Why is pick and mix sold by weight?

Pick and mix is sold by weight because no two scoops are the same. One customer wants a handful of cola bottles, another wants a bit of everything. Weighing the bag is the simplest fair way to charge for any mix.

Loose sweets, sold by weight

Pick and mix is known in the trade as bulk confectionery: sweets sold loose from large containers or separate bins, so customers can choose their own assortment and quantity. It is usually dispensed by weight, although some sellers price sweets by the piece instead.

Weight makes sense because sweets vary so much. A foam banana, a boiled sweet and a chocolate coin differ in size, weight and price. Charging per 100 g or per kilogram lets you mix them freely and pay for exactly what you take.

The rules in the UK

Selling loose goods by weight is covered by law.

• Metric units. Since 2000, goods sold loose by weight in the UK have had to be weighed and priced in metric units. Imperial units, such as ounces or a quarter, can be shown alongside as supplementary indications, but not on their own: see what is a quarter of sweets?
• Unit prices. Under the Price Marking Order 2004, a trader offering products sold from bulk must show the unit price, so you can compare like with like.
• Approved scales. Scales used for trade must be approved and stamped by an inspector. In the Metric Martyrs case, a Sunderland greengrocer was convicted in 2001 because his scales, which could only weigh in pounds and ounces, had had their stamps removed.

A worldwide idea

Loose sweets are sold around the world, in different ways. In Sweden, where loose sweets are called lösgodis, they date back to the 1930s, and self serve candy walls were developed in the early 1980s by three Finnish students who had studied in Stockholm: see what is Swedish pick and mix? In the United States, bulk sweets were long sold through Woolworth's five and dime stores: see do Americans have pick and mix?

Is loose safe?

Loose sweets are a low risk food. Contamination by viruses or bacteria is unlikely through sweets, including unwrapped ones, partly because bacteria cannot multiply in the very dry and sweet conditions of most sweets. When Sweden's food agency approved loose sweets for ordinary shops in 1984, it did so on condition that each variety was kept in its own container and picked with a scoop or a small bucket.

How it works with us

We sell every sweet by the 100 g, so the price of each sweet is shown per 100 g and you can build your mix in 100 g steps: see how much pick and mix do you need per person?

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