and wheat flour and wheat flakes in its Digestive Volkoren. The name alone doesn’t tell you how much sugar, fat or salt the biscuit contains.
Compare the grain ingredients and fibre alongside the full nutritional information per 100 g.
Offers a standard 400 g Digestive and a 400 g Digestive 0% sugar.
Among other options, it offers a 400 g Digestive Volkoren for anyone who wants to compare grain ingredients and fibre.
Offers Digestive Original and varieties including chocolate and caramel.
Its Digestive Landtaler is explicitly labelled as a gluten-free biscuit.
No. The digestives covered in this article are biscuits to enjoy with coffee, not savoury crackers. If you’re looking for a savoury cracker specifically, check the product description and ingredients.
No. Albert Heijn lists sweeteners and 14 g of polyols per 100 g for its Digestive 0% sugar. So even for this variety, check the ingredients, nutritional information and usage warning.
Yes. Schär Digestive Landtaler, as listed by Jumbo, contains soya and may contain lupin and egg. Check the allergen information on the packaging you buy.
Follow the storage instructions for the biscuit you’ve bought. For its Digestive, Albert Heijn recommends storing the biscuits in a sealed tin after opening. Jumbo advises keeping its Digestive Volkoren tightly sealed and storing it in a dark place.
