A mint multipack is a choice for occasional freshness or a small, counted amount of carbohydrate, not a replacement for a practised long-run food-and-fluid plan. For hard exercise lasting longer than an hour, the British Dietetic Association discusses carbohydrate intake during exercise; ASDA Groceries lists 4.4g carbohydrate per three Polo Original mints, while Tesco Groceries lists 2.4g available carbohydrate per Trebor Extra Strong peppermint mint. Choose sugar-free mints for freshness rather than sugar-based fuel, and check their sweetener warnings before taking them on a run.
If you carry mints on a long run, the carbohydrate shown on the label helps you count what they contribute. A multipack still needs to sit alongside a practised food-and-fluid plan, rather than stand in for one.
A mint can be convenient to keep in a running bag or use after a run. If freshness is the aim, check whether you want a sugar-based sweet or a sugar-free product with its own ingredient warnings.
A multipack makes sweets easy to keep on hand, but an occasional mint is different from a routine lunchbox snack. Check the age-related warnings on small sweets before giving them to children.
Decide whether the mints are for a counted addition during training or simply for freshness; then compare the serving information, ingredients and pack format.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrate amount | Use carbohydrate per stated serving or mint, not pack weight. ASDA Groceries lists 4.4g per three Polo Original mints; Tesco Groceries lists 2.4g available carbohydrate per Trebor Extra Strong peppermint mint. | If I carry mints on a long run, I want to count the amount I actually eat alongside my usual food-and-fluid plan. |
| Sugars and everyday use | Read sugars per serving as well as carbohydrate. The Polo serving contains 4.3g sugars, according to ASDA Groceries; Tesco Groceries lists 2.3g per Trebor mint. NHS guidance advises keeping the frequency and amount of sugary foods and drinks low. | For a lunchbox or desk drawer, I want to distinguish an occasional sweet from something eaten throughout the day. |
| Ingredients and warnings | Check the current ingredient and warning panels. Tesco Groceries lists gelatine in Trebor Extra Strong Peppermint; ASDA Groceries lists Polo Original as suitable for vegans. Waitrose & Partners lists an excessive-consumption warning for sugar-free Smint XXL. | Ingredients matter to me, and I would check a sweetener-containing mint before taking it on a long run. |
| Carrying format | Compare the number of tubes or rolls and the quantity you intend to carry. ASDA Groceries lists Polo Original as four 34g tubes; Tesco Groceries lists the Trebor multipack as four rolls totalling 145.6g. | I would rather take a manageable portion than mistake a whole multipack for a planned running portion. |
A few mints supply a small stated amount of carbohydrate: ASDA Groceries lists 4.4g per three Polo Original mints, and Tesco Groceries lists 2.4g per Trebor Extra Strong peppermint mint. Neither serving, on its own, establishes what you need across a long run.
Practise a food-and-fluid plan for your sessions. If you take mints, count the serving you eat rather than treating a tube or roll as a ready-made fuel portion.
Sugar-free Smint XXL is presented as a breath-freshening mint. Its Waitrose & Partners listing warns that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects and that it contains a source of phenylalanine.
Choose it for freshness, not in place of planned carbohydrate intake, and try an unfamiliar sweetener-containing product during ordinary training rather than for the first time on race day.
NHS guidance advises keeping both the frequency and amount of sugary foods and drinks low. The Polo product information also warns that small sweets can pose a choking risk for children under four with limited chewing ability.
Consider how often mints will be eaten, and check the current pack warning before offering small sweets to young children.
Trebor Extra Strong Peppermint contains gelatine according to Tesco Groceries, while ASDA Groceries lists Polo Original as suitable for vegans. Sugar-free products can carry different sweetener warnings.
Read the ingredient and warning panels on the flavour and pack you are buying, particularly when dietary suitability matters.
These examples show how specific mint products differ; the details do not apply to every product made by each brand.
ASDA Groceries lists Polo Original in a four-tube, 136g multipack.
Tesco Groceries lists Extra Strong Peppermint as a four-roll multipack totalling 145.6g.
Waitrose & Partners lists Smint XXL Peppermint as a sugar-free breath-freshening mint in a tin, rather than as a multipack example.
These mint multipacks and multi-piece sweets are options to compare if you want something to carry or keep at home. Their pack formats differ, and none should be treated as a complete marathon-training fuelling plan.
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Consider this four-pack if you want separate mints to carry and intend to count any carbohydrate you eat. ASDA Groceries lists 4.4g carbohydrate and 4.3g sugars per three Polo Original mints. Treat that serving as a small addition rather than a complete running-fuel plan, and check the pack warning before giving small sweets to young children.
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The four-roll format suits shoppers who prefer to carry a roll and count mints individually. Tesco Groceries lists 2.4g available carbohydrate and 2.3g sugars per mint; this is not a complete long-run fuel portion. Its listed ingredients include gelatine.
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This four-roll pack is an option if you want to carry spearmint sweets separately. If you intend to count them as part of training intake, check the current label for a carbohydrate amount that matches the portion you will eat. Do not substitute an unmeasured number of sweets for a practised plan.
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The 120-piece format is worth considering if you want a larger supply to portion out, rather than a small roll for a running bag. Check the label for the amount in each sweet before counting it towards anything you eat during training; the pack count is not a fuelling portion.
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This four-pack fits a freshness-focused purchase. If you also want to count carbohydrate during a run, check the pack for a value tied to the number of mints you will eat rather than relying on its 72g total pack weight. Check the age warning before giving small sweets to children.
Do not rely on it as your whole food-and-fluid plan. The British Dietetic Association discusses carbohydrate intake during hard exercise lasting longer than an hour, but the listed mint servings are small: ASDA Groceries gives 4.4g carbohydrate per three Polo Original mints, and Tesco Groceries gives 2.4g available carbohydrate per Trebor Extra Strong peppermint mint. Practise the plan you intend to use on long runs and count any mints you add.
Take them for freshness, not as a replacement for sugar-based carbohydrate. Waitrose & Partners lists Smint XXL Peppermint as sugar-free and warns that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects. Try an unfamiliar product during ordinary training rather than for the first time on race day.
Use carbohydrate for the stated serving or individual mint, and match it to the quantity you actually eat; pack weight and sugars alone answer different questions. ASDA Groceries lists 4.4g carbohydrate per three Polo Original mints, while Tesco Groceries lists 2.4g available carbohydrate per Trebor Extra Strong peppermint mint.
Treat sugary mints as occasional sweets rather than a routine lunchbox item. NHS guidance advises keeping the frequency and amount of sugary foods and drinks low. Polo product information also warns that small sweets can pose a choking risk for children under four with limited chewing ability; check the current pack warning.
Check the exact flavour and current pack label. Tesco Groceries lists gelatine in Trebor Extra Strong Peppermint, whereas ASDA Groceries lists Polo Original as suitable for vegans. Sugar-free mints have different considerations: the Waitrose & Partners listing for Smint XXL includes excessive-consumption and phenylalanine warnings.