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Vegan Chocolate

Every bar in this vegan collection is made from cacao and natural ingredients only, with no dairy or animal-derived ingredient anywhere in the process. Plant-based, dairy-free, bean-to-bar, and suitable for a vegetarian diet too. This is the best Vegan Chocolate, stone-ground and conched in our Chocolate Studio, made from ethically sourced single-origin cacao, with plant-based ingredients, rich textures and a smooth finish. No palm oil, gluten, artificial additives, emulsifiers, or ultra-processed ingredients. All of our packaging is recyclable and responsibly sourced.

The Vegan Chocolate Collection

Choose from across our vegan chocolate range. Thoughtful gifts for anyone following a plant-based diet. Every MayHawk chocolate starts the same way, cacao and natural ingredients only, made bean-to-bar in our Chocolate Studio. Familiar flavours, made completely vegan.

How to choose vegan chocolate

Choosing vegan chocolate starts with the ingredients, but there are other useful things to consider when comparing one chocolate with another.

Look for	What it tells you	Why it matters
Ingredients	What has actually been used to make the chocolate	Check that milk or other animal-derived ingredients have not been deliberately included in the recipe.
Allergen statement	Whether there is a risk of cross-contact with milk during production	A chocolate can be made to a vegan recipe while carrying a precautionary milk warning. This distinction is particularly important for anyone with a milk allergy.
Cacao percentage	How much of the finished chocolate comes from cacao-derived ingredients	It helps you understand the balance between cacao and other ingredients, but a higher cacao percentage does not necessarily mean better chocolate.
Cacao origin	Where the cacao used to make the chocolate was grown	Origin can influence the natural flavour character of cacao, just as growing conditions affect other agricultural ingredients. Single-Origin Sourcing.
Added flavours	Whether ingredients such as coffee, fruit, spices or botanicals have been added	This helps you choose between chocolate led principally by the character of the cacao and bars with additional flavour combinations.
Emulsifiers and additives	Whether ingredients such as lecithins, flavourings or other processing aids have been used	Ingredient lists vary considerably between chocolates, so this is useful if you prefer chocolate made with fewer and simpler ingredients.

Our approach to vegan chocolate

We don’t make vegan chocolate by replacing dairy with substitutes. We start with cacao and build from there, using only the natural plant-based ingredients a particular chocolate needs. Some of our darkest bars are naturally vegan simply because milk was never part of the recipe.

The same principles apply as they do throughout our Chocolate Studio: ethically sourced single-origin cacao, careful roasting, stone-grinding and conching, with no emulsifiers, lecithins, palm oil or artificial additives. The result is chocolate designed around the flavour and character of its ingredients, rather than around what has been removed from it.

What actually makes a chocolate vegan? Read our complete guide: What is Vegan Chocolate?

What is vegan chocolate made from?

Vegan chocolate is made without animal-derived ingredients, including dairy, eggs, honey, gelatine or other animal by-products. At MayHawk, our vegan chocolate bars are made from ethically sourced single-origin cacao beans, cocoa butter, unrefined cane sugar and natural plant-based ingredients, and are entirely dairy-free. Plain vegan dark chocolate needs no dairy substitute, since cacao and cocoa butter are naturally plant-derived, while other types of vegan chocolate may use plant-based alternatives to replace dairy ingredients. For a complete explanation of vegan and naturally plant-derived chocolate ingredients, chocolate types and vegan labelling, read: What Is Vegan Chocolate?

Is all dark chocolate vegan?

No. Dark chocolate can be made entirely from plant-derived ingredients, but some recipes contain milk fat, milk powder or other dairy ingredients. Every dark chocolate bar in MayHawk’s vegan chocolate collection is made without animal-derived ingredients and is suitable for a vegan diet. A “may contain milk” statement refers to possible accidental allergen cross-contact rather than milk deliberately included in the recipe. Read more: What Is Vegan Chocolate?

Is MayHawk vegan chocolate dairy-free?

Yes. Every chocolate in this collection is made without milk, milk powder, milk fat or other dairy ingredients. At MayHawk, no dairy is deliberately included in any recipe in our vegan range. For anyone with a milk allergy rather than following a vegan diet, always check the individual product’s ingredients and allergen information before purchasing.

What’s in MayHawk’s vegan chocolate?

MayHawk’s vegan chocolate is made from ethically sourced, single-origin cacao beans, cocoa butter, unrefined cane sugar and natural plant-based ingredients. Depending on the chocolate, we may also use natural ingredients such as fruit, nuts, spices or vanilla to create different flavour profiles developed in our Chocolate Studio. What you won’t find in our vegan chocolate bars are animal-derived ingredients, emulsifiers or lecithins, palm oil, artificial bulking agents, cocoa powder or substitute vegetable fats.

Is MayHawk chocolate ethically made?

Yes. MayHawk makes chocolate from ethically sourced, single-origin cacao beans rather than buying cocoa through anonymous commodity markets. We choose to work with cacao that can be traced to its origin through our supply chain and make our chocolate from the cacao bean onwards in our own Chocolate Studio. This gives us greater visibility over the ingredients, sourcing and chocolate-making process behind each bar. You can read more about our standards and commitments in: Ethical Compliance.

Is MayHawk’s chocolate Environmentally Friendly?

We work to reduce the environmental impact of our chocolate through the choices we make in sourcing, production and packaging. MayHawk chocolate uses recyclable packaging throughout, with packaging and design decisions made in-house by our Design Studio. Our approach is to consider environmental impact throughout the chocolate-making process rather than simply describe the finished product as sustainable or environmentally friendly. You can read more about our environmental commitments and packaging in: MayHawk and the Environment.