Are Multivitamins Vegan Friendly?
When we went vegan 6 years ago, a lot of things started popping up that we hadn’t even considered. For instance, is bread vegan? What about multivitamins?
We have 3 kids. We wanted to find vegan multivitamins that tasted good and weren’t insanely expensive!
There are a so many sneaky ingredients involving animal products that it’s hard to sift through information sometimes.
We’ve rounded up the best vegan multivitamins for kids so you don’t have to worry about it!
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Gerber Lil Brainies
Even though Gerber Lil Brainies aren’t certified vegan, none of the ingredients used are animal derived. The DHA is plant based and the Omega-3’s are sourced from Chia seeds.
Most parents mention how great the price is and that the vitamins aren’t coated in sugar.
That being said, these vitamins aren’t the healthiest on the list. The first ingredient is sugar followed by more sugar (tapioca syrup.) So if you’re looking for something tooth friendly, these may not fit the bill.
What we love:
- Plant based ingredients- no animal products
- Good price
- No sugar coating
What we don’t love:
- Too much sugar
- May not be tooth friendly
Non-medicinal ingredients: Sugar, Tapioca Syrup, Water, Chia Seed Oil (Salvia Hispanic L.), Less Than 2% Of: Algal Oil (Schizochytrium Sp.), Natural Flavors, Pectin, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Coconut Oil, Colors (Fruit and Vegetable Juice Concentrates, Annatto Extract), Carnauba Wax.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐
Llama Naturals
Llama Naturals Vitamin Bites are certified vegan and contain NO added sugar- hurray!
Now for the (maybe) bad news- there are complaints about the taste/texture. Some parents and kids seem to absolutely love the taste and others aren’t convinced.
What we love:
- Vegan
- No artificial colors or flavors
- Made with real fruit
- Organic
What we don’t love:
- Taste may not be great
- Expensive
Non-medicinal ingredients :Organic Apples, Organic Strawberries, Organic Baobab Fruit Powder, Fruit & Vegetable Based Vitamin Blend. Less than 2%: Organic Sunflower Oil, Apple Pectin, Organic Strawberry Flavor, Organic Rice Bran (Coating)
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Renzo’s Picky Eater Multivitamin
Renzo’s are jam packed full of nutrients- up to 3x the vitamins in 1 Renzo vs traditional kids vitamins. They are also certified vegan so there are no worries 🙂
It truly is a great product for picky eaters- some parents mentioned dissolving it in glasses of milk easily without their picky toddler noticing.
There is something that was mentioned often- Renzo’s changed their formula recently to add more iron. They added a childproof cap, changed the instructions to only give half a tab instead of a full one and changed the ingredients list but didn’t issue much of a warning to parents. Iron in large quantities is dangerous for kids and some kids ended up with too much.
If you KNOW to only dose half a tab- it’s probably fine but please be aware of these issues.
What we love:
- Vegan
- No sugar added
- Easily dissolved if you have a finicky kid
What we don’t love:
- Be aware of added iron
- Hard to cut a tab in half
Non-medicinal ingredients: xylitol, natural flavors and color, plant-based magnesium stearate and stearic acid, monk fruit extract, malic acid
Veridict: ⭐⭐
Garden of Life- mykind organics
These vitamins are certified vegan and were created by Alicia Silverstone. She’s an animal rights activist and that makes me want to love these vitamins!
There is NO sugar and no bad ingredients… however, that might pose a problem for some kids.
There are complaints about the taste and texture but that seems to a small complaint overall.
A major issue we could see with these multivitamins is that the daily dose is 4 gummies- that could get expensive!
