Iconic Allen's lolly set for big change amid vegan trend
Following the release of vegan Jubees earlier this year, confectionary giant and Nestlé subsidiary Allen's has today announced that its iconic Jelly Beans will also soon be 100 per cent free of animal products.
The delicious sweets were previously coloured with carmine, a common natural food and cosmetic dye derived from an obscure type of South American beetle, the cochineal.
Female cochineal bugs are dried, crushed then boiled to produce carmine, a red colourant that yields shades like crimson and scarlet, and can be mixed with other colourants to produce a wide array of hues.
Vegan-friendly
Allen's says its jelly beans will now be made using plant-based colourants like beetroot and paprika.
"Our fan favourite Allen's jelly beans are now accessible for vegan lolly lovers," an Allen's revealed in a statement. "The Allen's lolly experts have made this possible with plant based colouring agents derived from beetroot and paprika."
"The transition to Allen's vegan-friendly jelly beans will take place nationwide across grocery and convenience stores from mid-November, so look out for the 'vegan-friendly' labelling on packs."
Animal lovers rejoice
Vegans across Australia are understandably excited about the news, as some haven't eaten jelly beans in a number of years.
"It is great to see Nestlé realise that by simply swapping the carmine for a vegan friendly colouring, they can market a new product to the vegan community," said the team at Fussy Vegan, developers of an Android and iOS app that helps Australian vegans make animal-wise dietary decisions.
"Hopefully we will start to see more and more products where carmine is the only barrier to the product being vegan becoming vegan friendly in the future. I'd love to see more of this where existing products are made vegetarian or vegan friendly by simply changing one small ingredient," read one reply on the Fussy Vegan Facebook page. "Go Allen's!"
"Ohhh I have missed Jelly Beans so much! I'll be hunting these down, thanks!" commented another happy vegan.
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