Is Orbit Gum Vegan? (Some Flavors Might Be…)

Orbit is one of the most popular brands of gum, and a lot of their gums might just be vegan-friendly by accident.

But it depends on where certain ingredients come from, and your personal views on certain controversial ingredients.

I’ll walk you through them, and then we’ll look which flavors are most likely vegan.

Possible Non-Vegan Ingredients in Orbit

The ingredients for all flavors of Orbit gum are almost all the same.

Here’s what a typical ingredients list looks like for Orbit:

Sorbitol, Gum base, Glycerol, Natural and artificial flavors, Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, Aspartame, Mannitol, Acesulfame K, Soy Lecithin, Xylitol, Colors (Blue 1 Lake, Beta-Carotene), BHT

I’ve highlighted the 3 potential issues for vegans, the rest of the ingredients are all clearly vegan (they even use soy lecithin!).

Here’s the issue, or potential issue for each of them:

• Glycerol –Glycerol can be vegan friendly, because it can be derived from a plant. But a lot of glycerol comes from animal sources as well.
• Natural flavors – This term covers a wide variety of ingredients. Some natural flavors are vegan, and some are not. In the case of gum, I think it’s very unlikely that any natural flavors come from animal sources.
• Artificial colors – This includes colors like Red 40 and Yellow 6. While artificial colors are technically vegan, there’s a lot of animal testing surrounding them, so many vegans avoid them. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

I’ve contacted Orbit’s parent company (Mars) about the glycerol, and will update this page if I ever get a reply.

Which Flavors Are Most Likely Vegan Friendly?

I’ve gone through the ingredients list of each flavor of Orbit, looking for possible problem ingredients.

I’m going to ignore the “natural flavors”, which are in every flavor of Orbit gum, as I’m fairly confident they are vegan.

Here’s a summary table of what I found:

You might see “riboflavin” under “colors” for some of the flavors, but that’s a plant-based coloring agent (not the same concerns as artificial colors like Red 40).

Verdict: These Flavors of Orbit Gum Are Likely Vegan

I can’t confidently say that any Orbit Gum flavor is vegan. Personally, I’ll remain on the safe side and use a clearly vegan gum.

Still, let’s make a few conclusions. Again, I’m assuming the “natural flavors” are vegan in this context.

If the glycerol is from a plant-source, these 2 flavors are vegan:

• Peppermint
• Wintermint

As for the rest of the flavors, they would also be vegan, but it depends on whether or not you’re okay with consuming artificial colors. This is one of those controversial ingredients where you need to make your own decision.

Any questions or confusion? Let me know in a comment below.