Office snack buyers managing portions
Individual packs make the amount offered to each colleague clear. With a sharing bag, someone needs to serve portions before putting the chips out.
Who is this for?
Workplaces sharing food with allergy information in mind
Keep the current packaging accessible so colleagues can check ingredients and allergens for the particular product and flavour. Anaphylaxis UK also advises workplaces supplying food to consider suitable alternatives for staff with allergies.
Shoppers looking for stated dietary attributes
Waitrose & Partners lists Mister Free'd Chilli tortilla chips as gluten-free and suitable for vegans. Check the label of the specific pack and flavour before supplying it to colleagues.
What should you check?
Start with the amount each person will take, then compare calorie figures for the same weight and keep the pack information available.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Portion format | Check the weight of an inner pack or the serving stated on a sharing bag. Waitrose & Partners lists Doritos Cool Original as five 30g packs; Tesco lists six 30g servings in a 180g Doritos Lightly Salted bag. | I want the amount offered to each colleague to be clear before anyone starts snacking. A sharing bag works if someone can measure portions first. |
| Calorie comparison | Compare kcal for the same weight, using the per-100g label where needed. Waitrose & Partners lists Mister Free'd Chilli at 95kcal per serving; check the serving weight on the pack before comparing it with a 30g serving. | A lower figure per serving catches my eye, but I want to know how large that serving is before choosing it for the office. |
| Allergen information | Check the current ingredients and allergen label for each flavour. Waitrose & Partners lists milk in Doritos Cool Original; keep the packaging accessible if chips are served from a tin or bowl. | Colleagues need to be able to identify what is in the snack, even after the outer bag has been opened. |
What can go wrong?
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Assuming everyone will take a labelled serving from a sharing bag
Tesco lists six 30g servings in the 180g Doritos Lightly Salted bag, but leaving the whole bag in a communal tin does not measure what anyone takes.
Put out individual packs, or serve measured portions and store the remaining bag separately.
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Comparing calorie figures for different serving sizes
Waitrose & Partners lists Mister Free'd Chilli at 95kcal per serving without a serving weight in its listing. That figure alone cannot establish how it compares with a 30g Doritos serving.
Check both kcal and grams on the current pack, then compare equal weights or the per-100g values.
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Discarding the packaging when filling the tin
Colleagues may then be unable to check ingredients and allergens. The Waitrose & Partners listing for Doritos Cool Original, for example, identifies milk.
Keep each current pack beside the snack container, and do not mix different products in an unlabelled tin.
Brand and product references
Pack format, flavour and nutrition information vary between the products below; check the particular pack rather than treating a brand name as a calorie comparison.
Doritos
The listed Cool Original multipack and Lightly Salted sharing bag provide two ways to serve tortilla chips in an office.
- Waitrose & Partners lists Cool Original at 144kcal per 30g inner pack; Tesco lists Lightly Salted at 146kcal per 30g serving.
- The Lightly Salted bag needs portioning. The Cool Original listing identifies milk.
Mister Free'd
Waitrose & Partners lists the Chilli tortilla chips as gluten-free and suitable for vegans.
- The listing states 95kcal per serving.
- Check the serving weight on the pack before comparing that figure with a 30g serving.
Tesco
Tesco lists its own Lightly Salted tortilla chips in a 200g sharing bag.
- The listing describes the product as suitable for vegans.
- Check the current nutrition label and measure portions if using the bag for office sharing.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's lists its own tortilla chips in a 200g pack described as six servings.
- The listing identifies the product as suitable for vegans.
- Check the current pack for serving weights and calorie values before making a comparison.
Waitrose Essential
Waitrose & Partners lists Essential Salted tortilla chips in a 200g sharing bag.
- Check the current nutrition label and portion size before choosing them for a calorie-aware office tin.
Joybuy tortilla-chip options
These tortilla-chip options include an individual-pack multipack and two 160g sharing bags. Choose between a defined pack and portions you will measure out for the office.
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Doritos Chilli Heatwave 5 × 30g
Five individual 30g packs give colleagues a defined amount to take from the tin. Consider whether the Chilli Heatwave flavour suits the group, and keep the pack information available for allergen checks.
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Eat Real Sea Salt Multiseed Tortillas 160g
This 160g sharing bag is an option when someone can serve portions before placing chips in the office tin. Check the current label for the serving weight, calorie information and allergens.
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Eat Real Multiseed Tortillas Smoky Tomato Salsa Flavour with A Hint of Chilli 160g
This 160g sharing bag calls for portioning if the office wants a defined amount per person. Check whether the smoky tomato and chilli flavour suits colleagues, along with the current nutrition and allergen label.
Common questions
Are tortilla chips in an office biscuit tin low in calories?
Not necessarily: the amount taken matters as well as the product. Waitrose & Partners lists a 30g Doritos Cool Original inner pack at 144kcal, and Tesco lists a 30g Doritos Lightly Salted serving at 146kcal. Measure portions from a larger bag if you want colleagues to take the stated serving.
Is a 95kcal serving of Mister Free'd Chilli a lower-calorie choice?
The 95kcal figure from Waitrose & Partners is per serving, but check the grams per serving on the pack before comparing it with a 30g product. The listing also identifies Mister Free'd Chilli as gluten-free and suitable for vegans; check the current pack for those details.
Can I put tortilla chips straight into a communal biscuit tin?
You can serve chips from a tin, but keep the original labelled packaging accessible and avoid mixing products without identifying them. Colleagues may need its ingredient and allergen information: the Waitrose & Partners listing for Doritos Cool Original identifies milk.
How long should an opened sharing bag stay in the office?
Follow the instructions on the particular bag. Tesco's Doritos Lightly Salted listing says to keep it in a cool, dry place and consume it within three days of opening.
What if a colleague has a food allergy?
Keep ingredient and allergen information for each snack accessible and discuss suitable options with the colleague rather than assuming another flavour or product is interchangeable. Anaphylaxis UK's workplace guidance recommends considering snack alternatives and storage arrangements when food is provided.