KIND bars are super popular these days, you can find them at most grocery stores, and even at Costco.
Unfortunately, most of them aren’t vegan-friendly.
The most common reason why is that most bars have honey (just like Nature Valley granola bars), and certain bars have milk and other animal products in them.
But there are still a few KIND products you can buy if you really love the brand. I’ll go through each type of KIND product and explain which flavors are vegan.
Table of Contents
Are KIND Nut Bars Vegan?
The nut bar product line is mainly made of nuts like almonds and peanuts, plus palm oil and chocolate. However, there’s one big problem.
KIND nut bar are not vegan, all of them have honey.
On top of that, some of them have milk and other non-vegan ingredients.
Are KIND Simple Crunch Bars Vegan?
With a limited amount of ingredients, the Simple Crunch line of Kind bars are close to being vegan, but not quite.
KIND simple crunch bars are not vegan, since every flavor contains honey.
Are KIND Nut Butter Filled Snacks Vegan?
This line of Kind bars also has a relatively short ingredient list of mainly nuts and chocolate.
However, there are animal products in all of these.
So, KIND nut butter filled snack bars are not vegan, as they contain honey and milk ingredients.
Are KIND Whole Fruit Bars Vegan?
Finally, we come to some vegan products.
Most of KIND’s whole fruit bars are vegan-friendly.
However, the dark chocolate ones both have palm oil in them. Many vegans do not consider palm oil to be vegan because of ethical issues surrounding the industry. Personally, I’m in the camp that palm oil is “technically” vegan, but I don’t touch the stuff myself.
Decide for yourself.
| Flavor | Potential Non-Vegan Ingredients |
|---|---|
| Mango Apple Chia Bars | |
| Dark Chocolate Strawberry Bars | Palm oil |
| Dark Chocolate Banana Bars | Palm oil |
| Strawberry Apple Cherry Chia | |
| Cherry Apple Chia Bars | |
| Pineapple Banana Kale Spinach |
Are KIND Protein Bars Vegan?
Kind protein bars have virtually identical ingredients to their nut bar line (which wasn’t vegan).
Even though most of these bars use soy protein instead of milk, they all have honey (and some have milk).
None of the KIND protein bars are vegan.
Are KIND Healthy Grains Granola Bars Vegan?
Don’t confuse the healthy grain bars with the healthy grain clusters that Kind sells.
Some flavors of the clusters are vegan, but the bars here all have honey in them.
So no, none of the KIND healthy grains granola bars are vegan.
Are KIND Breakfast Bars Vegan?
The breakfast bars are mainly just oats and nuts.
Unfortunately, if you scan through the ingredient lists for all these bars, you’ll see honey right near the end.
So unfortunately, KIND breakfast bars are not vegan.
Are KIND Grain Clusters Vegan?
If you’re a vegan and you like KIND products, the grain clusters are just about your only option.
They’re a new-ish product line of granola, rather than bars.
Most of them are clearly labelled vegan on KIND’s website. So even though some have ingredients like glycerine (which can come from animals or plants), we can be very confident that they are from plant-sources.
Same goes for sugar. It’s not always vegan in North America, but considering the product pages are labelled vegan, I think it’s fairly safe to say that the sugar was not made with bone char.
Here’s the full list of grain cluster flavors:
| Flavor | Potential Non-Vegan Ingredients | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut Butter Whole Grain Clusters | Vegan | |
| Oats & Honey Clusters | Honey | NOT Vegan |
| Vanilla Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds | Vegan | |
| Dark Chocolate Whole Grain Clusters | Sugar | Vegan |
| Almond Butter Whole Grain Clusters | Honey | NOT Vegan |
| Maple Quinoa Granola Clusters | Vegan | |
| Raspberry Granola Clusters | Vegan | |
| Cinnamon Oat Granola Clusters | Vegan |
Summary: Which KIND Products are Vegan?
Let’s finish off with a quick summary of all the major product lines that KIND makes:
- Nut bars – Not vegan
- Simple crunch bars – Not vegan
- Nut butter filled snacks – Not vegan
- Whole fruit bars – Most are vegan
- Protein bars – Not vegan
- Healthy grains granola bars – Not vegan
- Breakfast bars – Not vegan
- Grain clusters – Most are vegan
Kind Bar Alternatives
Granola bars can easily be made vegan, and there are some out there if you’re willing to look.
The most popular brands that make vegan versions (at least some of their flavors) are:
- Clif bars – I’ve written a detailed guide to which Clif bars are vegan.
- Luna bars – Similar to Clif bars, see my guide to vegan Luna bars.
- Lara bars – Almost all flavors are vegan.
