It may have been luck of the draw – but here’s which brand I found is best
18:48, 10 Dec 2025Updated 19:04, 10 Dec 2025
CorkBeo reporter Eoin Shortiss (Image: CorkBeo)
It’s that time of year again – when every Irish household is filled with more sweets than any family could reasonably eat, all while they keep getting more as Christmas presents.
And while there are plenty of great options for sweets or chocolates out there, there are a few go-tos that pop up at every party over the festive season – like tubs of Quality Street, Roses or Celebrations. Everyone has their own favourite. But have you ever wondered which one offers the most chocolate, giving you the best bang for your buck? That’s what I tried to find out.
I spent several painstaking hours counting out every single sweet from boxes of Quality Street, Roses and Celebrations to find out which one offers the best bargain. Admittedly, I only did two tubs for each brand, so it’s not a comprehensive study. It’s also fair to say that my results could have been completely different if I had picked up different boxes from the shop shelves. But from what I did test, one brand came out top, while another definitely lagged behind in terms of chocolate quantity.
I bought each box from Tesco in one trip on foot – which made for a very embarrassing walk across Cork city – and each cost €7 with no special offers or Clubcard discounts. As such, I’ll be comparing each as if they were the same value.
Here’s me with every single box – before the count beganQuality Street
Not long after I started counting chocolates, I learned something I’d long suspected, but had always been too lazy to test – each brand’s tub does have a different total amount of sweets. In fairness to Quality Street however, they were arguably the most consistent. My first box had 60 sweets, and the second had 59 – just one less. Another point in their favour was that they had the widest variety of sweets, with 11 different types of chocolate.
The listed weight of the Quality Street tubs was 550g; however, I found that the chocolates alone passed this limit, without taking the box into account. As you’ll see below, this was the same for each brand I tested. Here’s what I found inside both my Quality Street boxes:
Quality Street Tub 1
Toffee Finger – 6Toffee Penny – 4Caramel Swirl – 7The Green Triangle – 4Fudge – 5Coconut Eclair – 6Strawberry Delight – 7Milk choc block – 4Orange Chocolate crunch – 5Orange Creme – 6The purple one – 5
Total sweets = 59
(560g approx)
Quality Street Tub 2
Toffee Finger – 7Toffee Penny – 6Caramel Swirl – 5The Green Triangle – 4Fudge – 7Coconut Eclair – 5Strawberry Delight – 6Milk choc block – 4Orange Cholocate crunch – 5Orange Creme – 6The Purple One – 5
Total Sweets = 60
(570g approx)
Celebrations
After counting the Quality Street boxes, the Celebrations were next – and they were a bit of a disappointment. In fairness, this box is only 500g, so it makes sense that it would have fewer chocolates. However, it cost me the same price, so from that I have to say that Quality Street was better value.
Also, I found the weight of the chocolates in each box varied quite a bit, from 515g-545g, which I didn’t have with the other two brands. There is also less variety than with Quality Street or Roses, as there are only seven different types of chocolates inside. It’s worth noting however that the 545g box is 45g above its listed weight, which is the most ‘extra chocolate’ I found in any tub. As a sweet tooth, I have to give them points for that!
Being fully transparent, these are probably my favourite tubs of chocolate, and I would still buy them again even after my test. Of course, that’s entirely personal preference, and comes down to my love of Snickers bars. Here’s what I found inside both Celebrations boxes:
Celebrations 1
Mars – 12Milky Way – 9Galaxy – 11Malteaser -5Snickers – 9Twix – 7Bounty – 5
Total sweets – 58
(545g approx)
Celebrations 2
Mars – 9Milky Way – 8Galaxy – 10Malteaser – 5Snickers – 9Twix – 7Bounty – 6
Total sweets – 54
(515g approx)
Roses
Finally, I counted the Roses tubs last. These had the most chocolate total and beat out Quality Street by 5g – but honestly, that’s so little, it’s hardly anything to write home about. These boxes had a solid variety, with nine different types of sweets. It’s worth noting however I found their tubs had the smallest number of individual chocolates.
That might not sound like a big deal – but for sharing tubs like these, I think the more the merrier. Here’s what I found inside both Roses boxes:
Roses 1
Country Fudge – 5Hazel In Caramel – 6Hazel Whirl – 6Tangy Orange Creme – 7Signature Truffle – 4Golden Barrel – 6Dreamy Strawberry – 5Chewy Caramel – 7Dairy Milk – 7
Total Sweets – 53
(575g approx)
Roses 2
Country Fudge – 6Hazel in Caramel – 6Hazel Whirl – 5Tangy Orange Creme – 6Signature Truffle – 4Golden Barrel – 6Dreamy Strawberry – 7Chewy Caramel – 4Dairy Milk – 7
Total sweets – 51
(560g approx)
Conclusion
It was a close call between Roses and Quality Street. But after careful consideration of my findings, I feel the Quality Street tubs were the best ones I tested. They had just a few grams less chocolate than the Roses did, but I think the wider variety and bigger total of individual sweets make them better for sharing.
Believe it or not, we actually shared a similar test on our page last year as well, and Quality Street came out on top there too. Clearly they must be doing something right!
Of course, at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. Even though the Celebrations arguable came in third place, I’d still buy them every time. At this stage, I think most sweet tooths in Ireland have figured out which is their favourite brand – and nothing I write here could ever change that!