Are you looking for a new vegan candy to enjoy? Maybe you have heard Airheads are vegan and want to know if this is true? Or are you curious and want to know more? No matter what your question might be, we have the answers for you!
Finding a candy you can eat as a vegan can be tricky. They often contain animal-based ingredients like gelatin and carmine that add to the color and texture of candy but makes them unsuitable to eat as a vegan.
You find yourself spending hours searching and searching for vegan candy, only to end up empty-handed and disappointed.
Well, no more! Today, we are here with the answers for you! Keep reading to find out if Airheads are vegan and everything else you need to know about them. Once and for all, you will know if you can enjoy them as part of your vegan lifestyle!
Are Airheads Vegan?
Let’s dive straight into it! Yes, Airheads are vegan! Most Airheads flavors are vegan and can be enjoyed as part of a vegan diet.
Not all Airheads are vegan, though, so you need to check the label before making your purchase to ensure they are safe for you to eat.
The following Airheads are suitable for those on a vegan diet:
- Airheads Gum (white mystery)
- Big Bars
- Original Airheads
- Minibars
- Xtremes
- Xtreme Peg Bag
That’s quite a variety of Airheads for you to enjoy, isn’t it? Now, there are some ingredients in these Airheads that are questionable.
They aren’t 100% non-vegan, but there is some debate as to whether they are suitable for a vegan diet or not. We have included these below for you to look at and make your own decision!
Artificial Flavors
Artificial flavor is a generic term we often see in foods. It can, however, hide animal-based flavors that are used to create these flavors like meat or dairy products. Some artificial flavors can also be vegan but have been tested on animals at some point.
This would make them non-cruelty-free, which a lot of vegans tend to avoid. Strict vegans will often avoid any product that is not clearly labeled vegan and cruelty-free, as there can be some ambiguity as we are seeing with artificial flavors! If in doubt, you can always contact the manufacturer to see if they can provide more clarity.
Sugar
Sugar is a natural ingredient, which many of us consider vegan. But refined sugar is a gray area. Refined sugar is often refined through bone char, which is charred animal bones, making the refined sugar non-vegan.
It is worth checking on the label to see if the manufacturer has clarified the sugar used. Airheads have not, which means some vegans will avoid it, in case refined sugar has been used.
Although there is no guarantee that the ingredients contain refined sugar or animal-based artificial flavors, as Airheads have not clarified, some vegans avoid them.
We consider them suitable for vegans to eat, but we recommend you make your own decision and only eat food you are comfortable with.
Which Airheads Are Not Vegan?
As we mentioned earlier, not all Airheads are vegan. The following flavors are not vegan and should be avoided by anyone following a vegan diet:
- Airheads Bites
- Airheads Gum (excluding white mystery)
- Airheads Gummies
- Airheads Soft-Filled Bites
- Airhead Xtreme Sourfuls
These flavors are not vegan because they contain ingredients that are derived from animals. The ingredients vary depending on the flavor, but they all contain one or more of the following:
- Beeswax (considered unsuitable based on the impact harvesting beeswax has on bees)
- Carmine (made from crushed insects)
- Gelatin (made from the marrow and bones of animals)
- Palm Oil (is often considered non-vegan due to the detrimental impact harvesting palm oil has on rainforests and their inhabitants)
Carmine and gelatin are often used to make candies and are typically ingredients that prevent vegans from enjoying a sweet treat. Thankfully, they aren’t used in every Airheads flavor, so you only need to avoid a few of them!
Conclusion
And there you have it, most Airheads flavors are suitable for a vegan diet! Make sure you check the ingredients list carefully and avoid the non-vegan flavors we listed earlier.
Although you can enjoy Airheads as part of a vegan diet, there are some controversial ingredients that you should consider carefully before purchasing your Airheads.
