Five vegan chocolate brands

Vegan chocolate by non-vegan brands

Lots of companies have one or two vegan bars or brands, but also sell large amounts of other products that contain dairy.

The largest chocolate brands like Cadbury (owned by Mondelez) or Galaxy (owned by Mars) are offering increasing amounts of plant-based options. Galaxy launched its first vegan products in 2019 while Cadbury’s first started selling vegan chocolate in 2021.

However, the majority of these companies’ profit still originates from dairy chocolate. Cadbury’s parent company Mondelez’ turnover is over £25bn. The Cadbury website lists dozens of milk chocolate products but just two vegan alternatives.

Therefore, buying a vegan chocolate bar from one of these multinationals still supports a company that depends on the exploitation of other animals. 

The dairy sector is full of animal rights issues. Lack of access to grazing outdoors, separation of calves from mothers, dehorning, forced impregnation, factory farming, and the killing of calves and dairy cows are issues linked to milk production. Our article on the lifecycle of a typical dairy cow looks into dairy in more detail.

What are the best options for vegan chocolate by vegan companies?

The following are fully vegan brands owned by completely vegan companies and are high scoring in our ethical chocolate guide. They are listed here in alphabetical order.

Moo Free

Moo Free’s cocoa is Rainforest Alliance certified. Moo Free also sells discounted ‘wonky chocolate’ (cracked or misshapen chocolate that the company sells at a reduced cost), plus ethical malteser-esque chocolate balls and chocolate-covered honeycomb.

As the brand name suggests, all Moo Free products are vegan, and also palm oil free. It’s also a certified B Corporation.

Ombar

Ombar is a vegan, European chocolate brand, and its products are manufactured in its Cambridge factory in the UK. Ombar makes more effort than most companies when it comes to sourcing cocoa ethically. It’s also one of a small number of ethical brands to sell chocolate buttons and sugar-free chocolate.

Ombar’s cocoa beans are sourced from Ecuadorian cooperatives. The company is certified fair trade by the World Fair Trade Organisation and says “We even pay more than the fair trade recommended price for our cacao”. 

All Ombar products are raw, vegan and organic. It’s sold online, and in some Morrisons stores and wholefood shops.

Paccari

Paccari chocolate is made in Ecuador, allowing “50% of the wealth to stay in the country of origin and contribute to its development”. Its premium exceeds Fairtrade prices. It works with a UK distributor, so this is a great brand to encourage your local ethical store to get in stock (if it isn’t already).

It’s one of a few brands that sells chocolate-covered nuts and fruit, and sugar-free dark chocolate, and all its products are raw and vegan.

Paccari's chocolate are all organic, and free from palm oil and soya, which the company says is an important “way of disassociating us from deforestation of the Amazon rainforest”.

Plamil

Plamil is a fully vegan, palm-oil free brand. The company was founded in the 1950s and is credited with making soya milk widely available in the UK. 

Its chocolate products are Rainforest Alliance certified. It sells milk and dark chocolate, and has sugar-free options too.

VEGO

Headquartered in Berlin, VEGO’s products are Fairtrade International certified, palm oil and soya free, and most of them (although not all) are also organic. Its products are packaged in compostable materials or, in the case of its chocolate spread, a reusable drinking glass.

With tasty hazelnuts and creamy chocolate, it’s a winner among vegans who used to like dairy milk chocolate.
Vego is often sold in ethical stores, Holland & Barrett, and supermarkets.

Where can you buy ethical vegan chocolate?

Vego and Moo Free are widely available in shops including supermarkets and health/wholefood stores. Wholefood shops also occasionally sell Ombar, Paccari and Plamil. 

You can also order from these brands online. 

Alternatively you can check out the ethical online food supermarkets in our guide; handy if you don't live near a health food shop. 

Find out more about ethical chocolate brands

These five ethical vegan chocolate bars feature in our shopping guide to chocolate where we look at all the issues including child labour, palm oil and deforestation, and cocoa certification.