Choose speculaas if you want to serve a familiar, spiced biscuit alongside oliebollen. A wholemeal digestive is another option if you’re comparing ingredients and fibre; the name doesn’t mean it has a beneficial effect on digestion. If you’d also like to offer a gluten-free option, check for other allergens and consider how you’ll serve the biscuits. For loose biscuits or crumbs, allergen information must be available before purchase, according to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).
You want to offer a spiced biscuit alongside oliebollen, without having to prepare it first. Check the size, packaging and allergens of the specific product. Albert Heijn describes its bakers’ speculaas as a biscuit flavoured with speculaas spices; Lotus Bakeries describes Biscoff as a caramelised biscuit.
You’re looking for a wheat biscuit made with wholemeal ingredients and want to compare the nutritional information. Check the fibre per 100 g and the ingredients list, but don’t take the name digestive as a promise about digestion.
You want to be able to offer a separate option to customers who specifically ask for a gluten-free product. Also check the other allergens on the current packaging, and consider how you’ll manage cross-contamination and customer information when serving loose biscuits.
First decide which type of biscuit you want to serve. Then compare the nutritional information and allergens of specific products, and only then choose packaging that suits the way you’ll serve them.
| What to consider | What should you check? | Who is this important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Speculaas flavour | Check the product type, spices and size of the biscuit you’ll be serving. | I want to serve a familiar, spiced biscuit alongside oliebollen. For around 31% of consumers, this classic biscuit choice is the deciding factor. |
| Fibre in digestives | Compare the ingredients and fibre per 100 g on the same basis; don’t treat digestive as a claim about digestion. | If I’m offering a biscuit instead of speculaas, I want to be able to compare the nutritional information. Around 31% of consumers prioritise this focus on fibre. |
| Gluten-free option | Check the gluten-free label, other allergens and your process for serving loose biscuits. | I want to offer a separate option to customers asking for gluten-free products, without overlooking other allergens. This is a priority for around 23% of consumers. |
| Packaging and serving | Compare the pack weight and portion sizes; decide whether you’ll offer the biscuits sealed or unpackaged. | I want to keep stock and serving biscuits straightforward, especially if I open the packs. For around 15% of consumers, this practical consideration matters most. |
The product name doesn’t prove that it affects digestion. Jumbo states that McVitie’s Digestives Pure Chocolade contains no ingredients that aid digestion.
Describe the product you choose based on its own ingredients, nutritional information and allergens, not on a promise about digestion.
Jumbo states that Schär Digestive Landtaler contains soya and may contain lupin and eggs. The gluten-free label doesn’t change that.
Check the current packaging for each product and, when serving loose biscuits, also take care to prevent cross-contamination with other biscuits.
Loose biscuits and crumbs used as a topping are covered by the information requirements for unpackaged food. According to the NVWA, information about any allergens present must be available before purchase.
Keep the latest information for each product you use and make sure customers can access it before they buy.
These examples show the differences between speculaas, standard digestives and a gluten-free option. Check the current packaging of the product you’ll actually be serving.
Lotus Bakeries describes Biscoff as a crunchy biscuit with a caramelised flavour, often enjoyed with coffee.
AH Bakkers speculaas is an example of classic speculaas flavoured with speculaas spices, in a 600 g pack.
According to Jumbo, Jumbo Digestive Volkoren contains wholemeal wheat flour, wheat flour and wheat flakes. The nutritional information lists 5.8 g of fibre per 100 g.
McVitie’s Digestives Original is a 400 g wheat biscuit. The Dutch product information at Jumbo lists 16% wholemeal wheat flour and 3.7 g of fibre per 100 g.
Jumbo describes Schär Digestive Landtaler as a gluten-free product, in a pack of 3 × 50 g.
These products offer a choice of classic speculaas and a standard digestive. For the speculaas options, pay particular attention to the size, pack weight and flavour; for a gluten-free option, you’ll need to assess a separate suitable product.
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A speculaas option if you want to serve a smaller biscuit alongside oliebollen.
The product name lists 8 biscuits and a pack weight of 200 g. Check the current allergen information for the way you plan to serve them.
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A standard digestive if you want to offer a wheat biscuit alongside speculaas.
For McVitie’s Digestives Original, Jumbo lists 16% wholemeal wheat flour and 3.7 g of fibre per 100 g. The product contains wheat and may contain milk; check the label on the pack you’re using.
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A bakers’ speculaas to consider if you want to serve a classic speculaas option.
The product name lists a pack size of 450 g. Check the size of the biscuits and the current allergen information before serving them loose.
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A bakers’ speculaas if you’re looking for a 600 g pack for a classic biscuit option.
Compare the pack and biscuit size with the way you plan to serve them. If selling them loose, keep the allergen information for the product you’re using available.
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A separate speculaas option to consider if you’d like to offer an almond variety as well as standard speculaas.
The product name lists almonds and a pack size of 400 g. Check the full allergen information on the current label, and make it clear which variety you’re serving if offering them loose.
Yes. According to the NVWA, information about any allergens present in unpackaged food must be available before purchase. Use the current information for every biscuit product you serve loose or add as a topping; for cereals containing gluten and nuts, the specific type also matters.
No, you can’t draw that conclusion from the name. Jumbo explicitly states that McVitie’s Digestives Pure Chocolade contains no ingredients that aid digestion. Compare digestives based on the ingredients, nutritional information and allergens of the variety you plan to buy.
Not automatically. Jumbo’s product information for Schär Digestive Landtaler lists soya and the possible presence of lupin and eggs. Check the current packaging, and make sure the information for this biscuit isn’t confused with that for other biscuits at your stall.
Yes. The NVWA requires market and event sellers to store and sell food safely and hygienically. So think about how you’ll store the packs and serve the biscuits; if you’re serving them unpackaged, allergen information must also be available to customers.
