For a quick desk lunch, start with the calories in the whole bar: Tesco lists Graze Cocoa Vanilla Oat Boost at 116 kcal per 30g bar and Nakd Berry Delight at 133 kcal per 35g bar. Nakd lists 17g sugars per bar, so a similar calorie figure does not mean a similar sugar figure. If protein matters more than minimising calories, Nature Valley UK lists 10.2g protein and 196 kcal in its Protein Peanut & Chocolate 40g bar; check the exact variant’s portion and allergens before choosing.
If you expect to eat one bar during a short break, compare kcal for that complete bar. The per-100g figure helps you compare bars of different sizes, but it does not tell you the calories in the portion you will eat.
If a bar will make up a meaningful part of a light lunch, compare its protein and fibre alongside its calories, sugars and saturated fat. A protein-focused bar can have a higher calorie figure than a smaller oat or fruit-and-nut bar.
Vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free descriptions apply to particular products, not every flavour from a brand. Check the current pack’s ingredients and allergen warnings for the exact bar you intend to keep at your desk.
Decide how much of your lunch the bar will represent, then compare products on the same portion basis.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Whole-bar calories | Read kcal for the complete bar you will eat. Use kcal per 100g as a second comparison when bar weights differ. | I want a portion that fits the lunch I have planned, rather than choosing by a front-of-pack description alone. |
| Sugars and saturated fat | Compare the “of which sugars” and saturated-fat figures per bar; use per-100g figures to compare different sizes. A no-added-sugar description does not state the total sugars. | A lower calorie figure is not my only consideration. Tesco lists 17g sugars in a 35g Nakd Berry Delight bar, so I would check sugar separately. |
| Protein and fibre | Read both figures for the exact bar, then check its calories. Nature Valley UK lists 10.2g protein and 4.4g fibre in its 40g Protein Peanut & Chocolate bar, alongside 196 kcal. | When a bar forms part of a light lunch, I may choose a different protein-and-fibre profile even if the bar has more calories. |
| Dietary fit | Check the exact flavour’s ingredients, dietary description and precautionary allergen statement on the current pack. | If I need to avoid an ingredient, a vegan or gluten-free description alone will not answer every allergen question. |
“Natural” and “no added sugar” do not replace the nutrition panel. In its November 2025 review of 458 UK snack bars, Action on Salt & Sugar classified 37% as high in sugars and 55% as high in saturated fat under UK front-of-pack thresholds.
Start with kcal for the bar you will eat, then compare sugars and saturated fat per bar and per 100g.
A smaller bar and a protein-focused bar answer different portion needs. Nature Valley UK lists 196 kcal, 10.2g protein and 4.4g fibre for its Protein Peanut & Chocolate 40g bar; TREK lists 227 kcal and 9g protein for its Cocoa Oat 50g bar.
Decide whether the bar is a small snack or part of lunch before weighing its protein and fibre against its calories.
Tesco lists 17g total sugars in a 35g Nakd Berry Delight bar. The formulation description and the total-sugars figure answer different questions.
Read the “of which sugars” line for the full bar, even when the recipe is fruit-based.
Ingredients and precautionary warnings differ between the named bars. TREK, for example, says its Cocoa Oat bar may contain peanuts, nuts and milk.
For an allergy or other necessary restriction, read the current pack for the exact flavour and multipack before eating it.
The figures below refer to named bars, not to every product from each brand.
The Cocoa Vanilla Oat Boost is an example to compare when the calories in one oat bar are the starting point.
Berry Delight is a fruit-and-nut example listed by Tesco as vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.
Protein Peanut & Chocolate offers a different comparison point when protein and fibre matter alongside portion calories.
Cocoa Oat is a vegan and gluten-free flapjack example for comparing a larger bar with the smaller portions above.
Almond & Apricot with Yoghurt Coating is a fruit-and-nut bar to assess by its complete 40g portion.
Alpen UK describes muesli ranges including Original and No Added Sugar. Muesli figures should not be used to judge an Alpen snack bar.
These bars include smaller desk-snack portions and a protein-bar option for a light lunch. Compare each exact flavour’s current pack rather than applying the figures for a different variant to it.
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The 30g bar format offers a defined portion for a desk break. Check this exact Cocoa, Vanilla Oat Squares pack for its per-bar calories, sugars, protein and allergen statement; do not substitute figures from a differently named Graze bar.
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Each named bar is 30g, making the complete-bar nutrition figure the relevant starting point for a short desk break. Read this Cherry Bakewell variant’s sugars, fibre and allergens rather than borrowing values from another Graze flavour.
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This pack contains 35g fruit-and-nut bars. For a desk lunch, check calories and total sugars for the Blueberry Muffin bar itself, along with its ingredient and allergen statements; Berry Delight is a different flavour.
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The named 21.5g bar is a smaller portion than the other bars in this selection. Compare the calories for one bar with its sugars and saturated fat, and check the current pack if ingredients or allergens affect your choice.
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This named protein-bar variant is an option to consider when the bar forms part of a light lunch. Nature Valley UK lists 10.2g protein and 4.4g fibre per 40g bar; check the current pack’s calorie figure and allergen statement before comparing it with smaller snack bars.
Compare kcal for the complete bar you expect to eat, then use kcal per 100g for a like-for-like comparison of different weights. Nature Valley UK’s label guidance distinguishes the per-bar portion from the per-100g comparison, so check both rather than assuming similarly sized packs contain similarly sized bars.
No: the phrase does not give the total-sugars figure. Tesco lists 17g sugars per 35g bar for Nakd Berry Delight; read “of which sugars” on the exact bar’s nutrition panel when comparing it with another flavour or brand.
Consider its protein and fibre figures when the bar will form part of lunch, but compare its calories with the smaller portions too. Nature Valley UK lists 10.2g protein, 4.4g fibre and 196 kcal for Protein Peanut & Chocolate; Tesco lists 116 kcal for a 30g Graze Cocoa Vanilla Oat Boost.
Use any front-of-pack traffic-light information to compare the nutrients it displays, including sugars and saturated fat, then read the full nutrition panel and serving size. A per-100g comparison and the figure for the bar you will eat answer different questions.
No. Dietary descriptions do not replace the exact product’s ingredient list and precautionary allergen statement. TREK says its vegan, gluten-free Cocoa Oat bar may contain peanuts, nuts and milk, so check the current pack for the restriction that applies to you.