Vegan Chewing Gum Brands

I consider food knowledge as an added benefit of a vegan lifestyle. I mean, I never even looked at the ingredient list on a chewing gum pack until I was searching for animal ingredients.

If you’re an avid chewer like I am, you might be a little nervous right now – Can I keep chewing on a vegan lifestyle?

The short answer? You don’t have to kick your habit, but it does depend on the product.

Read on for an in-depth look at chewing gum on a vegan lifestyle.

Quick NavigationAre the Big Brands Vegan-Friendly?Our 5 Favorite Vegan Gum BrandsAnimal Ingredients That Can Appear in GumWhat About Other “weird” Gums?Chewing on Plants

Are the Big Brands Vegan-Friendly?

In a perfect world, you’d always be able to get natural, vegan gum from your health food store or co-op. But sometimes you’re at work and in a rush, and your local convenience store is your only option.

Here are the big name brands you should choose (and avoid) if you’re living a vegan lifestyle:

Brand	Is it Vegan?
Big League Chew Bubble Gum	YES
Eclipse	YES
Mentos Gum	YES
Juicy Fruit	YES
5 Gum	YES
Trident	NO
Stride	NO
Ice Breakers Ice Cubes	NO
Extra	Some Flavors
Orbit	Some Flavors

Our 5 Favorite Vegan Gum Brands

If you want to take the guess work out of finding vegan-friendly gums, try any of the products below. We’ve incorporated a mix of flavors and textures in this list – something for every gum lover!

Where brands say “certain flavors,” be sure to choose only the flavors listed. Alternate products by the same brand may contain animal ingredients.

PUR Gum

PUR Gum is the no. 1 selling aspartame-free gum. The product is certified vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and dairy-free. It’s also safe for diabetics and expecting moms. This makes PUR an excellent choice for households with food allergies or sensitivities.

Instead of calorie- and carb-laden sugar, or artificial sweeteners, PUR uses xylitol. This is a natural, calorie-free sweetener from birch trees or corn. According to PUR, cavities are reduced by a third after regular use of xylitol.

PUR’s two newest flavors are chocolate mint and bubble gum. However, it also comes in cinnamon and pomegranate, as well as classic mint flavors. You can buy single flavor or variety packs on Amazon.

The product is 100% Swiss made, and the company is committed to taking gum back to its all-natural roots.

What We Liked

The aspartame-free flavors are delicious and come in a good balance of classic and new. Reviewers also note that the flavor lasts for a long time, you don’t chew through a whole pack in a day.

What We Didn’t Like

While reviewers love these flavors, it’s difficult to blow bubbles with this vegan gum. Stick to straight chewing with this brand, and save the bubbles for another gum.

Check Price on Amazon

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Simply Gum

Simply Gum is a 100% natural chewing gum that is good for you, the animals, and the planet. The gum is free of aspartame, synthetics, and artificial flavors. It also contains zero GMOs, is kosher and soy-free. They’ve got every dietary need covered!

Every detail of Simply Gum has been thought of to make the most eco-friendly product. Even the packaging is biodegradable, as it’s free from plastics. The product is handcrafted in New York, United States.

This vegan chewing gum is great for adult palates as it’s less sweet than traditional gum. It also comes in interesting flavors, including coffee, ginger, maple, and fennel licorice. Purists can stick with tried-and-true spearmint and cinnamon if they wish.

Each box contains 15 pieces of gum. I personally like Amazon’s variety pack, which includes six packs of gum in a rainbow of flavors. That way, you can try them all and decide which flavor you like best.

What We Liked

The flavors are not only unexpected, but delicious. It’s refreshing to have flavors like maple and fennel in gum, rather than another boring mint. The maple flavor is a crowd favorite!

What We Didn’t Like

While good for those avoiding artificial sweeteners, this gum does contain real sugar. At a whole gram of cane sugar per piece, it may deter those watching calories or carbs.

Check Price on Amazon

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B Fresh Gum

BFresh is one of the top recommended vegan gums. Purchasers love what it doesn’t contain, in addition to being animal-free.

This vegan gum brand is free of gluten, GMOs, aspartame, sugar, and soy. Instead, it’s sweetened with 100% xylitol, a natural sweetener derived from birch. With only six easy-to-pronounce ingredients, this is a gum you can feel good about.

The gum is fortified with vitamin B12, which is a critical supplement in the vegan diet (link to b12 article), It’s also a great source of water-soluble calcium.

Each bottle contains 100 pieces of spearmint gum. The pieces themselves come coated with a crunchy shell, which provides interesting texture.

What We Liked

The all-natural ingredient list on this gum! Even the flavoring itself comes from natural spearmint oil. It’s a perfect choice for people trying to bring fewer “fake” ingredients into their homes.

What We Didn’t Like

Some purchasers noted the gum they received was hard and stale. To get the best quality, look for this gum in your local store, or order directly from the company.

Check Price on Amazon

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Extra Gum (Certain Flavors)

Extra is a big-brand gum that makes the “accidentally vegan” list. It’s one of my favorite gums because of the big mint taste and long-lasting flavor. It’s also gluten-free, so it’s a great choice for celiacs and people with wheat allergies.

