Vegan Mints: The Ultimate Guide

Mints are the kind of thing that should always be vegan. The minty flavor itself comes from plants like peppermint and spearmint. But as with many other products, it’s possible for milk, egg, gelatin, beeswax, and other crazy insect ingredients to get in the recipe.

Out of 35 brands of mints analyzed, 25 brands were vegan, 5 were not vegan, and 5 varied by product. Peppermints and mint imperials (Scotch mints) were found to be consistently vegan. Meanwhile, Junior Mints, Andes Mints, and most Altoids are not vegan.

Below, I’ll share the full list of popular brands of mints and whether they’re vegan. I’ll also dig into different kinds of after-dinner mints and whether they tend to be vegan across the board (or not)!

Are Mints Vegan?

Most mints are vegetarian and vegan, as they do not contain obvious animal ingredients. However, there are some non-vegan mints which contain gelatin, carmine, beeswax, shellac (confectioner’s glaze), egg, or milk ingredients.

Below, I’ll lay out which common kinds of mints and mint brands are vegan and vegetarian. But first, let’s look at what mints actually are made of.

What Are Mints Made Of?

Mints are typically made “minty” by some kind of mint oil, such as peppermint oil, spearmint oil, or wintergreen. This applies to all different kinds of mints, even including chocolate mints.

The other ingredients in mints often include sugar, other sweeteners like dextrose or sucralose, and artificial colors (like Blue 1).

Magnesium stearate is also a common ingredient in many mints—and a controversial one for picky vegans, as it can be animal- or plant-derived (and you don’t know just from reading the label).

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Which Brands of Mints Are Vegan?

Alright, now let’s take a look at some of the specific popular brands of mints. This will give you a bird’s-eye view of which mints tend to be vegan, and which brands to look at more closely.

Brand	Are They Vegan?	Animal Ingredients
After Eight	Not Vegan	Butterfat (source)
Altoids	It Varies	Gelatin in most; Smalls look okay (source)
Andes Mints	Not Vegan	Nonfat milk, milk protein conc. (source)
Bendicks Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Breath Savers	Vegan	None (source)
Certs	Vegan	None (source)
Dentyne Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Eclipse Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Eskimo Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Excel Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Extra Chewy Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Fox’s Glacier Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Halls	Vegan	None (source)
Ice Breakers	Vegan	None (source)
Jila Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Junior Mints	Not Vegan	Confectioner’s glaze (source)
Kool Mints (Allen’s)	Not Vegan	Egg white (source)
LifeSavers Mints	Not Vegan	Animal-derived stearic acid (source)
Mentos Mints	It Varies	Beeswax in many flavors (source)
Orbit Mint Gum	Vegan	None (source)
Polo Mints	Vegan	None (source)
Ricola	Vegan	None (source)
Smint	It Varies	Carmine in strawberry flavor only (source)
Tic Tacs	It Varies	Carmine, shellac, or milk in some (source)
Trebor	It Varies	Gelatin in some, not others (source)

Which Kinds of Mints Are Vegan?

Alright, now let’s look at some overall common types of mints and whether they tend to be vegan or not.

Are Peppermints Vegan?

Peppermints are generally vegan. While it would possible to make peppermints with animal ingredients like gelatin or carmine, this does not seem to be common. The vast majority of peppermints do not contain animal ingredients.

Below, I surveyed several popular brands of peppermints. I found that none of them had any clear animal ingredients. They just contain ingredients like sugar and Red 40, which only the pickiest vegans would avoid:

• Starlight Peppermint Mints are vegan. (source)
• Star Brites Peppermint Candy by Brach’s are vegan. (source)
• Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Peppermint Candy is vegan. (source)
• Dr. John’s Peppermint Pop Hard Candies are vegan. (source)

Are Mint Imperials or Scotch Mints Vegan?

Mint Imperials (a.k.a. Scotch Mints) are typically vegan. These mints are popular in Great Britain and are commonly used as after-dinner mints there.

I surveyed six popular brands and found no animal ingredients in any of them:

• Glisten Mint Imperials are vegan. (source)
• Cartwright & Butler Mint Imperials are vegan. (source)
• Lichfields Mint Imperials are vegan. (source)
• Sainsbury’s Mint Imperials are vegan. (source)
• Kerr’s Scotch Mints are vegan. (source)
• RealMint Scotch Mints are vegan. (source)

Are Thin Mints Vegan?

Thin Mints are generally considered vegan. Both the Girl Scout brands, ABC Baker’s Thin Mints and Little Brownie Bakers Thin Mints, are vegan. (source)

In addition, I can confirm that I’ve checked some similar products in the store before—and I’ve easily found other brands of Thin Mint alternatives that are also vegan.

That said, beware of Keebler’s cookie in the same style as Thin Mints. These “Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper” mint cookies are not vegan, as they contain whey (a milk ingredient). (source)

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