Are Drinks Vegan?
Most sodas and many energy drinks are vegan, but the surprises hide in the details: honey in iced teas, vitamin D3 in fortified juices, carmine in red-colored cans, and the odd undisclosed processing aid. Here is every drink we have checked, with the verdict and the one ingredient that decides it.
65 drinks checked
2 officially certified
34
Vegan
27
Depend
4
Not vegan
| Product | Verdict | Certified | Watch for | The catch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Is 5-hour Energy vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | No vegan cert | The product carries no vegan certification, and "natural and artificial flavors" on the label is not disclosed further. The company says no animal products are added, but without a third-party audit, that is self-reported. |
 | Is 7UP vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Bone char (Simple line only) | 7UP Simple uses cane sugar, which may have been processed with bone char (charred cattle bones used to whiten raw sugar). No animal product remains in the finished soda, but strict vegans who avoid bone char-processed sugar will want to stick with original 7UP or Zero Sugar instead. |
 | Is A&W Root Beer vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Fountain: bone-char sugar u | Fountain version uses cane sugar, which may be refined with bone char. The packaged product uses high fructose corn syrup and sidesteps this entirely. |
 | Is Alani Nu Energy Drink vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Natural flavors: source und | The ingredient list includes "natural flavors" with no public sourcing disclosure. In energy drinks this is almost always plant-derived, but the brand has not published third-party vegan certification, so ultra-strict vegans cannot fully verify this line item. |
 | Is Almond Breeze vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey | Two flavors (Hint of Honey, Hint of Honey Vanilla) contain real honey, making them non-vegan. Every other standard variety is free of animal ingredients. |
 | Is AriZona Iced Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey | Honey shows up in multiple flavors as a named sweetener. Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey is the flagship product for the brand, so this is not an obscure edge case. Many people reach for it by default without realizing it contains honey. |
 | Is Bang Energy vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Older 'BCAA' cans unconfirmed | Cans labeled 'EAA Aminos' (the reformulated version) are vegan-friendly per the company, but cans still labeled 'BCAA Aminos' are not guaranteed vegan and remain in circulation. Bang also carries no third-party vegan certification, and its 'natural flavors' are not broken down by the manufacturer. |
 | Is BodyArmor Sports Drink vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Vitamin A palmitate: source | Vitamin A palmitate is on every label and can be sourced from fish liver oil or synthesized, BodyArmor does not publicly disclose which. Most manufacturers use the synthetic route today, but there is no official confirmation from BodyArmor. |
 | Is Bubly Sparkling Water vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Natural flavor sourcing unc | The phrase "natural flavor" on the label is technically a gray zone because the FDA definition allows animal-sourced compounds. PepsiCo has not published a public statement specifically confirming their Bubly natural flavors are 100% plant-derived, so strict vegans who require full disclosure on natural flavors cannot verify this from the label alone. |
 | Is Califia Farms Plant Milks and Creamers vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Clean | There is no catch for any standard Califia Farms product. The brand is plant-only by design, and that covers flavored and sweetened varieties as well as the plain ones. |
 | Is Canada Dry Ginger Ale vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Cane sugar in naturally swe | The "Naturally Sweetened" variant uses cane sugar, which may be processed with bone char at some refineries. The standard HFCS-based version sidesteps this entirely, but if you buy the naturally sweetened line and bone char is a dealbreaker for you, Canada Dry does not publish its sugar sourcing. |
 | Is Capri Sun vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Bone-char sugar | The only point of contention is whether the refined cane sugar in US-market pouches was processed with bone char. No direct animal ingredients appear in the formula, and the brand officially calls the product vegan. |
 | Is Celestial Seasonings Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Check name: "honey" often m | Multiple blends contain actual honey (not just honey flavor), including Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea, Lemon Honey Drop, Sleepytime Honey, and the Cold Brew Sweetened Tea with Lemon. The word "honey" in the name is often a reliable red flag, though Honey Vanilla Chamomile uses only natural honey flavor with no actual honey listed. |
 | Is Celsius vegan? | Vegan | Certified | Clean | Taurine is the one ingredient that raises eyebrows, it occurs naturally in animal tissue, but the taurine in Celsius (and virtually all commercial energy drinks) is synthetically produced, and Celsius carries explicit vegan certification confirming this. |
 | Is Coca-Cola vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Bone-char sugar | Bone-char-filtered cane sugar: Coca-Cola does not disclose whether its sugar suppliers use bone char (charred animal bones) as a decolorizing agent. The US formula has historically used HFCS (no bone char issue), but a cane-sugar US variant launched in late 2025 reintroduces this ambiguity. Outside the US, cane sugar is the norm and bone char use is undisclosed. |
