What are the Best Vegan Candies?
| BY DANIEL ROTHSTEIN
If you follow a strictly-vegan diet, then you probably already know how difficult it can be to find some types of foods. If you’ve ever shopped for something to satisfy your sweet tooth, and wondered what is vegan-friendly in the candy aisle, then we are here to help!
Numerous products are vegan, and you might not even know it. There are a lot of fun, delicious candies that are vegan, including some long-time classics like Atomic Fireballs, Chick-O-Stick, Fun Dip, Jolly Ranchers hard candy and even Big League Chew are technically considered vegan friendly, as they are all animal-free products.
But we want to save you the considerable amount of time it takes to check the ingredients on every package in your local store. If you absolutely love animals, keep reading to learn more about the various vegan candy options available today.
What is a vegan?
Broadly-defined, a vegan diet only allows for foods that contain no animal products. Veganism is the practice of abstaining from things that use animal products. While this term most commonly applies to a person’s diet, there are other elements of vegan philosophy that can extend to various other areas of a person’s life, including clothing, furniture and beauty products.
An “ethical vegan,” or “moral vegetarian” will follow a vegan diet and they will also extend the philosophy to these other areas of their life. For example, someone who is vegan may choose not wear leather shoes, or use any product derived from the animal itself. Some also avoid the exploitation of animals and they will not consume products that have been created with any form of animal labor.
A statement from The Vegan Society succinctly describes veganism as “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment”.
While there always seems to be some arguments about how healthy the vegan diet is, much of the science suggests it is a healthy and viable options for people of all ages. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has taken the official position that properly-planned vegetarian and vegan diets “are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood and for athletes.”
Some famous vegans include tennis star, Venus Williams, racing driver Lewis Hamilton, TV personality Ellen DeGeneres, Actors Woody Harrelson, Olivia Wilde and even skateboarding legend and stuntman Steve-O.
As we mentioned earlier, many candies and confections contain animal-derived ingredients like milk, or gelatin. Even some confectioner glaze and food coloring agents are made from insects. We have found that many candies are vegan, but the manufacturer doesn’t always advertise their products as vegan.
Therefore, shopping for vegan candy options can be confusing. With this in mind, we thought we would help out with some of the guesswork by providing our list of some of the best vegan candy options available today.
What are some of the best vegan candies in 2021?
There happens to be a lot of options for vegan, plant-based candies on the market today. Some dark chocolate is vegan, a lot of candy is and most hard candies can technically be considered animal-free. There is also a rapidly growing selection of vegan gummy candy! But, in order to save you the hassle of having to read the extensive ingredients lists of thousands of different products, here is our list of some of our favorite, animal-friendly sweet treats!
Some vegan-friendly hard candy options include:
Many soft and chewy candies that come in a variety of fruity flavors are also vegan. These include the following:
*There is one caveat to keep in mind with these products. Even though organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other groups may list these products as “safe for vegans to eat,” many of the above-listed products use sugar that is often processed and filtered using bone-char. Some vegans prefer to avoid refined sugars altogether for this reason.
Unfortunately, many gummy candies include gelatin, which is made from animal collagen – a protein that makes up tissues like ligaments, tendons, skin and bones.
You might think a chocolate bar is out of the question, but vegan chocolate is actually pretty easy to find. Chocolate is itself made from the cocoa plant, so technically it is a plant-based product. Even milk chocolate can be made with coconut milk, instead of dairy products.
Redstone Foods is proud to announce that we now carry Go Max Go products!
Go Max Go is a 100% vegan candy company. Most of their products are gluten-free, natural and non-GMO. Go Max Go started with a desire to make candy bars that didn’t have ingredients like dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial ingredients, or cholesterol. Their product offerings combine great taste with good sense and we are beyond excited to add Go Max Go to our ever-growing lineup.
The lineup includes a variety of conscious takes on some classic flavors that you and your customers might recognize:
The Jokerz™ candy bar is a must for peanut lovers. With layers of dry-roasted peanuts, buttery-tasting caramel, and rich peanut nougat, wrapped in a chocolate coating, you’re sure to love this bar!
And who doesn’t love a great peanut butter cup? Cleo’s™ Peanut Butter Cups feature the richest, creamiest peanut butter filling ever! They are also available with white chocolate.
Their Thumbs Up™ candy bar is a flaky, sweet and salty center, covered in Go Max Go’s signature chocolate coating.
The Mahalo™ is gently sweetened coconut topped with almonds and encased in a luscious chocolatey coating.
The Twilight™ is a rich and fluffy chocolatey nougat, topped with a layer of thick buttery-tasting caramel, wrapped in chocolatey coating. It’s sure to be a crowd-favorite!
The 2fer™ candy bar is one of their newest flavors. This bar features a shortbread cookie, covered with a layer of caramel and encased in their creamy chocolate coating.
Take a look at all the Go Max Go offerings, available now for immediate shipping on our website.
