Image Credit: Opie’s Candy Store
According to Wikipedia, Jolly Rancher is an American brand of sweet, somewhat tangy or sour/sweet hard candy, gummies, fruit chews, jelly beans, and lollipops. It is currently owned by The Hershey Company. The product was originally produced by the Jolly Rancher Company, founded by Bill Harmsen of Golden, Colorado. The Jolly Rancher Company made ice cream, chocolate and candy sold at several stores in the Denver area. The name was chosen to suggest a hospitable, western company. Jolly Rancher’s are a very popular hard candy in the United States and currently ranks as the best selling hard candy on Amazon. This article seeks to answer the question, “Are Jolly Ranchers Products Vegan?”
A full vegan-friendly analysis of each Jolly Rancher product can be found in the following sections.
Controversial Vegan Ingredients
Before every analysis we do at Veg Knowledge, we make note of the controversial ingredients that are assumed to be vegan in this analysis. Even though we consider them to be vegan, we will still highlight these ingredients if they appear in any posted ingredient lists. These controversial ingredients include:
Sugar
In almost all candy products, one of the first few ingredients is Sugar. Sugar is a controversial product in the vegan community because refined cane sugar is processed with bone char to achieve the pure white color. The sugar itself does not contain any bone char particles, but is not vegan due to the processing methods used. Since the type of sugar is typically not stated, it is assumed to be vegan in this analysis. If you choose to avoid non-vegan sugars than all of the products in this analysis should be avoided. A full rundown on if sugar is vegan can be found in our article titled “Is Your Sugar Vegan? Lets Find Out!“
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
Natural and artificial flavors can come from both animal or plant sources, but the natural flavors in candies are typically from plant sources. Companies are required disclose if a major allergen is used to create the natural and artificial flavors and therefore should be noted on the ingredients. Any natural flavors from animal-origin will be highlighted in the article, if known.
Colors
Some food colors are controversial in the vegan community. This is because food colors are often tested on animals. In this article we assume all food colors are vegan, unless the color itself is from an animal or insect origin (e.g. Carmine)Q
The Jolly Rancher Brand's (and parent company Hershey's) Stance On Vegan Products
As this is a vegan analysis of Jolly Rancher candies, it is important to discuss Hershey’s (Jolly Rancher parent company) stance on vegan products. On the Jolly Rancher website, they clearly state that “Jolly Rancher Candies are not vegan” in a FAQ. However, in our research for this article we found most of the ingredients in Jolly Rancher products to be vegan friendly. Because of this discrepancy, we decided to reach out Hershey’s to find out why they have chose this stance. The following is the response we received:
Hello Braden!
Thank you for contacting The Hershey Company about our JOLLY RANCHER Hard Candy.
Due to the natural flavor ingredient, we cannot guarantee that this product is suitable for a vegan diet. The composition of a flavor is proprietary to the company that supplies the flavors. The only information that a supplier is required to provide is whether the flavor contains one of the major allergens.
In addition, the below list of products meets The Hershey Company’s internal standard for vegan which means that the products are free from ingredients and processing aids derived from animal origin:
– HERSHEY’S COCOA Powder, Natural
– SCHARFFEN BERGER COCOA Powder
– DAGOBA COCOA Powder, Organic
– MOUNDS Sweetened Coconut
– REESE’S Creamy Peanut Butter
– REESE’S Shell Topping
– TWIZZLERS Pull n’ Peel, Cherry
– TWIZZLERS Bites, Cherry
– TWIZZLERS, Twists, Cherry
– TWIZZLERS, Nibs, Cherry
– TWIZZLERS, Licorice
– TWIZZLERS, Chocolate
– TWIZZLERS, StrawberryTWIZZLERS
Although we are working to update and expand this list, at this time, we are not able to accommodate your request regarding additional products that are certified vegan or vegetarian. We hope the information we’ve provided is helpful to you in determining whether our products meet your dietary needs.
We appreciate your loyalty as a consumer.
Keisha
Consumer Representative
Therefore, Jolly Rancher Candies are not labeled to be vegan by the Hersey’s brand because of a proprietary natural flavor ingredient supplied from a third party. Because of this, the Hersey’s brand does not know (and cannot find out) if animal-derived components are in their natural flavor ingredient.
As mentioned in the controversial ingredients section, we choose to assume that “natural and artificial flavorings” are vegan in this analysis because it is extremely hard to identify the ingredients in these flavorings. Plus, there is a high likelihood that natural and artificial flavors in candies come from plant sources due to the flavor profiles used.