 | Is Coffee-mate Creamer vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Original has hidden milk pr | The iconic "non-dairy" label on Coffee-mate Original is misleading: it contains sodium caseinate, which the ingredient panel itself calls out as a milk derivative. "Non-dairy" does not equal vegan here. |
 | Is Crush Orange Soda vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Ester gum glycerol source u | Ester gum is made partly from glycerol, which can come from animal fat. Keurig Dr Pepper does not publicly specify the source, so you cannot confirm this is plant-derived. |
 | Is Crystal Light vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Pure sub-line: possible bon | Crystal Light Pure uses cane sugar that may have been refined through bone char, not an ingredient in the final product, but a dealbreaker for vegans who avoid bone-char-filtered sugar. Standard Crystal Light has no such concern. |
 | Is Dr Pepper vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Bone-char sugar | The standard formula is fine. The "Made with Real Sugar" variant uses cane sugar that is likely filtered through bone char in US processing, which is the classic bone-char-sugar problem that affects many cane-sugar sodas. |
 | Is Dunkin Original Blend Coffee vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Shared equipment with dairy | Dunkin packages flavored varieties (Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Butter Pecan) on the same production lines and carries a shared-equipment allergen notice covering milk. The Original Blend itself contains no milk or animal ingredients, but strict vegans who avoid any cross-contact risk should be aware of this. |
 | Is Fanta vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Carmine | Some regional red and pink flavors use E120 (carmine/cochineal), an insect-derived dye, making those specific versions not vegan. |
 | Is Folgers Coffee vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Cappuccino/flavored mixes c | Folgers cappuccino mixes and flavored instant beverage blends contain multiple dairy derivatives (sodium caseinate, whey) despite being marketed as "coffee beverages." |
 | Is G Fuel Energy Formula Powder vegan? | Not Vegan | Not certified | Company-confirmed not vegan | Gamma Labs officially confirmed on X that G Fuel is not vegan compliant, pointing to L-tyrosine as the primary reason, an amino acid they source from animal-derived material rather than a synthetic or plant-based route. |
 | Is Gatorade vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Bone-char sugar | Refined cane sugar in standard varieties is often filtered through bone char (charred cattle bones) in the US, and the Gatorade Recover / protein shake lines contain whey protein isolate and milk protein isolate, which are unambiguously not vegan. |
 | Is Ghost Energy Drink vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Brand-claimed vegan, no thi | Ghost does not carry a third-party vegan certification, so the "vegan" claim rests entirely on the brand's word. The ingredient "natural and artificial flavor" is technically unverified by an outside auditor, though Ghost has consistently maintained the vegan label since launch. |
 | Is Gold Peak Bottled Tea vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Bone-char sugar concern only | Strict vegans sometimes flag cane sugar because some refineries use bone-char filtration. Gold Peak does not disclose its sugar sourcing, and parent company Coca-Cola has not confirmed bone-char-free processing for this line. |
 | Is Hawaiian Punch vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Undisclosed natural flavors | The "natural and artificial flavors" listed on every flavor are not disclosed by the manufacturer, and natural flavors can legally come from animal sources. This is a standard opacity issue across most mass-market beverages, not a Hawaiian Punch-specific red flag. |
 | Is Honest Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey Green Tea = not vegan | The Honey Green Tea flavor contains real organic honey, listed plainly on the label. Every other flavor in the lineup is free of animal ingredients. |
 | Is International Delight Coffee Creamer vegan? | Not Vegan | Not certified | Contains sodium caseinate | The "non-dairy" label is a legal technicality, not a vegan claim. Sodium caseinate is a milk protein present in every International Delight creamer flavor. |
 | Is Kool-Aid Drink Mix vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Synthetic dyes, animal-te | Synthetic dyes (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5) are not from animals but are routinely tested on animals by regulatory agencies, which some vegans treat as a dealbreaker. The "natural flavor" label is vague but no animal-sourced flavor has been confirmed in Kool-Aid products. |
 | Is LaCroix Sparkling Water vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Opaque "natural essence" so | The phrase "naturally essenced" is proprietary and LaCroix does not publish a full chemical breakdown of its flavor compounds, so there is a small residual uncertainty about exactly which molecules make up each essence. In practice, the company has confirmed all essences are fruit-derived, and no credible report has identified an animal-derived flavoring in any LaCroix product. |
 | Is Lipton Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey in named honey flavors | The "Tea and Honey" sub-brand and any bag with "honey" in the name contain real honey (listed as "honey," "dried honey," or "honey granules" on the label), not just honey flavor. |
