Someone buying a drink alongside lunch
A ready-to-drink milkshake can accompany food at your desk. If it is a standard flavoured milkshake, choose the rest of lunch separately rather than treating the bottle as the whole meal.
Who is this choice for?
Someone comparing sugars across bottles
If you expect to drink all 400ml, compare bottle totals on the same basis. Tesco Groceries lists 6.5g sugars per 100ml for Mars Chocolate No Added Sugar, 8.6g for Yazoo Chocolate and 10.1g for Frijj Strawberry. The Mars recipe includes sweeteners.
Someone checking milk or cereal ingredients
Read the current pack before choosing by flavour. The listed drinks contain milk, and the Mars Chocolate drink also declares barley.
What should you check before buying?
Decide what role the drink will play at lunch, then compare the amount you will drink and check its ingredients and storage instructions.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch role | Check whether the product is a standard flavoured drink or is formulated as a meal drink. Consider what food will accompany it; the NHS Eatwell Guide describes balance across food groups over a day or week. | If lunch needs to be more than a drink, I can pair a standard milkshake with separate food rather than assume its protein content makes it a complete meal. |
| Bottle nutrition | Compare the same volume and distinguish per-100ml figures from per-serving figures. From Tesco Groceries’ labels, the 400ml bottles contain 26g sugars for Mars, 34.4g for Yazoo Chocolate and 40.4g for Frijj Strawberry. | I am likely to finish the bottle at my desk, so the full-bottle figures matter more to my comparison than a smaller labelled serving. |
| Ingredients and storage | Read the current allergen and ingredient statements, including any sweeteners. Follow the pack’s instructions for an opened drink rather than leaving it in a desk drawer. | Milk or barley may affect which drink I can choose, and I need access to a fridge if I plan to keep an opened bottle for later. |
Common milkshake buying mistakes
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Taking a protein claim to mean a complete lunch
A standard flavoured milkshake’s protein content does not establish that the bottle provides the variety of foods you want from lunch. The NHS Eatwell Guide considers balance across the day or week.
Have it with separate lunch food. If you want a drink-led lunch, check the full label of a product formulated for that purpose rather than relying on a protein claim.
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Comparing a serving with a whole bottle
Tesco Groceries lists the 400ml Mars and Yazoo Chocolate bottles as two servings. Drinking the whole bottle means consuming twice the amount shown for one 200ml serving.
Convert each label to the volume you expect to drink. For a 400ml bottle, multiply a per-100ml figure by four.
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Reading “no added sugar” as “sugar-free”
The Tesco Groceries listing for Mars Chocolate No Added Sugar states that it contains naturally occurring sugars; it lists 6.5g sugars per 100ml and declares milk and barley.
Check the sugars figure, ingredients and allergens on the current pack, not just the wording on its front.
Brand and product-line references
These details concern the named drinks and flavours, not every product made by each brand.
Yazoo
Yazoo Chocolate Milk Drink is a 400ml flavoured milk drink listed by Tesco Groceries as two servings.
- Its listed protein is 3.2g per 100ml.
- It contains milk and has 8.6g labelled sugars per 100ml; consider the full bottle if you expect to drink it all.
Mars
Mars Chocolate Flavoured Milk Drink No Added Sugar is a 400ml option listed by Tesco Groceries.
- Its label lists 6.5g sugars and 3.5g protein per 100ml.
- “No added sugar” does not mean sugar-free; the drink contains naturally occurring sugars and declares milk and barley.
Müller Frijj
The Tesco Groceries listing for Frijj Strawberry describes a 400ml milkshake.
- The listed values are 3.8g protein and 137mg calcium per 100ml.
- It lists 10.1g sugars per 100ml. Check current availability and the pack label when shopping.
Ready-to-drink options on Joybuy
These options are protein shakes and a yoghurt drink that could accompany food at a desk. They are not the Yazoo, Mars or Frijj drinks compared above, and their drink formats alone do not establish that they replace lunch.
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Applied Nutrition Protein Nutrition Shake Vanilla Ice Cream Flavour – 8 x 500ml
A ready-to-drink protein shake to have alongside desk-lunch food, rather than in place of a varied diet. Contains milk; refrigerate after opening and consume within 24 hours.
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Applied Nutrition Protein Nutrition Shake Double Chocolate Flavour – 8 x 500ml
A double-chocolate protein shake for a desk drink alongside lunch. It contains milk and is not a substitute for a varied diet; refrigerate after opening and consume within 24 hours.
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Applied Nutrition Protein Nutrition Shake Strawberries & Cream Flavour – 8 x 330ml
A smaller ready-to-drink protein shake to accompany lunch food. It contains milk and is not a substitute for a varied diet; refrigerate after opening and consume within 12 hours.
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REP Protein Shake Vanilla Flavour – 8 x 250ml
A 250ml canned protein shake for a drink alongside desk-lunch food, not a replacement for a varied diet. Contains milk; refrigerate after opening and consume within 24 hours.
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LIGHT UP Zero Control Avocado Kale Chia Seed Milkshake Yoghurt Drink – 220ml x 3
A small yoghurt drink to have with food rather than assume it makes a complete lunch. It contains milk. Check the current ingredients before relying on a no-added-sugar claim, and consume immediately after opening.
Questions about desk-lunch milkshakes
Can a standard milkshake be my whole desk lunch?
Do not assume it provides a whole lunch. A standard flavoured milkshake is a drink you can have with food; the NHS Eatwell Guide describes dietary balance across food groups over a day or week.
Does the Mars drink have no sugar?
No. Tesco Groceries lists the Mars Chocolate No Added Sugar drink as containing naturally occurring sugars: 6.5g per 100ml, or 26g if you drink the whole 400ml bottle.
How do I compare nutrition labels for 400ml bottles?
Compare the amount you expect to drink. Multiply a per-100ml figure by four for a whole 400ml bottle; Tesco Groceries lists the Mars and Yazoo Chocolate bottles as two 200ml servings each.
Which allergens need checking?
Check the current pack for your chosen drink. The listed Yazoo Chocolate and Frijj Strawberry products contain milk, while Mars Chocolate No Added Sugar declares both milk and barley.
Can I leave an opened milkshake at my desk?
Follow the storage instructions on that product’s pack rather than leaving an opened bottle in a desk drawer. The Tesco Groceries listing for Frijj Strawberry says to refrigerate it after opening; the Joybuy drinks shown here also have after-opening instructions that vary by product.