You can find Extra at convenience and drug stores in a pinch, but I like to buy the bulk packs on Amazon. That means I never run out, and my stash is always stocked!

All Extra stick-style gums are vegan-friendly except for the Polar Ice flavor. Polar Ice contains gelatin-coated flavor crystals, making it unsuitable for vegans and vegetarians.

However, those who abstain from animal products can enjoy the spearmint, peppermint, winter mint, sweet watermelon, and bubble gum flavors.

These gums are sweetened with sugar alcohols, which are derived from acidic fruits and berries. They are sugar-free and contain fewer calories than sugared gum. This makes them suitable for diabetics.

What We Liked

These sticks of gum have a soft, pleasant texture that’s easy to chew. The flavor is also very intense and long-lasting, so it’s perfect for long trips.

What We Didn’t Like

You may experience stomach issues if you chew a lot of this gum. The sugar alcohols can cause gastrointestinal distress if consumed in large amounts. Some folks are also more sensitive than others, so start small!

Check Price on Amazon

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Juicy Fruit is one of those treats that brings me back to childhood. With a unique taste and bursting, juicy flavor, Juicy Fruit gum is a kid classic that’s even fun as an adult. The flavor is perfect for people who don’t care for traditional gum flavors.

The flavor of Juicy Fruit is long-lasting. There’s nothing worse than being on a long trip and having your gum run out of flavor within a few minutes. Then you’re stuck gnawing on a tasteless piece of rubber! Not the case with Juicy Fruit – you’ll get plenty of flavor from each stick.

I think Juicy Fruit has one of the best fruit flavors on the market. Sometimes, I get fruit flavored gums, and they taste awful and artificial.

I find Juicy Fruit to have a mellow, unique fruit taste that doesn’t taste like chemicals. And because it’s been around for over 100 years, I’m probably not the only one!

What We Liked

The flavor is what keeps me, and many other buyers, coming back to Juicy Fruit. Kids love the big fruit flavor, and adults appreciate the feeling of stepping back into childhood.

What We Didn’t Like

The new Juicy Fruit formula now contains aspartame, despite also having corn syrup and sugar. This is bad news for people who choose to or must avoid artificial sweeteners.

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Animal Ingredients That Can Appear in Gum

The good news is that chewing gum generally does not contain ingredients from animals. However, there’s always a chance that one sneaks in – here is a list of the usual suspects.

• Gelatin

This ingredient can be used to give a certain soft, springy texture to chewing gum. When you see this, put the product right back on the shelf – gelatin is pretty gross, even if you’re not vegan.

Gelatin is a protein that comes from the “leftovers” of a slaughtered cow or pig. Body parts like ears, hooves, and skin are boiled down to create this ingredient. The connective tissue in these parts is what yields collagen, which gives gelatin its trademark texture.

Not exactly appetizing, right?

• Stearic Acid

Less common than gelatin but still not vegan is stearic acid. This one can be a little confusing, as it can be obtained from plants and animals.

Stearic acid is a fatty, creamy substance that is added to many beauty and food products.

In the plant world, it’s a major component of beauty staples like cocoa and shea butter.

However, non-vegan stearic acid is sourced from animal fats. Another animal-based product masquerading under a sneaky name!

Look for products that clearly label their stearic acid as from vegetable origins. If not, it may contain animal ingredients.

• Glycerin

Like stearic acid, glycerin can come from both animal- and plant-based sources. The trick is going to be whether the company labels their glycerin as “from vegetable sources.”

Glycerin is a clear, sweet liquid that softens foods like chewing gum. It’s extremely absorbent and draws in water from the air. This keeps the gum from drying out and getting hard.

Seeing glycerin in an ingredient list doesn’t mean you need to ditch it! If the packaging says the glycerin is from vegetables, you’re good to go.

This will appear in the ingredient list like “glycerin (vegetable).” If it doesn’t say “vegetable,” or something like it, let it be!

What About Other “weird” Gums?

As you peruse the ingredient list of your favorite gums, you might run across some strange ingredients. Things like guar gum and xanthan gum might sound other-worldly, but they’re natural. They’re also usually derived from plants!

Natural gums are polysaccharides that occur in nature. These are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifiers, and stabilizers.

If you see an ingredient list that contains xanthan, guar, locust bean, or other types of gum, don’t worry. These are not animal-derived, so they are conducive to a vegan lifestyle. The ingredients you’ll want to look out for are those three listed above.

Chewing on Plants

For a simple food, chewing gum can be complicated. With some products listing tons of hard-to-pronounce ingredients, a vegan might believe chewing gum is off the table for good.

However, when you know what to look for (and avoid), it’s easy to find the perfect product to stock your desk drawer. Whether you like mint gums, fruit flavors, or something totally unexpected, there’s an option out there for you.

You can also get as natural as you want. If you’re avoiding all synthetic ingredients, there are several vegan gums that fit the bill.

Of course, if you’re just looking to avoid animal ingredients, you’ll have a larger range.

Don’t let confusion over ingredients keep you from chewing! By avoiding three simple common animal ingredients, you can chomp to your heart’s content.

I always keep a stick or two in my purse, just in case. You never know when you might be able to offer someone some vegan goodness!