 | Is Liquid Death vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | No third-party vegan cert | The brand does not hold a third-party vegan certification (like Vegan Action or PETA). The "natural flavors" in flavored varieties are not publicly broken down, and natural flavors can occasionally come from animal sources, though Liquid Death states its products are vegan. |
 | Is Minute Maid Juice vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | D3 + cochineal in some SKUs | Two mainstream variants are non-vegan: the fortified Calcium + Vitamin D orange juice (D3, typically lanolin-sourced) and Ruby Red Grapefruit (cochineal extract listed on the label). |
 | Is Monster Energy vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Dairy (some variants) | Java Monster and Muscle Monster contain milk/dairy; some European variants of red-colored lines (e.g., Ultra Red UK) may contain carmine (crushed cochineal beetles). |
 | Is Mountain Dew vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Yellow 5 (animal-tested dye) | Yellow 5, the dye that gives Mountain Dew its distinctive green-yellow color, is made from petroleum and contains no animal ingredients, but it is still tested on animals by regulatory agencies. Strict ethical vegans who avoid products with ongoing animal testing may want to skip it on those grounds, though this is a personal line rather than a dietary ingredient concern. |
 | Is Naked Juice / Naked Smoothies vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Check label: old Protein Zo | Some Naked protein smoothies sold today (notably Double Berry Protein and Protein Zone) still list whey protein concentrate and carry a 'Contains: Milk' warning, so they are not vegan. The non-protein smoothies are plant-based. Always check the allergen line on the specific bottle. |
 | Is Nescafe vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Check for "3in1", "creamy", | The plain black instant coffees (Classic, Gold Blend) are fine, but the majority of Nescafe-branded sachets and blends on store shelves include dairy in the creamer component. Many shoppers assume all Nescafe is the same product when it is not. |
 | Is Nesquik Chocolate Milk Mix vegan? | Not Vegan | Not certified | Vit D3 | The flagship chocolate powder contains Vitamin D3 sourced from sheep lanolin, and other flavors layer on additional animal ingredients including carmine (strawberry) and whey (No Sugar Added). |
 | Is Oatly vegan? | Vegan | Certified | Clean | There is no ingredient-level catch. The brand's own FAQ confirms all products are vegan. The main controversy is corporate (Blackstone investment, Chinese state partial ownership, parent company Verlinvest holding non-vegan brands) but that does not affect the ingredients in the products themselves. |
 | Is Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Cane sugar / bone char proc | The added cane sugar in the Cocktail and some other sweetened varieties may have been refined using bone char, an animal-derived processing aid that never appears on the label and is not universally considered a deal-breaker by vegans, but strict vegans avoid it. |
 | Is Peet's Coffee vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Dairy in sauces, whey in Pr | Multiple standard menu drinks contain dairy that cannot be swapped out, and the caramel sauce, white chocolate sauce, and Protein Latte (whey) are off-limits for vegans regardless of how you customize. |
 | Is Pepsi vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Diet Pepsi | Diet Pepsi contains an undisclosed animal-derived ingredient. PepsiCo has confirmed it exists but calls the detail "commercially sensitive information" and will not reveal it. Because Diet Pepsi is still suitable for vegetarians, the ingredient is likely a processing aid (such as a fining agent like isinglass or casein) rather than a labeled component like gelatin or milk powder. |
 | Is Perrier Sparkling Mineral Water vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Natural flavors | Flavored varieties list "natural flavors" with no public disclosure of the exact source. While no evidence points to animal-derived flavors and vegan databases consistently give them the green light, Perrier has never formally certified any product as vegan, so a small theoretical gap exists for the strictest vegans. |
 | Is Powerade vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Artificial dyes | No actual animal ingredients are present, but the artificial dyes used across many flavors have been historically tested on animals. This is a process concern, not an ingredient concern, and most dietary vegans accept these dyes without issue. |
 | Is Prime Hydration vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Clean | Two vitamins (Retinyl Palmitate for Vitamin A and D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate for Vitamin E) can in theory be animal-sourced, but commercial production of both is overwhelmingly synthetic or plant-derived today, and Prime explicitly claims vegan status across the whole line, meaning the supplier forms used here are not animal-based. |
 | Is Pure Leaf Bottled Iced Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey Green Tea contains re | The Honey Green Tea SKUs (both the classic and "Not Too Sweet" versions) contain real honey, confirmed on the ingredient label, making those specific bottles not vegan. |
 | Is Red Bull vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Animal testing | Red Bull GmbH covers the administrative costs of Wings for Life, a non-profit that performs deadly spinal cord injury experiments on rats and other animals, making it non-cruelty-free even though no animal-derived ingredients are in the drink itself. |
