Are Mentos Vegan?

For many people, Mentos are the go-to brand of mints and chewing gum for freshening breath and satisfying that crave simply to chew on something. Their popularity has seen then being sold in over 130 countries since they were first produced in 1948, but one question about them is still asked to this day - are Mentos vegan?

Answering this question isn’t that easy. Since the ingredients and flavors vary by country, there is some chance that one type of Mentos mints or gum that is vegan in one country may contain animal products in another. 

Below, we’ll try and make things a little bit easier by focusing on Mentos that are sold in both the United States and the United Kingdom. We’ll take a look at all the mint and gum flavors available in both countries and find out, once and for all, which of them are vegan.

Sugar & Natural Flavors

Before we get started sifting through each of the ingredients used in the many different mints and gum flavors produced by Mentos, let’s take a moment to talk about sugar and natural flavorings. 

Sugar is often processed using bone char. Some vegans consider this to be non-vegan as, although the final product doesn’t contain any bone fragments, animal products have been used to create it. 

The same goes for natural flavors, which can be derived from either animal or plant-based sources. However, looking through the natural flavoring used across the board in Mentos products, it’s safe to say that these come from plant-based sources. 

As far as sugar is concerned, however, if you want to try and avoid any product that has come into contact with animal-based ingredients in any way, we would recommend avoiding Mentos altogether. This is simply because there is no indication as to whether or not the sugar used to create Mentos products is vegan or not. 

Now, let’s take a look at each of the mint and gum flavors on offer in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and find out which of them are vegan.

Chewy Mentos Fruit

Below, you can find all of the ingredients used to create Chewy Mentos Fruit in the United States:

• Wheat Glucose Syrup
• Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
• Citric Acid
• Fruit Juices from Concentrate (Strawberry, Orange, Lemon)
• Rich Starch 
• Gum Arabic
• Natural Flavors
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Gellan Gum
• Carnauba Wax
• Colors (Beta-Carotene, Beetroot Red)
• Beeswax

The ingredients used to make Chewy Mentos Fruit in the United Kingdom are slightly different from those above. Here’s a full breakdown:

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Fruit Juices from Concentrate (Strawberry, Orange, Lemon)
• Coconut Oil
• Citric Acid
• Starch
• Cocoa Butter
• Flavorings
• Maltodextrin Thickeners
• Gellan Gum
• Cellulose Gum
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Carnauba Wax
• Colors (Beta Carotene, Carmines, Beetroot Red)

Are Chewy Mentos Fruit Vegan?

Leaving the much-debated sugar content out of the equation, by looking at each of the ingredients listed above we can see that Mentos Chewy Fruit is not vegan in either the United States or the United Kingdom. This is because they contain Beeswax and Carmines. This also makes them unsuitable for vegetarians. 

They are, however, gluten-free and suitable for people that suffer from a nut allergy. 

Chewy Mentos Mint

Let’s take a look at each of the ingredients that are used to create Chewy Mentos Mint below:

• Sugar
• Wheat Glucose Syrup
• Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
• Rice Starch
• Natural Flavors
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Gellan Gum
• Carnauba Wax
• Beeswax

Again, the ingredients used to make Chewy Mentos Mint in the United Kingdom are slightly different from those in the US. Here’s what they contain:

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Coconut Oil
• Starch
• Cocoa Butter
• Flavorings
• Maltodextrin
• Gellan Gum
• Cellulose Gum
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Carnauba Wax
• Color: Brilliant Blue FCF

Are Chewy Mentos Mint Vegan?

As with Chewy Mentos Fruit, Chewy Mentos Mint contains beeswax in the United States so they are not vegan. However, since Chewy Mentos Mint produced in the United Kingdom does not contain any beeswax or any other animal-based ingredients, they are vegan. 

While Chewy Mentos Mint is only vegan in the United Kingdom, they are suitable for vegetarians in both countries. They are also gluten-free and suitable for nut allergy sufferers. 

Chewy Mentos Spearmint

Are Chewy Mentos Spearmint a vegan-friendly product in the United States? Let’s take a look at their full ingredient list to find out:

• Sugar
• Wheat Glucose Syrup
• Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
• Rice Starch
• Natural Flavor
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Gellan Gum
• Carnauba Wax
• Beeswax
• Yellow 5
• Blue 1

Is there any difference in the ingredients used to make Chewy Mentos Spearmint in the UK? Here are all of the ingredients that go into making them:

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Coconut Oil
• Starch
• Cocoa Butter
• Maltodextrin
• Natural Mint Flavoring
• Gellan Gum
• Cellulose Gum
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Carnauba Wax
• Anthocyanins
• Beta-Carotene

Are Chewy Mentos Spearmint Vegan?

As is the case with Chewy Mentos Mint, Chewy Mentos Spearmint contains beeswax when produced in the United States. This means that they are not vegan. However, this isn’t included on the ingredients list on UK-produced Chewy Mentos Spearmint, which means that these are vegan.

Again, it really depends on where you are. If you’re in the US, then Chewy Mento Spearmint isn’t vegan, and if you’re in the UK, they are vegan. They are also suitable for vegetarians in both locations, are gluten-free, and are suitable for people that suffer from a nut allergy.

