Occasional car boot sale hosts
An unopened tube or roll gives shoppers one compact retail pack to pick up without the host portioning loose mints. Keep the original packaging available for anyone who wants to read its food information.
Who is choosing the mints?
People selling refreshments regularly
If you buy mints specifically to resell or trade regularly, check how your activity is treated before selling food. Business Companion identifies both as indicators of trading; ask the relevant local authority about food-business requirements for your sale.
Buyers considering dietary preferences
Tesco lists Polo Original Mint Tube 34g as suitable for vegans, while M&S lists beef gelatine in Curiously Strong Mints. Check the current ingredients on each pack rather than assuming mint products have the same dietary status.
What should you check before choosing?
Start with the unopened pack and its label, then compare flavour and dietary suitability for the shoppers you expect.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Single-pack format | Choose one unopened retail unit. Check that the pack can be offered without opening or portioning it. | I want shoppers to pick up one compact pack from a small refreshment table. |
| Food information | Keep the original packaging with the product. Check that shoppers can inspect its ingredients, allergen information and date marking. | Anyone considering a purchase should be able to read the pack, particularly when ingredients matter to them. |
| Flavour and ingredients | Compare the stated mint flavour and current ingredients. Tesco describes Trebor Extra Strong as having a powerful peppermint flavour; M&S lists beef gelatine in Curiously Strong Mints. | I may want a stronger peppermint option, but I will not assume that every mint suits vegan or vegetarian shoppers. |
| Vegan suitability | Tesco lists Polo Original Mint Tube 34g as suitable for vegans. Confirm the claim on the pack you intend to offer. | If I describe a mint as vegan, I want that description to match its current packaging. |
| Pack comparison | Compare individual retail packs with individual retail packs, noting their stated weights. Check the current pack and best-before date before obtaining stock. | A single tube or roll suits my display better than treating a sharing pack as though it were one ready-to-offer portion. |
What could complicate the sale?
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Decanting mints into bowls or smaller bags
Shoppers can lose access to the original pack information when mints are separated from their packaging. Packing food yourself before direct sale can also change the labelling requirements that apply.
Offer unopened manufacturer packs for a simpler display. If you plan to repackage food, ask the relevant local authority which labelling rules apply before selling it.
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Assuming a car boot sale is automatically exempt
Business Companion identifies buying goods to resell and selling regularly as indicators of trading. GOV.UK and the Food Standards Agency say a local authority may decide that registration is unnecessary for very limited, infrequent food activity at a community or charity event; that does not settle the position of every car boot sale.
Describe your planned activity to the relevant local authority before trading. Food Standards Scotland says a food business in Scotland must register with its local authority at least 28 days before opening.
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Treating all mint packs as dietarily interchangeable
Tesco lists Polo Original Mint Tube 34g as suitable for vegans, whereas M&S lists beef gelatine in Curiously Strong Mints. The name or peppermint flavour alone does not establish dietary suitability.
Check the current ingredients and dietary statements before making a claim on your display, and leave packs available for shoppers to inspect.
Which brand examples help distinguish the options?
Polo
Tesco lists Polo Original Mint Tube as a 34g single tube.
- Tesco marks this specific product as suitable for vegans.
- Confirm that dietary statement on the current pack before using it on a refreshment display.
Trebor
Tesco describes Trebor Extra Strong Peppermint Mints Roll 41.3g as a hard pressed mint with a powerful peppermint flavour.
- The named product is a single roll for shoppers seeking a stronger stated peppermint flavour.
- Check its current ingredients before making a vegan or vegetarian claim.
M&S
M&S describes Curiously Strong Mints as extra-strong pressed mints in a roll.
- The roll provides another single-pack strong-mint format.
- M&S lists beef gelatine in this product, so it is not an option to describe as vegan or vegetarian.
Joybuy single-pack mint options
These are compact Joybuy mint packs for a refreshment table, but they are tins or cases rather than the tubes and rolls discussed above. Check each current pack’s food information and dietary statements before offering it for sale.
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Smint Peppermint Sugar Free Mints 35g
A compact peppermint option for offering as one pack. The product is described as a 35g tin, rather than a tube or roll; check the current pack’s ingredients, date marking and dietary statements before sale.
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Asahi Mintia Sugar-Free Refreshing Grape Mints 22g
A single compact pack if you want to offer grape-flavoured mints rather than peppermint. It is described as a 22g slim case, not a tube or roll; check its current ingredients, date marking and dietary statements before sale.
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Asahi Mintia Sugar-Free Refreshing Calpis Mints 22g
A single compact pack with a stated Calpis flavour, rather than a standard or extra-strong peppermint profile. It is described as a 22g tin; check the current pack’s ingredients, date marking and dietary statements before sale.
Questions about selling single-pack mints
Should I put out unopened packs or decant the mints?
Unopened retail packs keep the manufacturer’s food information with the mints for shoppers to inspect. If you pack mints yourself before selling them, ask the relevant local authority which labelling requirements apply to your activity.
Does selling mints regularly at a car boot sale affect registration?
Regular resale can indicate trading, according to Business Companion, so check your food-business position with the relevant local authority before selling. For a food business in Scotland, Food Standards Scotland specifies registration at least 28 days before opening; GOV.UK and the Food Standards Agency say a local authority may decide registration is unnecessary for very limited, infrequent activity at a community or charity event.
Which of the named mint packs has a vegan listing?
Tesco lists Polo Original Mint Tube 34g as suitable for vegans. Check the current pack before describing it that way to shoppers; M&S lists beef gelatine in Curiously Strong Mints, and other mint packs need their own ingredient checks.
Are the Joybuy mint packs the same format as the tubes and rolls?
No. The Smint pack is described as a tin, the Mintia Grape pack as a slim case and the Mintia Calpis pack as a tin. They offer compact single packs, but check their current labels and pack condition before using them for a refreshment sale.