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The five best dairy free chocolate brands

Swirl of chocolate
Katalin Csatadi
By
Katalin Csatadi

Almost all chocolate companies sell vegan bars now. But are all vegan chocolates equally ethical?

On the surface level, vegan chocolate bars are ethical in the sense that they’re animal free – but if you look at where the money goes from purchases, there can be a big difference. You might be funding animal exploitation and other unethical activities. 

Despite using lots of dairy, the vast majority of chocolate companies lack adequate discussion of animal welfare.

Access to grazing outdoors, separation of calves from mothers, dehorning, forced impregnation, intensive milk production, factory farming, and the killing of calves and dairy cows are all issues that cows (but also sheep and goats) are facing. Our article on the lifecycle of a typical dairy cow looks into ethical issues of dairy in more detail.

Vegan chocolate by non-vegan brands

The largest chocolate brands like Cadbury or Galaxy (owned by Mars) are now offering a widening plant based line. Galaxy launched its first vegan products in 2019 while Cadbury’s first vegan chocolate started selling in 2021, and many animal lovers were thrilled to be able to now buy vegan products from their old favourite chocolate brands.

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

Therefore, when you buy a vegan chocolate bar from one of these multinationals you’re still supporting a company that depends on the exploitation of other animals.

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

The following are the top scoring, fully vegan brands own by completely vegan companies in our ethical chocolate guide. They are listed here in alphabetical order.

MonChoco

MonChoco is a fully vegan brand and nearly all profit from purchases stays in the country that grew the cocoa: Ivory Coast. This chocolatier specialises in raw organic cocoa. Shipping chocolate worldwide is carbon-intensive, but its production emissions couldn’t be much lower: it literally crushes the cocoa beans ‘by bike’. (Our favourite is their ‘Beggar’ bar which features its classic chocolate with peanuts and candied fruit on top).

They are also one of only a few super ethical brands that sell praline and selection boxes. 

All of the company's products are raw, vegan and palm oil free.

Moo Free

Moo Free’s cocoa is Rainforest Alliance certified and grown in the Dominican Republic. The company sells both organic and non-organic chocolates for shoppers with different budgets. Moo Free also sells discounted ‘wonky chocolate’, 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.

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 pays higher than Fairtrade International prices, offering farmers a stable income and it has a Fair for Life Certification.

All Ombar products are raw, vegan and organic.

Pacari

Pacari 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.

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

VEGO

Headquartered in Berlin, VEGO’s products are Fairtrade International certified, palm oil and soy 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.

Three black and white cows in a field

Where can you buy ethical vegan chocolate?

Vego and Moo Free are widely available in shops like supermarkets and health stores, and occasionally Pacari and Ombar too. MonChoco you order online directly from the chocolatier (and it’ll take a bit of time to ship, but is worth the wait!) 

You can order from all these brands online. 

Alternatively you can check out the ethical online food supermarkets in our guide - the retailers in the guide are sort of like local independent health food shops, handy if you don't live near one a health food shop. 

Find out more about ethical chocolate brands

These best 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. 

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