Only choose breakfast cake as a Fairtrade option if the packaging or product page for that specific cake carries a Fairtrade claim. A supermarket’s Fairtrade range, or a Fairtrade product served alongside the cake, is not proof. For a patio treat, pre-sliced cake and individual portions can be handy. Separately, check the ingredients and allergen information for the variety you want to take with you.
You want a verifiable Fairtrade claim for the breakfast cake itself, not just for the supermarket or the coffee served with it. So check the packaging you’ve chosen: a separate Fairtrade range says nothing about whether this cake carries the certification.
You want to hand out slices without having to cut up a whole cake there and then, or give each guest an individual portion. Check whether your chosen variety is pre-sliced or sold as bars; assess any Fairtrade claim separately.
You compare breakfast cakes by their ingredients, allergens or nutritional information. These can vary between varieties. A label such as organic or vegan does not, on its own, tell you whether a product is Fairtrade.
First decide whether the breakfast cake itself needs to be Fairtrade, or whether a separate Fairtrade product will do for your patio treat. Then choose the portion format and check the information on the specific pack.
When to choose it: choose this option if the cake itself needs to meet your Fairtrade requirement and you can check the claim on the specific product.
Limitations: an organic variety or a Fairtrade ingredient is not, on its own, proof that the whole cake carries a Fairtrade claim.
When to choose it: choose this combination if the cake is mainly a snack and your Fairtrade choice is, for example, the coffee or tea served with it.
Limitations: be clear about which product carries the Fairtrade claim; serving them together does not make the breakfast cake Fairtrade.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade claim | Look for an explicit Fairtrade claim on the packaging or product page for the breakfast cake itself. | If the cake itself needs to be Fairtrade, I don’t want to rely on a shop’s range or on the drink served with it. For around 50% of consumers, a claim linked to the specific product comes first. |
| Portions and sharing | Check whether the cake is pre-sliced or sold in individual portions, and how many people will be eating it. | When having coffee or tea on the patio, I want to hand out the cake without cutting it there and then. Around 30% of consumers put ease of sharing first. |
| Ingredients and nutritional information | Read the ingredients, allergen and nutritional information for your chosen variety, including the portion size. | If I need to take ingredients or allergens into account, I want to know what’s in this particular cake. Around 20% of consumers give this check top priority. |
These labels describe different product attributes. Albert Heijn describes its AH Biologisch breakfast cake as organic and vegan; that is not, on its own, a Fairtrade claim for the cake.
Check the packaging or product page for the variety you’re buying separately for a Fairtrade claim.
Jumbo, PLUS and ALDI offer Fairtrade products, but that does not establish the Fairtrade status of an individual breakfast cake. A Fairtrade product served alongside the cake does not change the cake’s label either.
When choosing and serving them, make it clear which product actually carries the Fairtrade claim.
Pre-sliced breakfast cake and bars can make sharing easier, but ingredients, allergens and nutritional values vary between varieties. A name such as ‘zero’ doesn’t tell you everything about the portion you’ve chosen.
Compare the ingredients list and nutritional information on the specific pack, both per 100 g and per portion where both are shown.
A brand name or a shop’s range is not proof that a specific breakfast cake carries a Fairtrade claim. Use the varieties below to narrow down your search, then check the product you choose.
Albert Heijn lists, among other options, sliced wholemeal breakfast cake from Peijnenburg.
Albert Heijn describes its organic plain breakfast cake as organic, vegan and lactose-free.
Jumbo has a breakfast cake category as well as a separate Fairtrade category for breakfast products.
PLUS lists, among other options, sliced breakfast cake, bars and wholemeal varieties; the shop also sells Fairtrade products such as coffee and tea.
ALDI lists, under Koek & Bakker, a breakfast cake with pearl sugar and a sliced zero variety, among other options.
These breakfast cakes are options to take along or share during a patio treat. Don’t choose them solely because you’re looking for a Fairtrade product: check the Fairtrade claim for the specific cake before making that choice.
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An option if you want to take breakfast cake along for coffee or tea; check the pack for the portion format, ingredients, allergens and any Fairtrade claim.
Pack weight according to the product name: 250 g. Don’t draw nutritional conclusions from the variety name alone; compare the product’s nutritional information.
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An option if you’re looking for breakfast cake to share with several people; check the packaging to see how the six pieces are arranged before taking them with you.
The product name lists six pieces. Before buying, also read the ingredients and allergen information and check whether this variety carries a Fairtrade claim.
No. Organic and vegan are different product attributes from Fairtrade. If you want to choose a Fairtrade product, check whether the packaging or product page for that particular breakfast cake carries an explicit Fairtrade claim.
Not without checking the specific product. Jumbo lists Fairtrade products such as cocoa, chocolate sprinkles and cane sugar sticks in that category, while breakfast cake appears in a separate category. When you buy, check the label on the cake itself.
No. The product type alone doesn’t tell you which ingredients were used in a particular breakfast cake. If baker’s salt is important to you, check the ingredients information for the variety you’ve chosen before buying.
Follow the storage instructions on the pack you’ve chosen. Albert Heijn recommends keeping AH Biologisch breakfast cake in a cool, dark, dry place and storing it in a sealed tin once opened; instructions may differ for other varieties.
