Are Twizzlers Vegan? Yes, Twizzlers are vegan because no animal by-products (such as gelatin or milk) or derivatives are used in their making. That’s fantastic news for anyone who enjoys vegan sweets!
There are, however, some things to consider as firstly certain ingredients may not be verified and secondly, the fact that they are vegan doesn’t necessarily mean that they are healthy.
Let’s dive deeper into the topic and see what are Twizzlers made out of.
Twizzlers ingredients
If you are wondering what’s in Twizzlers here’s the full list. The “suspicious” ingredients are highlighted in bold.
- corn syrup,
- enriched wheat flour,
- sugar,
- cornstarch
- palm oil,
- salt,
- artificial flavor,
- glycerin,
- citric acid,
- potassium sorbate,
- Red 40,
- Mineral oil
- soy lecithin
Source: Twizzlers official website
Are Twizzlers Really Vegan then? Let’s have a look at questionable ingredients
Glycerin
Let’s start with glycerin (also known as glycerol). Glycerin is a by-product of soap manufacturing. That means that animal fat is most frequently used in its production. Hershey’s company, on the other hand, claims that their glycerin is composed of plant oils obtained from different sources.
Red 40
Many people wonder do Twizzlers have Red Dye 40. They indeed do and it may make some vegans unhappy. Red Dye 40 similar to many other foods dyes and artificial colors is tested on animals. That means that Red 40 is not cruelty-free therefore many vegans don’t consider it vegan.
As a side note, it’s worth mentioning that many people consider Red Dye 40 unhealthy but it’s not true. Red Dye 40 is considered safe by authorities for individuals of all ages. Additionally EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) estimates that the amount of Red Dye coming from foods is way below ADI for people of any age.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is technically vegan-friendly. Palm oil comes from palm plants, as you might have guessed. Most vegans, on the other hand, avoid it because it contributes to deforestation and the endangerment of animal habitats.
Sugar
All forms of Twizzlers are prepared with corn syrup and refined cane sugar, as can be seen from the list of Twizzler ingredients above
Hershey says that sources sugar from both foreign and domestic sugar cane and sugar beet farms (source) but unfortunately they don’t specify the very same information on the nutrition label, allowing room for speculation.
Candy manufacturers make large amounts of sweets so they require a lot of sugar on regular basis (). Therefore they may be getting it from many various suppliers.
Why is sugar not necessarily vegan-friendly? The manufacturing process of white sugar employs animal bone char (source), which causes some vegans to consider it non-vegan.)
Soy lecithin
Soy lecithin may also be a concern for some vegans if it is not certified non-GMO or if there are concerns about deforestation associated with soy production.
What are the different types of Twizzlers?
The original Twizzlers flavor, which was made of licorice, was first released in 1845. The firm began adding additional options like strawberry and cherry in the mid-1970s. These days there’s a huge variety of flavors available on the market (they, unfortunately, don’t contain any licorice extract or licorice root) that include the following flavors:
- Strawberry flavored Twizzlers,
- Cherry flavored Twizzlers,
- Twist mystery flavored Twizzlers,
- Sweet and sour flavored Twizzlers,
- Key lime pie flavored Twizzlers,
- Tropical blast flavored Twizzlers,
- Dark Twizzlers (original licorice)
- Chocolate flavored Twizzlers,
- Orange flavored Twizzlers,
- Lemon flavored Twizzlers,
- Caramel apple-filled twists flavored Twizzlers,
- Blue raspberry flavored Twizzlers,
- Watermelon flavored Twizzlers.
Note: Spin-offs include Twizzlers pull ’n’ peel, Twizzlers Bites, Twizzlers Nibs, and Twizzlers Candy Straws.
5 Twizzlers Vegan Alternatives
Although technically Twizzlers are suitable for vegans many people may want to look for more environment-friendly and organic alternatives
#1: Yum earth organic
Yum earth offers a variety of organic, allergy-friendly sweets. All their products are labeled as vegan and USDA Organic Certified. All Yum’s Earth vegan candies are colored with real fruit and vegetable juices (no Red 40 here!)
You can buy them here: https://www.amazon.com/YumEarth-Organic-Gluten-Strawberry-Licorice/dp/B071HFQDXQ/
#2: Newman’s Own
Newman’s Own products are USDA Organic certified and more than 95% of ingredients are organic. They also contain no artificial flavors or colors.
You can buy them here: https://www.amazon.com/Newmans-Own-Organics-Individually-Licorice/dp/B01JA2ZWG0/
#3: Wiley Wallaby Licorice
Australian-style licorice with delicious and natural taste. Soft, chewy and has amazing flavor. They use sustainable palm oil to create this vegan-friendly product.
Australian-style licorice with a unique and wonderful flavor. They make this vegan-friendly food using sustainable palm oil. And it’s very soft and chewy. You need to try it!
You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Wiley-Wallaby-Australian-Gourmet-Licorice/dp/B01LDF0WLC/
#4: Panda Licorice
Panda Licorice is recognized for making high-quality licorice sweets that include only natural ingredients. Root extract is used to give color and delicious flavor to their sweets.
You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Panda-All-Natural-Soft-Licorice/dp/B0001APXYW/
#5: RJ’s licorice
This product contains zero artificial colors, flavors, or high fructose corn syrup. It is a delicious vegan-friendly snack made out of licorice root.
You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/RJs-Eating-Raspberry-Licorice-Ounce/dp/B00JXU7EUM/
Some questions you may have
Are Sweet and Sour Filled Twizzlers vegan?
Yes, Sweet and Sour Filled Twizzlers are vegan. There are no animal products used to make the Sweet and Sour flavor however they contain sugar, palm oil, and artificial colors.
Are Strawberry Smoothie Twizzlers vegan?
Yes, Strawberry Smoothie Twizzlers are vegan. The Strawberry Smoothie variety does not contain any animal products, but it does include sugar, palm oil, and Red 40.
Do Twizzlers have gelatin?
No, there’s no gelatin in Twizzlers in case you were wondering about it. They contain no animal byproducts on their ingredients list.
Do twizzles have pork in them?
No, Twizzlers do not contain pork. They contain no animal byproducts on their ingredients list.
Are Cherry Twizzlers Vegan?
Yes, Cherry Twizzlers are Vegan as they are free of animal products. However, they do contain sugar, palm oil, and artificial colors.
Conclusion
Now you know that Twizzlers are technically considered vegan and can be part of a vegan diet however they include some ingredients that very strict-vegan people may not like. If you like licorice candies and want to go with a 100% vegan-friendly product then make sure that you have a look at the list of alternatives I listed. (my personal favorite is Wiley Wallaby Licorice)