Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this article, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. (Full Disclosure)
When it comes to hot cocoa, Swiss Miss is a classic favorite. This beloved brand of cocoa has been delighting families for generations with its variety of flavors and comforting warmth. But, is Swiss Miss vegan?
Swiss Miss Non-Dairy Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix is probably vegan but contains natural flavors, which could contain ingredients derived from animals. The rest of Swish Miss the flavors are not vegan because they contain milk.
Below is a table showing Swiss Miss flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Swiss Miss Non-Dairy Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix | Maybe, contains Natural Flavor. |
| Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate, Family Pack | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Variety Pack | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnamilk | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Unicorn Marshmallows | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Lucky Charms Marshmallows | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate With Marshmallow | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Peppermint | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Pumpkin Spice | No, contains Milk & Gelatin. |
| Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa Milk Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa Dark Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Reduced Calorie Hot Cocoa Mix | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss No Sugar Added Hot Cocoa Mix | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Salted Caramel | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Rich Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss White Chocolate Flavored Hot Drink Mix | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Tapioca Pudding | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Butterscotch | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Vanilla | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Chocolate Vanilla Swirl | No, contains Milk. |
| Swiss Miss Triple Chocolate | No, contains Milk. |
Swiss Miss Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Acesulfame Potassium
- Artificial Flavor
- Blue 1
- Calcium Carbonate
- Caramel Color
- Carrageenan
- Cocoa (Processed With Alkali)
- Coconut Oil
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Corn Syrup
- Cream
- Dipotassium Phosphate
- Disodium Phosphate
- Enzyme Modified Cocoa Butter
- Gelatin
- Gum Acacia
- Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
- Lactic Acid
- Milk Distillate
- Modified Corn Starch
- Modified Whey
- Mono & Diglycerides
- Natural And Artificial Flavors
- Nonfat Dried Coconut Milk
- Nonfat Milk
- Red 40
- Salt
- Sodium Caseinate
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
- Sucralose
- Sugar
- Tapioca
- Tapioca Maltodextrin
- Titanium Dioxide
- Water
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Milk
Since milk comes from cows, it’s not a vegan-friendly ingredient.
Gelatin
Gelatin is often made from animal bones and ligaments, making this ingredient non-vegan.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is an ingredient that can be very controversial within the vegan community. When it comes to the candy and sweets industry the most common sugars used are beet sugar and cane sugar. Raw cane sugar is always vegan-friendly, but when the cane sugar gets refined it could become a problem for vegans.
Before cane sugar is used it’s often refined and in the refining process the cane sugar is also bleached. A common method is to use bone char from dead cows and exploiting dead animals in the production process would technically make the sugar non-vegan.
Natural Flavor
The second questionable ingredient is natural flavor and this is an ingredient that we have to be careful about. Natural flavors is an umbrella term and it can consist of several ingredients, which makes it hard for vegans to know if it’s vegan-friendly or not.
Artificial Colors
This ingredient is very controversial within the vegan community. The reason it’s controversial is because of the animal testing that has been done and maybe still is being conducted. There are other testing methods such as computer simulations that can be used instead.
There are also health issues that are connected to artificial colors such as hyperactivity in kids. Some vegans tend to stay away from these colors while others would not care.
Mono & Diglycerides
This ingredient can be sourced from animals, plants and fungi.
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
This ingredient can be derived from both plants and animals.
Corn
The reason I mention corn is because it’s one of the most common GMO crops in USA. GMO crops requires a high amount of herbicide and this can pollute the surrounding environment, causing severe damage.
Conclusion
Swish Miss as you can tell is not a vegan-friendly brand because almost all products contains milk and some also gelatin. I think that Swiss Miss Non-Dairy Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix might be suitable for vegans but the natural flavors could contain non-vegan ingredients.
Thanks for reading, take care!