Chewy Mentos Rainbow

This colorful choice is popular with adults and children alike. But are they vegan? Let’s explore the ingredients used to make them in the United States, first of all:

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
• Citric Acid
• Manioc Starch
• Natural & Artificial Flavors
• Gum Arabic
• Carnauba Wax
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Gellan Gum
• Colors (Carmine, Turmeric Oleoresin, Beta-Carotene, Vegetable Juice, Annatto Extract, Beetroot Red)

In a recurring theme, the ingredients used to make Chewy Mentos Rainbow in the United Kingdom are different from those used in the States:

• Sugar
• Glucose Syrup
• Fruit Juices from Concentrate (Watermelon, Strawberry, Apple, Orange, Grapefruit, Raspberry, Blueberry)
• Coconut Oil
• Citric Acid
• Starch
• Cocoa Butter
• Flavorings
• Maltodextrin
• Gellan Gum
• Cellulose Gum
• Gum Arabic
• Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids
• Carnauba Wax
• Colors (Anthocyanins, Curcumin, Carmines, Beta-Carotene, Beetroot Red)

Are Mentos Rainbow Vegan?

Since Mentos Rainbow contains carmine in both the US and UK, they are not vegan. If you’re wondering what carmine is, it’s a food coloring that is derived from insects. This also means that they are unsuitable for vegetarians. 

They are, however, suitable for people that suffer from gluten or nut allergies. 

Chewy Mentos - Other Flavors

The four flavors we’ve listed above are the most popular Mentos, but there are a range of other flavors available too. However, the flavor choices and the ingredients used to make each one differs depending on your location.

We’ll take a look at the other flavors Mentos have to offer in each country and find out if they are vegan or not. And, if they aren’t, we’ll tell you what the offending ingredient is. 

United States

• Strawberry Mentos: These are not vegan, as they contain beeswax.
• Cinnamon Mentos: These also contain beeswax as well as carmine, which means that they are not vegan.
• Grape Mentos: Beeswax is also present here, so this flavor isn’t vegan either.
• Green Apple Mentos: There are no animals used in this flavor, so Green Apple Mentos are 100% vegan.

United Kingdom

• Choco & Mint Mentos: These contain butter, milk, and whey powder, so they are not vegan-friendly!
• Choco & Caramel Mentos: Again, butter, milk, and whey powder are used to make this flavor so they are not vegan.
• Lemon Mint Mentos: Despite being fruit-flavored, Lemon Mint Mentos are not vegan as they contain beeswax and shellac.

Mentos Gum

As well as offering a range of chewy mints and candies, Mentos also produces a range of gum flavors. Below, we’ll follow the same investigative process and find out which of these gum flavors is vegan in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Let’s start by looking at the two flavors that are available in both countries. 

Pure Fresh - Freshmint

There are no animal products used to create Pure Fresh Freshmint in the UK, which means that they are 100% vegan and vegetarian-friendly. However, in the United States, Gelatine is listed among the ingredients, which means that they are not vegan in this location. 

Pure Fresh - Spearmint

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, there are no animal products used to make Pure Fresh Spearmint. This means that this gum flavor is vegan in both locations.

Now, let’s move on to the different flavors found in each country, and look at which of them are vegan.

United States

• Pure White Sweet Mint: Contains no animal ingredients, so is 100% vegan.
• Red Fruit & Lime: Contains carmine, so this flavor is not vegan.
• Tropical: Completely vegan, contains zero animal products
• Pure Fresh Watermelon: Carmine is listed among the ingredients, so these aren’t vegan.
• Bubble Fresh Cotton Candy: Not vegan as this flavor contains gelatin.
• Ice Flurry: No animal ingredients, just 100% vegan deliciousness
• Pure Fresh Bubble Fresh: Also contains carmine, so not suitable for vegans or vegetarians

United Kingdom

• White Peppermint: No animal products found on the ingredient list, so 100% vegan.
• White Spearmint: Also 100% vegan.
• White Bubble Fresh: No animal products here either, so also completely vegan.
• Peppermint: Vegan.
• Spearmint: This flavor is vegan, too.
• Air Action: In a continuing theme, this flavor is also vegan.
• Bubble Fresh: You guessed it, this flavor is vegan too!

As you can see, every single flavor of Mentos gum available in the United Kingdom is vegan! This makes it a great go-to choice and you’ll know you’re chewing on something vegan without having to scan the ingredients list to find out. 

Mentos Hard Mints

Finally, we’ll take a look at Mentos Hard Mints and find out which flavors in both the United States and the United Kingdom are vegan. 

United States

• Clean Breath Peppermint: Vegan
• Clean Breath Wintergreen: Vegan
• Nowmints Peppermint: Vegan
• Nowmints Wintergreen: Vegan

Breaking the usual pattern, each flavor of Mentos Hard Mints available in the United States is vegan. 

United Kingdom

• Stay Fresh Menthol Eucalyptus: Vegan
• Stay Fresh Mint: Vegan
• Mentos Mint Chews: Vegan
• Mentos Mint Crumbles: Vegan

Like the majority of Mentos products available in the UK, all flavors of Mentos Hard Mints are also vegan.

Summary

From what you can see above, the vegan-credentials of Mentos ultimately depend on your location. If you’re in the United States, you’ve got fewer vegan options. However, if you live in the United Kingdom, there are many more vegan Mentos options available. 

The two commonly recurring non-vegan ingredients you need to keep an eye out for in each country are beeswax and carmine. Neither of these is considered vegan, and carmine is also unsuitable for vegetarians. 

If you’re even in doubt, take a look at the vegan-options we’ve outlined above and you’ll be guaranteed to find a vegan-friendly way of freshening your breath!