Do vegan chocolate, sweets and snacks really cost more?

chocolate

While some vegan chocolates, sweets and on-the-go snacks can be more expensive than non-vegan ones, this isn’t always the case, and we are increasingly seeing comparative prices between vegan and non-vegan convenience foods.

When innovative products are released, they are usually sold at a slightly higher price. But over time, as they saturate supermarket shelves, production costs reduce and competition between brands usually leads to price drops. There’s also certainly no doubt that when big brands release a long-awaited vegan version of a favourite chocolate, they mark up the price a bit to take advantage of the pent-up vegan demand. However, once the novelty has worn off, we usually see prices drop back down to a more reasonable amount.

If you’re looking for budget-friendly chocolate bars, supermarket free-from own-brands are usually a great place to start. If you have the time and have several supermarkets close to each other, it’s wise to do some price comparisons. You might find that one supermarket offers your favourite vegan chocolate or snack of choice at a lower price than another or regularly has it reduced. Aldi and Lidl offer a range of vegan snacks, including an array of dark chocolate, some of which is vegan (check packaging).

In addition, many chocolates and sweets are ‘accidentally vegan’, meaning they weren’t made specifically for vegans but contain no animal-derived ingredients. These can often be cheaper than buying speciality vegan items.

Examples of accidentally vegan biscuits include most flavours of Oreos, Lotus Biscoff Biscuits, plain Hobnobs and some digestives. A lot of dark chocolate, some Ritter Sport and many budget brands of mint thins and cremes are also suitable for vegans. Other accidentally vegan sweets include Skittles, Starburst, Fruit Pastilles, Jelly Tots, Sour Patch Kids and Jolly Ranchers. Basically, there are enough accidentally vegan sweets that your teeth will hurt just thinking about it!

Of course, when products aren’t specifically labelled as suitable for vegans, it’s important to regularly check the ingredients to make sure they contain no animal products or the recipe hasn’t changed since the last time you bought them. You’ll need to become a pro at deciphering E numbers (a quick internet search will tell you all you need to know) as some are not suitable for vegans. For example, E120 (carmine) and E904 (shellac) are in a lot of sweets but are unfortunately both made from insects.

While accidentally vegan chocolate, sweets and snacks can be great, sometimes it might be worth paying a few extra pennies for a vegan version, if you can afford it. As well as being free from animal products, many vegan brands use better quality ingredients as they’re catering for ethical and health-conscious people. Some vegan snacks, such as Nakd bars, contain less refined sugar and more wholefood ingredients than non-vegan ones.

If you’re looking to grab a quick, cheap and easy on-the-go lunch, most supermarkets offer meal deals that include a vegan option, such as a vegan wrap or sandwich, which are the same price regardless of whether you pick the vegan or non-vegan option. Bakery chains are also increasingly catering for vegans, offering very affordable vegan versions of our favourite lunchtime bites such as vegan pasties, sausage rolls, steak bakes, doughnuts and pastries. Wherever there are Middle Eastern takeaway restaurants and stalls, you can find falafel wraps which usually offer the best value for money around.

Lastly, don’t forget about all the naturally vegan wholefood options such as fresh and dried fruit, nuts and seeds, and carrots and hummus. These all make very affordable – and healthy – on-the-go snacks.

Top tips:

  • The supermarket’s own brand of free-from chocolate is usually cheap
  • Favour accidentally vegan products over speciality vegan ones
  • Work out which supermarkets have the best prices for certain products
  • Make the most of meal deals
  • Explore your local bakery chains for vegan options
  • Don’t forget about wholefood snacks such as fruit, nuts and seeds