Twix is a crunchy chocolate bar made from Mars Inc. It’s been a popular candy treat ever since I can remember. Today I will be answering the question, “is Twix vegan?”.
Twix is not vegan. All flavors of Twix contains milk, which makes it non-vegan. Some other non-vegan and questionable ingredients that can be found in twix flavors are honey, artificial colors and palm oil.
Below I’ve made a table showing all flavors of Twix I could find together with its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Twix Bar | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Fun Size Bag | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix 100 Calories Bar | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix White Share Size (2 To Go) | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Minis Standup Pouch | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Ice Cream Bar | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Ice Cream Bar 6-Pack | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Ice Cream Bar | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Ice Cream Bar 6-Pack | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Reduced Fat Caramel Ice Cream | No, it contains Milk. |
| Twix Minis Bag | No, it contains Milk. |
Twix Ingredients
There is a lot of non-vegan and questionable ingredients in Twix.
I researched all products of Twix I could find on their website and listed the ingredients below.
- Annatto Extract (Color)
- Artificial And Natural Flavors
- Baking Soda
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Canola Oil
- Caramel Color
- Carob Bean Gum
- Carrageenan
- Cellulose Gel
- Cellulose Gum
- Cocoa Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Corn Syrup
- Cream
- Dextrose
- Folic Acid
- Glucose Syrup
- Guar Gum
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Honey
- Lactose
- Maltodextrin
- Milk
- Milkfat
- Modified Corn Starch
- Mono And Diglycerides
- Niacin
- Palm Oil
- Pgpr
- Polysorbate 80
- Reduced Iron
- Riboflavin
- Salt
- Skim Milk
- Soy Lecithin
- Soybean Oil
- Sugar
- Thiamine Mononitrate
- Vitamin A Palmitat
- Wheat Flour
- Whey
- Whey Protein Isolate
[Source]
I’ve highlighted the ones that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Milk
All Flavors of Twix contains milk. Below is a short list of ingredients derived from cow’s milk.
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Milk
- Milkfat
- Skim Milk
- Whey
- Cream
- Lactose
Since it’s derived from cow’s milk, these ingredients are not vegan.
Honey
Honey is not a vegan ingredient.
The bees are exploited and can be harmed in the process.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
There are several forms of sugar found in Twix such as dextrose and caramel colors as well as regular sugar.
The problem with sugar is the presence of bone char.
This is not the case for all sugar, but mostly for refined cane sugar, which is the most commonly used sugar in the candy industry.
The bone char is used in the bleaching process.
While there are no proof that the bone char would somehow contaminate the sugar after the process, but since the ingredient is a part of the production process, it would count as a non-vegan ingredient.
There are other method of bleaching sugar that does not involve bone char from dead cows.
Artificial And Natural Flavors
This ingredient can hold many secrets of it’s origin.
It’s impossible if the ingredients are plant-based or not.
There are instances where vanilla flavor could contain ingredients derived from butt goo of beavers.
National Geographic has an article on this.
So always watch out for ingredients like natural flavors, because as stated before, the origin of the ingredients is often a secret.
Soy & Corn
Two of the most common GMO crops in the US.
The high amount of herbicide need to gain good yields is the issue here.
It can damage and destroy ecosystems near the farms.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is the a highly discussed topic today.
The reason for this is the deforestation that comes with the production of palm oil.
Animals such as orangutans and rhinos are beeing forced to leave their homes, when bulldozers demolish the forest.
However there is a way for palm oil to be vegan-friendly and it’s called RSPO.
The organisation helps companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil, that has minimal impact on the environment.
Mars Inc is a RSPO member.
Riboflavin
Riboflavin or B2 can be sourced from both plants and animals.
Mono & Diglycerides
Same goes with this ingredient it can be derived from both animals and plants.
Niacin
This is a vitamin B3 that be found in yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, beans.
It’s a highly questionable ingredient.
Vegan Alternative To Twix
I found a great alternative to Twix and it’s called Raaka.
You can check it out at amazon.
FAQ’s
Is Twix Vegetarian?
All the flavors of Twix are suited for Lacto and Lacto-Ovo vegetarians. Twix contains milk and are not suited for Ovo vegetarians.
| Flavor | Vegetarian Status |
| Twix Bar | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Fun Size Bag | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix 100 Calories Bar | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix White Share Size (2 To Go) | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Minis Standup Pouch | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Ice Cream Bar | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Ice Cream Bar 6-Pack | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Ice Cream Bar | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Cookies & Creme Ice Cream Bar 6-Pack | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Reduced Fat Caramel Ice Cream | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
| Twix Minis Bag | Lacto & Lacto-Ovo. |
Conclusion
More and more companies are making vegan-friendly candy, but so far Twix is not vegan.
The good thing is that Marc Inc is a RSPO member when it comes to palm oil.
With small steps we can make the world a better place.
Starting with eating less meat and exploiting animals.
