9 Sustainable Snacks that are Good for the Planet (and delicious!)

"Sustainable snacks" seems like a pretty vague term right? But I was curious to find out what sustainable snacking options are available in the UK.

How I chose the snacks:

First I had to ask: what exactly is a sustainable snack?

What kinds of snacky things can qualify as "sustainable" and are not wrapped in a good bit of marketing and greenwashing? Also, importantly, which of these snacks actually taste good and are 100% snack-worthy?!

In the end, I decided to try and select snacks from brands who prioritise the environment, have great environmental credentials and climate positive "foodprints".

These are companies that put a lot of thought and care into things like where they get their ingredients from and what their packaging is made from. Not every snack is perfect. Some use plastic. But none use palm oil or pesticides and ingredients that are damaging to the local environments.

If anyone has any recommendations or thinks I've missed out on a snack or two, let me know in the comments as I will be updating this list the more snacks I discover 😊.

All the chocolate from the Raw Chocolate Company is 100% organic and oh my! They do have some tasty snacks. I've only tried their dark chocolate raisins but if those are anything to go by, these Salty Chocolate Hazelnuts will be divine.

💚 Producer: passionate about agro-forestry, the Raw Chocolate Company have a meaningful Tree Planting initiative that gives back to the land they buy all their cocoa from in Peru.

♻️ Packaging: home compostable, biodegradable and recyclable!

🌎 Ingredients: hazelnuts, coconut sugar, cacao mass, cacao butter, lucuma, hazelnut paste, cacao powder, salt, vanilla.

I came across ChicP last month on Stop Food Waste Day. They are a food-waste-fighting, female founded hummus brand with lots of amazing sounding hummus pots. I've gone with the classic velvety hummus option for this snack list.

💚 Producer: It all began when Hannah, the founder, started using surplus vegetables from London markets to make different kinds of delicious hummus with natural ingredients (you can read more about ChicP here).

♻️ Packaging: plastic and paper (I think!)

🌎 Ingredients: chickpeas, rapeseed oil, tahini (sesame), lemon, garlic, buffered (spirit) vinegar, salt.

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I love Rhythm 108's biscuits! I highly recommend the Hazelnut Chocolate Praline Cookie (so so good!) and this biscuit bundle will give you the kind of variety that will keep you snack-happy for a while.

💚 Producer: "vegan, organic, gluten-free, ethical and natural ingredients and sustainable packaging" sums it up quite well! Their website states that they have strict measures to pay fair wages and implement good working conditions for everyone in their supply chain, from farmers to suppliers.

♻️ Packaging: They come wrapped in home-compostable wrappers that break down in around 6-8 weeks.

🌎 Ingredients: Click here for full ingredients list.

I wish they did bigger bags of these. That's how good they are. But these mini bags are perfect for pockets and munching on the go!

💚 Producer: You never have to check what the ingredients are with Clearspring products - you just know they are going to be natural and 0% weird! Everything Clearspring is organic and you can read more about their environmental standards here.

♻️ Packaging: Clearspring package quite a few of their products in plastic. In their FAQ's they address their use of plastic and state how they plan to move towards a plastic-free future (they also name some of their newly plastic-free products).

🌎 Ingredients: almonds, tamari (soya beans, water, sea salt, mirin [sweet rice, water, cultured rice]). All organic.

Of course I had to include a chocolate bar, and this was my winning pick! I haven't actually tried this bar before, but during my hunt for the most sustainable of all snacks I came across this wonderful bar and brand which left me very impressed!

💚 Producer: Original Beans make sustainable snacking easy. Zero-waste and carbon negative, a quick scroll on their website gives you the feeling (and facts!) that these guys put the planet and sustainability at the centre of what they do. They've won quite a few awards for all the good work they do. Read more here.

♻️ Packaging: Made from wood fibres, the packaging is natural, renewable and compostable.

🌎 Ingredients: Cacao mass, raw cane sugar, whole milk powder. All organic.

Whether you are spooning the stuff straight out the jar or slathering it on a bit of bread - nut butter is a great snack! Two Nods Nut Butter is a new discovery for me and I am in love with their brand philosophy and inventive offerings (they even have a cashew and jalapeño jar!).

💚 Producer: On each of their products they include a C02e/kg number which is testament to the brand's commitment to transparency. They want us, the nut butter lovers, to "cut through the marketing" and get a better understanding of how our fave food products impact the environment.

♻️ Packaging: Their jars are made with recycled glass from Bristol. Simply rinse and recycle after finishing!

🌎 Ingredients: peanuts, almonds, British-grown oats, Brixton Bees honey, Cornish flaked sea salt.

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No snack list would be complete without popcorn (aka the king of all movie snacks!) Sweet Cocoa popcorn sounds a bit wild, but at the time of writing this, this Sweet Cocoa flavour from The Great Stuff Company is sold out! If the reviews are anything to go by, as soon as they are restocked this popcorn is a must-try!

💚 Producer: The Great Stuff Company produce the most eco-freindly popcorn I could find! All their ingredients are natural and they don't use any artificial pesticides or fertilisers.

♻️ Packaging: Pending! I couldn't find any info on what they package their popcorn in.

🌎 Ingredients: raw cocoa powder, maple syrup, and virgin coconut oil

Oh My Gum! sent me some of their products to try a while back and this minty number was by far my favourite! What I was most impressed with was their plastic-free credentials.

💚 Producer: Chewing gum has got a rep for being a synthetic product that is harmful for the environment but these guys are a winner of the 2021 Sustainable Food Awards.

♻️ Packaging: Plastic-free and biodegradable.

🌎 Ingredients: Xylitol, Natural Chicle Gum Base, Natural Flavour (Mint), Glycerol, Magnesium Stearate, Gum Arabic, Carnuba Wax.

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I am never not in the mood for crisps, they are the best snack! The Two Farmers have made headlines for being the most sustainable crisp brand ever, so of course I had to put them on the list.

💚 Producer: The UK’s first 100% compostable & Plastic Free crisp brand.

♻️ Packaging: 100% compostable packets! They will completely break down in a home composting environment in 26 weeks.

🌎 Ingredients: Lots of different flavours! Click here for the ingredients list!