7 Sweet Snacks That Make a Perfect Afternoon Work Treat

There are few things more difficult in a workday than getting through the 2 to 3 pm slump. You’ve already eaten lunch, you’re facing down a few more hours of meetings, and everyone around you is hitting the sleepiest (read: grumpiest) hours of the day. When you’re sitting there thinking, “How am I going to make it?” remember this tried and true solution to midday ennui: a little sugar rush. To power you through the afternoon doldrums, we’ve rounded up a variety of sweet snacks to turn to—whether your mood is mildly annoyed or totally hellish.

If you live for a classic combo

Lemon and lime. Bread and butter. Thelma and Louise. Some partnerships stand the test of time. Give into the forever-seductive duo of chocolate and peanut butter with Unreal Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (buy here). Sometimes in the office you need a reminder that working together can really work.

If you’re looking for the sweetest sweet you can imagine

When your breaking point might actually be this meeting running 30 minutes long with no sign of ending… silently leave the room and come back with some Milk Bar Cookies (buy here). Sure, Milk Bar can be a little too trendy for its own good. But the cookies' weirdo flavors, like Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow and Pancake, are strangely wonderful. Pair with a glass of oat milk to satisfy a much-needed sugar hit.

If you're in the mood TO MINGLE

Breaking the ice can be as easy as breaking out a bag of Smart Sweets Sweet Fish (buy here). They’re fun, cute, and, most importantly, shareable. Charming your deskmates and drumming up a convo with these gummies can swim you right out of the post-lunch funk. With just 3 grams of sugar and 100 calories, no added or artificial sweeteners, and a dose of plant fiber, no need to worry about crashing either.

If you’re trying to seize the day

There’s always one person in every office who skips in at 8 am, somehow having already worked out, and is way more chipper than everyone else. And that person is always eating a breakfast/protein/snack bar. Channel some of their sunshine with a Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Kind Bar (buy here) that’ll fight the midday clouds with the ideal mix of sweet and salty.

If you'RE FEELING playful

Chocolate Pocky (buy here) tends to bring out the inner child in all of us. A little chocolate, a little biscuit, a lot of joy added to your day. When the clock is ticking painfully slowly, hold onto the childlike wonder that Pocky can inspire—and marvel at the universal truth that eating one package of them takes like 15 minutes for some reason.

If you’re craving SOMETHING sour

What is sweetness without the balance of sour? Okay it can be pretty great based on the treats above, but the contrast between the two taste profiles is famously beloved. If you're a fan, try Sukker & Sweet Sour Cherry Gummies (buy here). Perfect if you don’t want to be known purely as the office sweetie, but it’s like…you do want everyone to know you have good taste in candy.

If you’re a purist

Sometimes putting on some headphones, heading to a corner, and getting your work done solo is the only way to get through the rest of the day. When you’re ready to post up on your own, bring a solid, stands-on-its-own Tony’s Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Bar (buy here). One thing done well—a perfectly balanced chocolate bar—is always going to be better than a bunch of things done half-assed (or a meh candy bar you grabbed in a panic at the deli next door).