Tic Tac Fruit Adventure, Tic Tac Freshmints, and Tic Tac Orange are all vegan. All of the tastes contain magnesium stearate, which is often sourced from pork but is vegan-friendly in this situation (the company has confirmed it’s of vegetable origin). Shellac and artificial colours are also present in several of the flavours. Animals are reported to have been used to evaluate the colours.

What Are Tic Tacs?
Ferrero, the company behind Nutella, Kinder Eggs, and Ferrero Rocher chocolates, owns Tic Tacs, a kind of little, hard-sucking candies. Tic Tacs first appeared in 1969. Cork, Ireland, produces approximately 45 percent of the world’s Tic Tacs. Tic Tacs appear to be manufactured in Canada and sold in the United States.
Tic Tacs are little, firm candy-shelled breath mints. They are frequently used to freshen one’s breath or clean one’s teeth and gums. Ferrero, an Italian business, introduced Tic Tacs in 1969.
Peppermint was the first flavour of Tic Tac. Orange, lemon, lime, grape, and strawberry are just a few of the various flavours of Tic Tac available today. Small packs (containing around 50 mints), large packs (containing about 100 mints), and huge units are all available in Tic Tac packaging (containing about 200 mints).
Tic Tacs: Vegan or Non-Vegan?

Tic Tacs are vegan. They are a few exceptions because the ingredients vary from country to country. They are created using peppermint oil, a plant-based extract, and include no animal byproducts. This indicates that they are suitable for vegan consumption.
Many individuals believe that Tic Tacs must have animal products because they contain mint oil. That isn’t the case, though.
Peppermint oil is a plant-based substance obtained from peppermint leaves. While some people genuinely believe this extract is derived from animals or insects, it contains no animal byproducts!
It’s just plants and water combined to make an essential oil for flavouring foods like Tic Tacs.
Other plant-based elements in Tic Tacs include sugar, corn syrup, and artificial flavours. These components are vegan-friendly and suitable for people of all dietary habits.
Ingredients To Look Out For:
Keep an eye out for the following non-vegan ingredients in Tic Tacs:
Carmine
It is a crimson pigment that is obtained by boiling insects.
Carminic Acid
It is the crimson pigment Carmine, which is made by boiling some insects.
Shellac
Confectioners glaze is another term for shellac, which comes from a female insect.
The female bug produces goo, which is used to make confectioners glaze. This ingredient is no longer vegan.
Milk
Milk is a fluid generated by mammals’ mammary glands and used to nourish their young.
Artificial Colours
When determining whether a product is vegan or not, this is one of the most contentious ingredients.
The artificial colours in Tic Tacs do not contain any animal-derived compounds. However, they are known to be tested on animals. Although ethical vegans avoid this element, dietary vegans can eat artificial colours.
However, artificial colours have been linked to several health concerns, including hyperactivity and headaches.
Sugar
Cane sugar is one of the most widely used sugars in the confectionery industry. This is vegan in its raw form, although it can become non-vegan when refined. The use of bone char from dead cows is a typical whitening cane sugar.
Since animals are used in the manufacturing process, this component may not be vegan.
FAQs
Are Strawberry Tic Tacs vegan-friendly?
Vegan tic tacs in the United States are as follows:
- Freshmints,
- fruit adventure,
- orange,
- spearmint mix,
- mint evolution,
- wintergreen,
- strawberry fields, and
- apple mix.
The following Tic-Tacs are not vegan (in the United States):
- donut,
- blueberry, and
- bubblegum flavour.
Are Tic Tacs dairy-free?
Currently, the website in the United States only sells vegan varieties. Carmine and/or shellac, which are not vegan, are used in certain Tic Tacs and candy cane. Tic Tacs have dairy in them. However, the rest of the flavours are vegan.
Are Tic Tacs suitable for vegans?
It took some searching to get the answer here:
Tic Tac claims they don’t utilise bone char-refined sugar or conduct animal testing, both pluses for plant-based customers, but do they use any animal-derived components?
It’s usually a good idea to read the ingredients list of Tic Tacs before purchasing any that contain gelatin, carmine, carminic acid, or shellac. The latter three are beetle and other insect-derived colouring and glossing compounds.
Are there any Altoids that are vegan?
While all classic sugared Altoids have gelatin, the non-sugared Altoids do not include any gelatin or other animal ingredients. Wintermint, peppermint, and cinnamon flavours of Sugar-Free Altoids are vegan.
In the UK, are Cherry Cola Tic Tacs vegan?
Sadly, the Cherry Cola flavour is not suited for vegans because carminic acid is still used as one of the colouring ingredients in the UK formulation.
Does Tic Tacs freshen your breath?
Tic Tacs are the tiniest breath mints on the market, containing only two calories per mint. Tic Tacs, regardless of flavour, are designed to improve your breath. If you’re searching for a rapid burst of energy, Tic Tacs are the way to go.
Are Tic Tacs bad for your health?
Sugar is in Tic Tacs. Because they’re so small, they’re minimal in calories. Apart from the fact that the small size allows you to regulate how much you eat, there’s nothing nutritious about them. They’re still sugar, which triggers an unneeded insulin response, adds calories to your diet, and causes tooth decay.
Final Thoughts
So, the answer to the question “Are Tic Tacs vegan?” is quite tricky. Some flavours are vegan, while others are not. We would recommend you to check the list and then buy the product. Another great vegan alternative to these Tic Tacs is Altoids. They are plant-based, and they also don’t have gelatin!
If you enjoyed this article, please check out our take on whether Quaker Rice Cakes are vegan.
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