Are Airheads Vegan? (You'd Be Surprised!)

Are you thinking about the 1994 movie “Airheads” starring Adam Sandler and Brenden Fraser? Because if so, yes, vegans can watch that movie. We’re not recommending it, but you can. Joking aside, we want to know if Airheads candy is vegan. Airheads – a fluffy, chewy, and tangy candy that comes in a flat and long bar shape. Airheads candies are manufactured by the Perfetti Van Melle Company in Kentucky, USA. Are Airheads vegan?

Airheads Bars and Airheads Extremes are vegan. However, some Airheads products such as Gum, Gummies, Classic Airheads Chews, and Xtreme Bites contain gelatin and are not vegan. The best vegan and healthier alternatives to Airheads include Smart Sweets Peach Rings, YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy, Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms, and Cocomels Sea Salt Candy.

In this article, we will discuss the nutritional values of Airheads Bars and Airheads Xtremes, as well as better vegan alternatives for chewy candy. Let’s unwrap this candy list!

What candy ingredients are not vegan?

Artificial Colors not considered Vegan

Artificial colorings are used in a wide variety of products, even instant ramen can have artificial coloring added. Artificial colors such as: Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6, and Blue 1 are very common on processed food labels. Many coloring additives are tested on animal subjects before being used in food production. This may seem an extreme stance to take. The chance that the coloring used in these candy products were tested on animals beforehand. However, many vegans only consider coloring made directly from a living thing to be non-vegan. For example, Carmine, is made from the pulverization of the cochineal insect, that is native to South American cacti populations.

Why is sugar not considered Vegan?

Some sugar is vegan. Those that use a bone char process are not considered to be ethically vegan. Bone char is a process of using charcoal made from animal bones to make sugar white. Beet and coconut sugars do not use a bone char process and therefore are vegan. If sugarcane granules or powder is bright white this indicates that a bone char process was used in the making of it. This means that almost all white cane sugar is not vegan.

Most Palm Oil is not Vegan

There are some sustainably and ethically sourced palm oils on the market. And more and more companies are looking to source this version. However, most palm oil is harvested in deep plantations that are home to orangutans. The deforestation of palm plantations does displace orangutans from their homes. Technically though palm oil is vegan because it contains no animal by product. Palm oil is a vegetable oil. Palm oil is the second most consumed oil worldwide. Second only to Soybean Oil. Unless the palm oil is sustainably sourced it is not vegan.

Can Natural Flavor be Vegan?

Natural Flavor is a broad term used on food labeling. Natural Flavor can be made from fruits, vegetables, wood, or eggs, poultry, and meats. Natural Flavors are produced by extracting the proteins and hydrolysate that contain the most flavor from the source. Again, the source of the flavor can be made from an animal product. It is hard to know. Unless the label says it is a vegan product, you may want to avoid this “natural” ingredient.

Non-Vegan Airheads

Not all Airheads are vegan. This is due to the use of a nondescript gelatin in the candy making process. Per the Airheads website, any gelatin used for their candy can be derived from pork, beef, or fish.

Xtreme Bites
Classic Airheads Chews
Airheads Gum
Airheads Soft Filled Bites
Airheads Gummies

Vegan Airheads

There are two Airhead candy types that are vegan: Airhead Xtremes & Bars. Both of these have no animal by-products, making them vegan.

Airhead Bars
Airhead Xtremes

Airheads Candy Bars

One of two Airhead vegan candy choices, the classic Airhead Candy Bar uses no gelatin. Take a look at the nutrition facts for Airheads Candy Bars below.

Here are the ingredients for Airheads Candy Bars:

Sugar
Corn Syrup
Maltodextrin
Dextrose
Corn Starch
Palm Oil
Citric Acid
Water
Artificial Flavor
Red 40
Blue 1
Yellow 6
Yellow 5

Nutrition Facts (per 11g):

Calories 47
Fat 8g
Carbs 10g
Sugars 8g

There are 47 calories 11 grams of Airheads Candy Bars. Although full of artificial ingredients, Airheads Bars do meet basic vegan criteria.

Airheads Xtremes

This line from the Airhead empire is vegan. Let’s take a look at the nutrition for Airheads Xtremes.

Here is the list of ingredients for Airhead Xtremes:

Sugar
Corn Syrup
Wheat Flour
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Modified Corn Starch
Modified Potato Starch
Malic Acid
Citric Acid
Artificial Flavor
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
Potassium Citrate
Salt
Red 40
Blue 1
Yellow 6
Yellow 5

Nutrition Facts (per 57g):

Calories 220
Fat 5g
Carbs 52g
Sugars 34g

There are 220 calories 57 grams of Airhead Xtremes.