What we love:
- Vegan
- No artificial colors or flavors or sugar
- Made with real fruits and veggies
What we don’t love:
- Not a great taste
- Expensive
- Dosage is 4 gummies per day
Non-Medicinal ingredients: Certified Organic Fruit Chew Base Blend: Organic Apple (fruit, puree concentrate & juice concentrate), Organic Peach (fruit puree concentrate), Organic Tapioca Fiber, Pectin (from apples & oranges), Organic Peach Flavor, Organic Purple Carrot Juice Concentrate (for color), Organic Orange (peel), Organic Rice Meal and Organic Sunflower Oil (for coating), Certified Organic Real Food Vitamin Blend: Organic Amla Berry (fruit) Extract, Organic Sesbania grandiflora (leaf), Organic Guava (fruit & leaf), Organic Lemon (peel), Organic Holy Basil (leaf), Organic Anna o (fruit & seed), Organic Moringa (leaf), Organic Beet (root), Organic Broccoli (stalk & flower), Organic Carrot (root), Organic Spinach (leaf), Organic Tomato (fruit), Organic Strawberry (fruit), Organic Cherry (fruit), Organic Blackberry (fruit), Organic Green Bell Pepper (fruit), Organic Brussels Sprout (leaf), Organic Ginger (root), Organic Blueberry (fruit), Organic Garlic (bulb), Organic Green Onion (bulb), Organic Raspberry (fruit), Organic Parsley (leaf), Organic Cauliflower (flower & stem), Organic Red Cabbage (leaf), Organic Asparagus (flower & stem), Organic Celery (stalk), Organic Cucumber (gourd), Organic Kale (leaf)
Verdict: ⭐⭐
Amazon Brand- Mama Bear Organic Kids Multivitamins
The Mama Bear Multivitamins are non-gmo, vegan and gluten free. The dose is 2 gummies per day.
Some people were mentioning the taste but what we’ve noticed is that there will always be a divide. Some will love the taste, others will not. In this case, the divide is pretty evenly split.
Lots of other people seemed to love them! The fact that they don’t stick to your teeth was mentioned more than a few times.
The price is fair and the ingredients are not horrible to read.
What we love:
- Vegan
- Non-GMO
- Gluten free
- Won’t stick to teeth
- Good price
What we don’t love:
- Some people complained of the taste
Non-Medicinal ingredients: Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Cane Sugar, Pectin, Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate, Organic Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Colors Added (Organic Maqui Berry Juice Concentrate, Organic Black Carrot Juice Concentrate, Organic Annatto), Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Carnauba Wax.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Doctor’s Finest Multivitamin Gummies
The Doctor’s Finest Kids Multivitamins are specially formulated to be softer and not stick in your kids teeth making them tooth friendly. They’re also vegan and don’t have any artificial colors or flavors.
That being said- a fair amount of reviewers mentioned the sugar coating on these vitamins and said they wouldn’t have purchased if they knew about it.
On the flip side, a lot of parents talked about how much their kids love them so maybe the sugar coating is the lesser of two evils if you have a picky kid.
What we love:
- Vegan
- No artificial colors or flavors
- Tooth friendly with a special formulation
What we don’t love:
- An extra coating of sugar
Non-Medicinal ingredients: Cane sugar, glucose syrup, water, sucrose syrup, citrus pectin, citric acid, trisodium citrate, colors (black carrot concentrate and beta-carotene) and natural fruit flavors (strawberry, raspberry and orange).
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐
VegLife Vegan Kids Multivitamin
VegLife Vegan Kids Multivitamins are formulated using sorbitol and xylitol meaning that don’t use any sugar for sweetening. They’re also vegan and don’t have any artificial colors or flavors.
We have 3 kids- 2 out of 3 DO NOT like these vitamins. My son absolutely adores them and asks for them specifically. I think it’s a matter of preference and taste!
What we love:
- Vegan
- No artificial colors or flavors
- No sticky gummy stuff to stick in their teeth- made with powder
- Tooth friendly with natural sweeteners
What we don’t love:
- Chalky texture
- Not a great taste
Non-Medicinal ingredients: Xylitol, Citric Acid, Stearic Acid, Natural Flavors, VegiBlend (carrot, broccoli, tomato concentrates), Biovlavonoid Blend (citrus bioflavonoid concentrate, rose hips), Silica, FruitBlend (papaya, pineapple concentrates) and Malic Acid, Sorbitol, Whole Food Blend (flax seed, beet root, whole rice concentrate, organic spirulina), Natural Mixed Berry Flavor, Edible Fatty Acids, FOS Fiber Blend (fructoologosaccharides, sprouted mung bean extract)
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐
Naturelo Chewable Multivitamin for Children
Naturelo Chewable Multivitamins are made with 100% plant based ingredients, vitamins and minerals. They are chewable and naturally sweetened with Stevia.
The reviews for these vitamins are very mixed. Half the parents and kids are singing high praises and the other half say “they taste like death.”
What we love:
- Vegan
- Naturally sweetened with stevia
- Chewable
- Fair price
What we don’t love:
- Possibly have a bad taste
- Bottle may go bad faster that the expiry date
Non-Medicinal ingredients: Tapioca, cellulose, citric acid, raspberry flavor, stevia