Is Bournville vegan?

What is Bournville?

Bournville is a brand of dark chocolate originating from — no surprises here — Bournville, a village in southwest Birmingham. It has been sold in the UK since 1908 and is produced by Cadbury’s. It’s also one of the most popular dark chocolate brands in the UK. 

Is it vegan?

Until recently the answer would have been a resounding yes as it was the dark chocolate of choice for vegans up and down the country. However, a recent change in the ingredients and allergies label now lists dairy as a "May Contain" allergen warning, making the products not suitable for vegans.

The shock came first with Bournville Giant Buttons and was quickly followed by Bournville Orange and Fingers. It now seems like the original bar is off-limits too.

It has a minimum 36% content of cocoa solids, and the rest is made up of other plant-based ingredients including cocoa butter, emulsifiers and sugar. Unlike other dark chocolate brands, such as After Eights, Bournville does not include the use of butterfat to stop chocolate blooming, making it perfectly fine for vegans until now. It was even Peta-approved as a way of helping any chocolate cravings which makes the blow even bigger!

Got any more questions for us? Let us know in the comments and we’ll hunt down the answers!