Healthier Vegan Airhead Alternatives

This list of chewy and tangy vegan candies has better in nutrition and ingredients than airheads.

Smart Sweets Peach Rings
YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy
Cocomels Sea Salt Candy
Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms

Smart Sweets Peach Rings

Here is the ingredient list for Smart Sweets Peach Rings:

Non-GMO Soluble Corn Fiber
Allulose
Isomalt
Chicory Root Fiber
Rice Flour
Fruit Pectin
Malic Acid
Lactic Acid
Fumaric Acid
Natural Peach Flavor
Fruit and Vegetable Juice Coloring
Sodium Citrate
Citric Acid
Coconut Oil
Carnauba Wax
Stevia Leaf Extract

Nutrition Facts (per 50g):

Calories 100
Fat 0g
Carbs 42g
Sugars 3g

There are 100 calories 50 grams or 1 whole bag of Smart Sweets Peach Rings. Smart Sweets candy products are vegan and non-GMO. They are also extremely low in sugar due to their use of sugar alternatives such as chicory root fiber, allulose, stevia, and isomalt.

YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy

The ingredients for YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy:

Organic Cane Sugar
Organic Rice Syrup
Organic Rice Flour
Organic Corn Starch
Organic Palm Oil
Citric Acid
Natural Strawberry Flavor
Sodium Citrate
Organic Pomegranate Juice
Organic Cherry Juice
Organic Licorice Extract
Salt
Carrot Coloring
Black Currant Coloring
Organic Carnauba Wax
Organic Sunflower Oil

Nutrition Facts (per 30g):

Calories 110
Fat 1g
Carbs 25g
Sugars 1g

There are 110 calories 30 grams of YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy. YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy is organic and ethically sourced. They are also a major allergen free candy company.

Cocomels Sea Salt Candy

The ingredients in Cocomels Sea Salt Candy are:

Organic Coconut Milk
Water
Organic Brown Rice Syrup
Organic Dried Cane Syrup
Sea Salt
Xanthan Gum

Nutrition Facts (per 40g):

Calories 120
Fat 5g
Carbs 21g
Sugars 16g

There are 120 calories in 40 grams of Cocomels Sea Salt Candy. Cocomels Sea Salt Candy are not a tangy fruit candy like an airhead. But Cocomels Sea Salt Candy are chewy and sweet with a hint of salt making them a healthier and delightful vegan candy choice. Cocomels are always dairy free, gluten free, non-GMO, cholesterol free and high fructose corn syrup free.

Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms

The ingredients in Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms are:

Organic evaporated cane juice
Organic tapioca syrup
Citric acid
Fruit pectin
Organic grape juice concentrate
Sodium citrate
Ascorbic acid
Black carrot juice concentrate
Turmeric
Annatto
Natural flavors

Nutrition Facts (per 40g):

Calories 130
Fat 0g
Carbs 31g
Sugars 20g

There are 130 calories in 40 grams of Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms. Surf Sweets are certified organic and gluten free. They used no artificial flavorings or colors. Surf Sweets are also top 10 allergen free. Surf Sweets are free from peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame and sulfites.

Other Vegan Candy

These are popular candy brands that are also considered vegan. However, they contain artificial ingredients. It may be good to know if your vegan sweet tooth just needs to be satiated. These candies are vegan, chewy, fruity, tangy, and sweet.

Laffy Taffy Fruit Flavors: Cherry, Apple, Banana
Mamba Fruit Chews
Red Vines Licorice Twists
Sour Patch Kids Soft Chews
JujyFruits Chewy Fruit Candies

Wrapping Up

Airheads Candy Bars and Airheads Xtremes are vegan. They do however contain questionable ingredients for some vegans such as artificial colorings and palm oil. Other types of Airhead candies are not vegan since they contain gelatin and beeswax.

Healthier vegan candy options are available if you are looking for a tangy and chewy treat. We prefer these vegan candy options over Airheads; Smart Sweets Peach Rings, YumEarth Organic Strawberry Licorice Candy, Cocomels Sea Salt Candy, and Surf Sweets Organic Sour Worms. Whatever candy option you choose to enjoy we hope this list of vegan candies helped to steer you in the right nutritional direction.

Are Airheads Vegan? (You’d Be Surprised!)