Vegan or Not? The Ultimate Guide to Lindt Chocolate10 min read

No! Not all Lindt Chocolate is vegan friendly. Some of their chocolate options include; milk, milk products, milk fat, cream, shellac and, on occasion, eggs. Can Vegans eat Lindt chocolate? Yes, there are some Lindt products which are vegan!

The two Lindt products from the Excellence range that we can guarantee are 100% vegan are Lindt EXCELLENCE 99% Cocoa and Lindt EXCELLENCE 85% Cocoa.

Is Lindt dark chocolate vegan?

Not all Lindt dark chocolate is vegan. As mentioned above those two chocolate are vegan. With six other options that are potentially vegan. Including; Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Orange & Almonds, Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Raspberry & Hazelnuts, Lindt EXCELLENCE Smooth Blend 70% Cocoa, Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa, Lindt EXCELLENCE 90% Cocoa, and Lindt EXCELLENCE 95% Cocoa. The rest of their products are not vegan, which are all listed below.

As you will see in the detailed list of produces below. The dark chocolates in the Excellence range that are not vegan include milk products. Lindt say the 70%, 85%, 90% and 99% Cocoa dark chocolate bars are made without any animal products but still might have the possibility of food processes that might make the some ingredients not vegan.

Is Lindt 70 dark chocolate vegan?

Maybe, but it is difficult to actually know for certain if these products are vegan. The Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Orange & Almonds product has Sugar, Caramel and Gelling Agent which are all vegan ingredients, however how they have been processed determines if they are vegan or not. Therefore it is difficult to be 100% certain if this product is vegan.

With Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Raspberry & Hazelnuts, Lindt EXCELLENCE Smooth Blend 70% Cocoa and Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa the only questionable ingredient is sugar. Which is not clearly identified if it has been processed through bone char.

Furthermore Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Caramel & Sea Salt is not vegan, as it includes; Skim Milk Powder, Lactose and Milk Fat.

Which Lindt products are vegan?

The Lindt EXCELLENCE range is stated by Lindt to be “made without any animal products” including some of the Lindt EXCELLENCE range with 70%, 85%, 90% and 99% Cocoa dark chocolate bars. Important to note that not all these chocolates in the “Excellence” range are Vegan. Below I have made a list of products that are vegan, maybe vegan and products that are NOT vegan.

It is important to note that the Lindt products labelled ‘maybe vegan”, because they include sugar and not all sugar is vegan. So the products with “sugar” in them, we have no way of knowing how it was made. It’s not safe to assume that these are vegan. Which is why it is worth double checking with Lindt if you wish to consider purchasing these products. The vegan chocolates have “demerara sugar” in them compared to just sugar.

Lindt EXCELLENCE 85% Cocoa (VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, fat reduced cocoa powder, cocoa butter, demerara sugar, vanilla.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts, milk, soy and sesame seeds

Cocoa Solids %: Dark Chocolate contains: cocoa solids 85% min.

Lindt EXCELLENCE 99% Cocoa (VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, demerara sugar.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts, milk and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark chocolate contains: cocoa solids 99% min.

Lindt products with vegan only ingredients (but depending on food processes might or might not be vegan)

These next products are still considered vegan. But depending on how strict you are. You might find it difficult to consider if you are unsuccessful with finding out how Lindt ‘sugar’ ingredients goes through its food processes.

Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Orange & Almonds (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, low fat cocoa powder, orange pieces (5%) [orange juice concentrate, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, invert sugar, dextrose, pineapple, gelling agent (pectin), flavouring], caramelised almonds (3%) (almonds, sugar, glucose syrup, caramel), crispy orange pieces (1%) (sugar, oranges, corn starch), flavouring, vanilla.

Allergens: May contain other tree nuts, milk and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark Chocolate contains: cocoa solids 70% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Caramel (Caramel, the ingredient, is usually totally vegan. It is produced by heating carbohydrates, mostly corn, but also beet sugar, cane sugar, wheat, or potatoes. Caramels – those little cubes – often contain dairy products.)

