Thursday, 16 May 2019

HARIBO Vegetarian Sweets Range Review (Sent by HARIBO)

Yes it's true! One of the biggest sweet names in the UK has increased and revamped their vegetarian range just in time for National Vegetarian Week, and they've very kindly sent us a bundle to try. As the only vegetarian currently living in our house full time, I'm claiming these as mine!!

The Giant Strawbs Gone Mini are a brand new addition to the range, the flavours of the Jelly Beans have been tweaked and Funny Mix has a new recipe with real fruit juice.

It was down to me to take on the difficult job of taste testing... and I did get the view of a regular HARIBO eater as well. He's been eating HARIBO for 25 years and his informed opinion was "They taste the same as the non-vegetarian ones". So there you have it...

Funny Mix are a jelly sweet in 3 different shapes and flavours. They have a new recipe and now contain real fruit juice. You can tell, they do taste fresh and juicy.  The Ice Cream shape is a new addition and is actually flavoured with pineapple and blackcurrant. Cola Bottles now have a tangy hint of lemon which makes me think of lazy Summer afternoons sitting outside. The Strawberries are sweet and fruity and actually quite different to the Giant Strawbs.

Giant Strawbs Gone Mini are exactly what you'd expect - little Giant Strawbs! The fruity strawberry flavour and firmer chewy jelly texture are exactly the same as the bigger version. These are available in the single portion bags which are brilliant for party bags and birthdays.

Remember that if it's vegetarian, it doesn't contain animal gelatine and can be eaten by folk who avoid certain meat and meat products for religious reasons.

I love the Jelly Beans. These are my favourite of the lot, especially blackcurrant. The flavours are all good, not too sweet and not at all sour or tart. Candy floss, marshmallow and popcorn have more of a 'dessert' type taste, whereas peach & passionfruit, raspberry and blackcurrant are nicely fruity.

HARIBO also sent us a couple of other sweets from their vegetarian range. HARIBO Giant Strawbs, Spaghetti Z!NG and Rainbow Spaghetti Z!NG.

The Rainbow Spaghetti Z!NG are quite tart and I made the mistake of eating a whole bunch together. It's a challenge I relished as a child, but I didn't enjoy it quite so much today. A rainbow of fruity strips best enjoyed pulled apart and eaten individually by lowering them gently into your mouth from height.

The Spaghetti Z!NG either aren't quite as zingy or maybe it's because I ate them one at a time, but I preferred them. Safer option for me are the Giant Strawbs, big chewy sweets that really get your mouth watering.

HARIBO vegetarian sweets are available in a multitude of shops including some supermarkets. Giant Strawbs and Jelly Beans are most commonly found and can be as little as £1 for a sharing bag, but you can order any of them online, including at Amazon - I've added some affiliate links* below with the best prices I could find on Prime at the time of typing. Find out more about the entire HARIBO range of products on the HARIBO website.

We were sent our my sweets for review by HARIBO. *If you order through my affiliate link then I can earn a few pence, but you don't pay any more. It helps feed the cat - he doesn't eat HARIBO.


  1. It's never really occurred to me before about sweets not being vegetarian. It's great that there are now vegetarian options available x

    1. I spent most of my teenage and older years completely deprived of sweets, and my big veggie kids had gelatine sweets when they were young (so they didn't miss out), but stopped eating them as teenagers. My 25 year old came round at the weekend and I gave him a huge handful, he was ecstatic :D


  3. Oooh those looks so good. i do love Haribo sweets xx

    1. They're so nice! I know what I've been missing out on all these years now :D