 | Is Reign Total Body Fuel vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | No cert | No vegan certification exists, and "natural flavors" are a blanket term that could theoretically cover animal-derived compounds, Reign has never publicly disclosed the exact source of its flavoring agents. |
 | Is Rockstar Energy vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Dairy (Boom flavors only) | The Boom "whipped" flavors contain real dairy (condensed skim milk and cream), confirmed by Rockstar's own FAQ and product labels. Every other standard Rockstar line is free of animal ingredients. |
 | Is San Pellegrino (S.Pellegrino / Sanpellegrino) vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Bone-char sugar possible in | Sugar in the fruit soda line is conventionally refined and may have been processed using bone char in some supply chains, which matters to strict vegans. Sanpellegrino has not published a bone-char-free sugar statement, so absolute certainty is impossible without contacting the company directly. |
| | Is Schweppes Ginger Ale / Tonic Water vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Indian Tonic Water has honey | Schweppes Indian Tonic Water contains honey as a flavoring. It looks almost identical on the shelf to regular tonic water, but it is not vegan. |
 | Is Silk vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Clean | Silk's entire standard lineup is plant-based and vegan. The one thing worth checking is the Nextmilk line, which blends oat, coconut, and soy but remains fully animal-free. No Silk milk product contains dairy, honey, gelatin, or any other animal ingredient. |
| | Is Snapple Bottled Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Honey Sweet Tea = not vegan | Snapple Honey Sweet Tea contains real honey, it is right there in the ingredient list and is not a trace concern. |
 | Is Spindrift Sparkling Water vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Facility handles dairy/eggs | No formal vegan certification exists. Spindrift does not make an official vegan claim on its packaging or FAQ. A third-party analysis notes the products are manufactured in a facility that also handles milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy, which matters only if you are avoiding cross-contact rather than formulated animal ingredients. |
 | Is Sprite vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Clean | The catch is that some specialty Sprite variants, particularly Sprite Lymonade, list glycerol ester of rosin, which can be animal-derived, making those specific variants ambiguous rather than clearly vegan. |
| | Is Starry Lemon-Lime Soda vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Natural flavor unconfirmed | The "natural flavor" listing is unspecified by PepsiCo. For lemon-lime sodas this is almost certainly citrus-derived, but PepsiCo has not publicly confirmed this in writing for Starry specifically. Ingredient checkers flag it as "maybe" vegan on this ambiguity alone, not because any animal-derived flavor is confirmed. |
 | Is Sunkist Orange Soda vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Ester gum glycerol source u | Ester gum contains glycerol whose exact source (plant vs. animal) Keurig Dr Pepper has not publicly confirmed, and "natural flavors" is an undisclosed catch-all that could theoretically include animal-derived compounds. |
 | Is Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix (Milk Chocolate) vegan? | Not Vegan | Not certified | Contains dairy | Modified whey and nonfat milk are listed as primary ingredients in every standard Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate variety, not trace cross-contact, they are intentional dairy components. |
 | Is Topo Chico vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Natural flavors unverified | No animal ingredients are present in any standard Topo Chico line. The only thing worth noting for strict vegans is that "natural flavors" in the Sabores varieties are not certified vegan, though no animal-sourced flavors have been identified in the listed formulations. |
 | Is Tropicana Orange Juice vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Fish oil/gelatin or lanolin | Two fortified sub-lines add animal ingredients. The Omega-3 line uses fish oil and fish gelatin outright. The Calcium + Vitamin D line adds vitamin D3, which in commercial fortified foods is sourced from lanolin (sheep wool), not from lichen or any plant source. Plain unflavored Tropicana avoids both of these. |
 | Is Twinings Tea vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Check honey and dairy flavo | Twinings sells dozens of flavors and a few of them contain real honey, bee pollen, or milk, so you have to check the specific product rather than assuming the brand is safe across the board. |
 | Is V8 Vegetable Juice vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | natural flavoring, confir | Campbell's confirmed the natural flavoring is plant-based, but the company does not certify V8 as vegan and earlier social media responses from their consumer care team incorrectly suggested animal ingredients were present, which caused confusion that still circulates online. |
 | Is Vitaminwater vegan? | It Depends | Not certified | Vitamin D3 (some UK flavors) | Regional and flavor-specific vitamin D3 sourcing is the deciding factor. The US lineup avoids vitamin D in most current bottles, so the company's vegan claim holds for standard US flavors. The UK lineup has included flavors with lanolin-derived D3 and fish gelatin, which are clearly not vegan. |
 | Is Welch's Grape Juice vegan? | Vegan | Not certified | Fining agents: not used here | Grape juice is sometimes clarified with animal-based fining agents like gelatin or isinglass in winemaking. |
Every verdict is checked against the current product label. See how we verify, or browse the full Is It Vegan? database.