Who is this for?

Hosts offering refreshments to a mixed crowd

If you want to offer chocolate without breaking up a large bar at the stall, compare bite-size buttons with products sold in sharing packs. Check how each pack can be kept closed between servings.

Hosts checking ingredients for guests

Dark chocolate is not automatically free from milk, wheat or nuts. Read the current label for the exact product and keep its ingredient and allergen information available.

Sellers providing food as a business

Keep the product information needed to answer ingredient and allergen questions. Food Standards Agency guidance requires food businesses in England, Northern Ireland and Wales to provide allergen information for prepacked and non-prepacked food; check with your local authority whether your activity is a food business.

What should you check?

Start with how people will take a portion, then compare the exact labels and the conditions at your stall.

Priority What to check Your needs
Serving format Look for separate pieces or a sharing pack. Check whether portions need handling or unwrapping at the stall, and whether the pack closes between servings. I want guests to take a piece without my breaking up a bar. Buttons and a sharing box are different formats, so I would check how the chosen pack presents its contents.
Ingredients and allergens Read the exact pack’s ingredients and allergen statements, including any precautionary warnings. Keep that information available if the chocolate is offered outside its original pack. Some guests may need to avoid particular ingredients. I cannot use the words “dark chocolate” or a cocoa percentage as a substitute for the product label.
Flavour and cocoa content Compare plain 60% dark buttons, 70% dark-chocolate-coated fruit and 100% cocoa buttons as distinct products. Check for fruit, wafer or other additions if you want plain chocolate. I might choose plain buttons for straightforward portions, or fruit-coated pieces for a different flavour. A 100% cocoa option needs to be clearly identified for guests who want that style.
Outdoor storage Follow the chosen pack’s storage and after-opening instructions. For its sour cherries, M&S specifies a cool, dry place away from sunlight and resealing after opening. At an outdoor stall, I need somewhere shaded and dry to keep the chocolate, with the pack information close to hand.

What could cause problems?

  • Assuming dark chocolate is suitable for every allergy

    Lindt’s dark Choco Wafer box lists wheat, milk, lactose and soya, as well as possible further allergens. M&S labels its dark-chocolate-coated sour cherries unsuitable for people with several specified allergies.

    Read the current label of the exact product before buying for guests with allergies, and keep its allergen information available when serving.

  • Offering only 100% cocoa buttons to a mixed crowd

    Montezuma’s 100% cocoa buttons are a different choice from its 60% dark buttons or M&S’s fruit-coated chocolate. The cocoa percentage alone does not establish what every guest will prefer.

    Identify the 100% cocoa option clearly. If you want to offer a choice of formats or flavours, compare the other packs separately rather than treating them as interchangeable.

  • Leaving an opened pack in the sun

    The packaging also carries the instructions guests and hosts may need. M&S tells buyers to keep its dark-chocolate-coated sour cherries cool and dry, away from sunlight, and to reseal them after opening.

    Plan a shaded, dry place for the pack, close it between servings and follow its own after-opening directions.

Relevant brand ranges

These ranges illustrate different ways to offer dark chocolate; check the particular product rather than assuming one brand’s labels apply across its range.

Montezuma’s

Montezuma’s lists 120g bags of 60% dark buttons and 100% cocoa buttons, both in bite-size formats.

  • The 60% buttons are a plain dark option that does not need to be broken into pieces at the stall.
  • The 100% cocoa buttons carry a precautionary statement for milk, nuts and peanuts. Check the current label of whichever variant you choose.

Lindt

Lindt’s 130g dark Choco Wafer box is labelled for sharing, but its wafer-and-filling format is not plain dark chocolate.

  • The box offers a crisp wafer option for guests who want something other than plain buttons.
  • It lists wheat, milk, lactose and soya, and says it may contain eggs, hazelnuts, almonds and mustard.

M&S

M&S lists 130g sour cherries coated in 70% dark chocolate among its sharing bags.

  • The cherries provide a fruit-and-dark-chocolate option rather than plain pieces.
  • The product is labelled unsuitable for people with milk, nut, peanut or sesame allergies. Its storage and after-opening directions are product-specific.

Divine

Divine’s dark-chocolate bundle contains three 90g bars: plain 70%, raspberry, and ginger and orange.

  • Separate bars offer a choice of flavours when you are prepared to portion or offer them individually.
  • Bars do not pour out as bite-size pieces. The bundle’s ingredient information says it may contain gluten, milk and nuts.

Hotel Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat lists dark-chocolate Selectors alongside dark batons, including 70% and 85% varieties.

  • A Selector is a different portion format to consider if you do not need a loose sharing bag.
  • Check ingredients and allergens on the chosen Selector; one dark product’s label cannot stand in for the whole range.

Joybuy product options

This dark-chocolate box is an option for offering pieces at a car boot sale rather than choosing a loose sharing bag. Check its presentation if guests need to take individually wrapped portions.

Nestle Black Magic Dark Chocolate Box 348g

Nestle Black Magic Dark Chocolate Box 348g

A dark-chocolate box to consider when offering pieces rather than a loose bag. Check the pack if individual wrapping matters for serving, and review its milk, egg and nut information before offering it to guests with allergies. Keep it closed in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

View on Joybuy

Common questions

Which dark-chocolate format is easiest to offer at a stall?

Bite-size buttons avoid breaking up a bar at the stall; a product sold as a sharing box is another format to compare. Montezuma’s lists dark buttons, while Lindt labels its dark Choco Wafer box for sharing. Check how the chosen pack closes and how guests will take a portion.

Does dark chocolate mean dairy-free or safe for someone with a nut allergy?

No. Lindt’s dark Choco Wafer box contains milk ingredients and lists possible hazelnuts and almonds; M&S labels its dark-chocolate-coated sour cherries unsuitable for people with milk, nut and peanut allergies. Check the current label of the exact pack rather than relying on its name or cocoa percentage.

How should I store an opened pack outdoors?

Follow that product’s label and keep the pack protected from the conditions it warns about. For its 70% dark-chocolate-coated sour cherries, M&S specifies cool, dry storage away from sunlight, then resealing and eating within one week of opening; do not apply that one-week instruction to other products without checking their labels.

Must I provide allergen information at a car boot sale?

If you operate a food business in England, Northern Ireland or Wales, Food Standards Agency guidance requires allergen information for both prepacked and non-prepacked food. Whether a particular occasional refreshment activity is a food business needs checking against its circumstances; ask the relevant local authority about your arrangement and local requirements.

When does a food business need to register?

For an activity that is a food business, the Food Standards Agency’s registration service says to register with the local authority at least 28 days before trading or starting food operations. Check with the local authority whether your car boot sale refreshments fall within that requirement rather than assuming every private or occasional activity does.