Jolly Rancher Hard Candy
Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Ingredients
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Malic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), Mineral Oil, and Lecithin. [Source]
Is Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Vegan?
As listed, only vegan-friendly ingredients appear in Jolly Ranchers (assuming the controversial ingredients are vegan). Therefore, Jolly Ranchers are vegan! Since all the Jolly Rancher flavors have similar ingredients, all of the following products are vegan-friendly:
- Awesome Reds
- Blue Raspberry
- Cherry
- Cinnamon Fire
- Fruit ‘n Sour
- Fruity Bash
- Grape
- Green Apple
- Lemon
- Sour Surge
- Sugar Free (Apple, Grape, Raspberry, and Watermelon)
- Watermelon
Jolly Rancher Lollipops
Jolly Rancher Lollipop Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Malic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), Lecithin, and BHT. [Source]
Are Jolly Rancher Lollipops Vegan?
With very similar ingredients to Jolly Rancher Hard Candies, Jolly Rancher Lollipops are also vegan!
Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans
Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cornstarch, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Gum Acacia, Limonene, Mineral Oil, Carauba Wax, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6), Lecithin, and BHT. [Source]
Are Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans Vegan?
The Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans also have similar ingredients to the hard candies with a few additional plant-based ingredients. Therefore, Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans ARE vegan! These jelly beans are notably absent from both confectioner’s glaze and gelatin found in other popular jelly bean brands.
Jolly Rancher Bites/Chews/Gummies
In addition to hard candies and lollipops, Jolly Rancher also makes a variety of soft candies referred to as Bites, Chews, and Gummies. Unfortunately, the ingredients vary product to product within each classification (for example: the Jolly Rancher Bites Filled Gummies – red package above – has very different ingredients than the Jolly Rancher Bites Sour Chewy Candy – green package above). Because of this we have chosen to lump all of these products into one category and group the products by vegan and non-vegan.
So, are Jolly Rancher Bites, Chews or Gummies Vegan?
Some of the Jolly Rancher Soft Candies (Bites, Chews, and Gummies) are vegan-friendly, while others are not. The primary non-vegan ingredient in Jolly Rancher’s soft candies is Gelatin or K-Gelatin (Kosher Gelatin). According to Peta, “Gelatin is a protein procured by boiling animal skin, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and/or bones in water. It’s usually obtained from cows, pigs, or fish.” As Gelatin is a animal-derived ingredient, it is usually not considered to be vegan or vegetarian.
The following Jolly Rancher Soft Candies are Vegan:
- Awesome Twosome Chews
- Misfits – 2 in 1 Gummy Candies
- Sour Bites
- Gummies – Original and Sour Flavors
The following Jolly Rancher Soft Candies are NOT Vegan:
- Crunch ‘n Chew (Contains Gelatin or K-Gelatin)
- Chews – Original (Contains Gelatin or K-Gelatin)
- Filled Gummies Bites (Contains Gelatin or K-Gelatin)
Additional Jolly Rancher FAQs
Q: Are Jolly Rancher Candies Gluten-Free?
According to Jolly Rancher’s website, “While Jolly Rancher Candies have not been fully evaluated to qualify as gluten-free by FDA standards, they do not include any gluten-containing ingredients.” Therefore, those people with a gluten intolerance should avoid Jolly Rancher candies until they are certified to be gluten-free. A full list of Hershey’s gluten-free candies can be found here.
Q: Are Jolly Rancher Candies Kosher?
On Hershey’s website, they only list the Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome and Jolly Rancher Bold Fruit Smoothie Candy Cane products as being Kosher. However, Jolly Rancher states on their website that, ” if an item is kosher, you will see the kosher symbol on the label. Look for it at end of the list of ingredients.” Therefore some of the Jolly Rancher candies are Kosher, but many are not.
Q: Do Jolly Ranchers Have Gelatin?
According to our analysis, only four of the Jolly Rancher products contain Gelatin. These products are Jolly Rancher Crunch ‘n Chew, Jolly Rancher Chews – Original, Jolly Rancher Filled Gummies Bites, and Jolly Rancher Gummies – Original. All of the Jolly Rancher hard candies do not contain Gelatin.
Summary
An easy rule of thumb to remember if Jolly Rancher products are vegan is that their hard candies are almost always vegan, but their soft candies are not. When purchasing a soft Jolly Rancher product make sure to read the ingredients label to ensure it is vegan friendly.
You can read about other vegan snack options here.