Gelling Agent (Gelling Agent may or may not be vegan. It is used in processed foods for thickening and gelling. Some gelling agents, like Gelatin, are derived from killed animals. Some, like Agar-Agar, or Gellan, are derived from plants or microbiological sources. Please check the ingredients for details or contact the manufacturer.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Raspberry & Hazelnuts (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, low fat cocoa powder, caramelised hazelnuts (3%) [hazelnuts, sugar], raspberry pieces (1.5%) [glucose syrup (from wheat), cocoa butter, raspberries], flavouring, vanilla.

Allergens: May contain other tree nuts, milk and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark chocolate contains: cocoa solids 70% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE Smooth Blend 70% Cocoa (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Vanilla.

Allergens: May contain milk and tree nuts

Cocoa Solids %: Dark Chocolate contains: Cocoa Solids 70% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts, milk, soy and sesame seeds

Cocoa Solids %: Dark Chocolate contains: Cocoa Solids 70% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 90% Cocoa (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, low fat cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts, milk and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Cocoa solids: 90% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 95% Cocoa (MAYBE VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sugar.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts, milk and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark chocolate contains: cocoa solids 95% min.

Double Check

Sugar (Sugar itself is vegan, being commercially derived from sugarcane or sugar beet. But, some cane sugars are processed through Bone Black (char from burned animal bones), especially in the United States. Please contact the manufacturer to find out how the sugar was processed.)

Some Lindt products that are NOT vegan (Including some some of the Excellence Range)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 70% Cocoa Caramel & Sea Salt (NOT VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, low fat cocoa powder, caramel pieces (8%) [sugar, cocoa butter, lactose, milk fat, skim milk powder, salt, flavouring, emulsifier (rapeseed lecithin)], Fleur de Sel (0.3%) (sea salt) flavouring, vanilla.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark chocolate contains: cocoa solids 70% min.

NOT Vegan Ingredients

Skim Milk Powder (Skim Milk Powder is not vegan. It is a dried, powdered form of milk from captive cows. Skim Milk Powder is used as a food ingredient, in some infant formulas, nutritional supplements, animal feeds, and in some cosmetics as a skin conditioner.)

Lactose (Lactose is not vegan. It is a sugar derived from milk – usually cow’s milk. Lactose is used in infant formulas, stout beer, as a filler in pharmaceutical tablets and capsules, as well as to dilute illicit drugs. Lactose intolerance is the decreased ability to digest lactose.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE 78% Cocoa (NOT VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder, Milk Fat.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts and soy

Cocoa Solids %: Dark Chocolate contains: Cocoa Solids 78% min.

NOT Vegan Ingredients

Milk Fat (Milk is not vegan. It is a fluid produced by female mammals to feed their young.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE Orange Intense (NOT VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa mass, orange flavoured pieces (7%) [concentrated orange juice (55%), sugar, invert sugar, concentrated lemon juice, pineapple pulp, gelling agent (pectin), natural orange flavouring], almonds (7%), cocoa butter, milk fat, emulsifier (soy lecithin), flavouring.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts

Cocoa Solids %: Dark chocolate contains: cocoa solids 47% min.

NOT Vegan Ingredients

Milk Fat (Milk is not vegan. It is a fluid produced by female mammals to feed their young.)

Lindt EXCELLENCE Chilli (NOT VEGAN)

Ingredients:

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, milk fat, emulsifier (soy lecithin), extract of chilli pepper, flavourings.

Allergens: May contain tree nuts

Cocoa Solids %: Chocolate contains: Cocoa solids: 48% min.

NOT Vegan Ingredients

Milk Fat (Milk is not vegan. It is a fluid produced by female mammals to feed their young.)

More Lindt Excellence Products That Are NOT VEGAN.

The rest of the Lindt Excellence range of flavoured options are not vegan. Including; Honeycomb, Sea Salt, Roasted Almonds, Roasted Hazelnut, Extra Creamy, Sea Salt Caramel, and Extra Silky White. All include milk fat or milk powder products which are not vegan.