Lately I’ve been trying to figure out which energy drinks are and aren’t vegan.
Other than Red Tazz, not many energy drinks are certified vegan, so I’ve had to investigate a bit deeper.
This page is a result of that searching.
Table of Contents
Are Guru Energy Drinks Vegan?
Guru really only has 1 type of energy drink (plus energy water), but the good news is that it’s certified vegan.
The only downside is that Guru isn’t that popular, so you might not be able to find it in local stores. But you can always order online if you really like energy drinks.
Even if you just saw the ingredients list and didn’t know it was certified, it’s clearly vegan:
Sparkling water, organic cane sugar, organic white grape juice, citric acid, apple acid, natural flavours, organic green tea leaf extract, organic guarana seed extract, organic echinacea flower extract, organic panax ginseng root extract.
Natural flavors is the only ingredient that could be a problem, but of course we’re not worried about that since the drink is certified vegan.
Guru energy are certified vegan.
Is Rockstar Energy Vegan?
While Rockstar’s energy drink isn’t certified vegan, it almost certainly is.
Here are the ingredients in it:
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, citric acid, taurine, natural and artificial flavors, guarana seed extract, ascorbic acid, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), potassium sorbate (preservative), caffeine, niacinamide, inositol, l-carnitine, milk thistle extract, ginkgo biloba leaf extract, calcium pantothenate, siberian ginseng root extract, cyanocobalamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride.
I highlighted the ingredients that might give you concerns, but there’s no need to be worried.
On the Rockstar website, it says:
Yes, Rockstar Energy Drink is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. The Taurine contained in Rockstar is synthetic and not derived from animals.
The taurine is synthetic, as states, and that also means there are no animal products in the natural flavors.
Caramel color is usually vegan anyways, and milk thistle is actually a plant (which you may not know if you haven’t heard of it before).
So all seems good, and as long as whoever wrote that statement on their website is correct, Rockstar is vegan.
It states on Rockstar’s website that there are no animal products in their drinks, which is enough to reasonably conclude that Rockstar Energy is vegan.
Is Monster Energy Vegan
I’ve written a detailed guide on if monster energy drinks are vegan.
The biggest potential issue in the various flavors is that they all contain artificial colors (red 40, yellow 5, etc.). Are artificial colors really vegan? It’s a complicated grey area, and many vegans won’t touch them. You’ll have to make up your own mind.
If you’re okay with artificial colors, quite a few Monster drinks are probably vegan. But there are a few ingredients that might not be.
Read the detailed guide I linked to at the start of this section if you’re really interested in if Monster Energy drinks are vegan.
Most Monster Energy drinks don’t have animal products in them, but do have artificial colors in them, which are controversial among vegans.
Is Red Bull Vegan?
Again, I’ve also written a more detailed post on whether Red Bull is vegan or not.
The Organics by Red Bull line is clearly vegan, but the rest of the flavors, which are the more popular ones, all contain artificial colors.
If you’re okay with artificial colors, Red Bull will be fine for you, as there are no other questionable ingredients.
Otherwise, stick with the 2 energy drinks in the first section, Guru and Rockstar, that are both vegan for sure.
Organics by Red Bull is vegan. The rest of Red Bull drinks don’t have animal products in them, but do have artificial colors, which are controversial among vegans.
