The Vegan Trademark

1. Review the Vegan Trademark Standards: Visit the Vegan Society's Trademark Standards page to confirm your product(s) meet the core criteria — no animal ingredients or derivatives, no animal testing at any stage of production, and no animal-derived GMOs.

1. Audit your ingredients and supply chain: Compile a full ingredient list for each product and contact your suppliers to obtain declarations confirming no animal-derived substances are used. Identify any potential cross-contamination risks in manufacturing.

1. Create an account and submit your application: Register on the Vegan Society's online Trademark portal and complete the application form for each product you wish to certify. Applications are submitted per product, not per company.

1. Pay the application fee: Fees are scaled by company annual turnover and the number of products being registered, starting around £300 + VAT for small businesses. Payment is made at the time of application.

1. Respond to any queries from the Vegan Society team: The in-house team of vegan experts will review your submitted documentation and may request additional supplier declarations, clarification on manufacturing processes, or evidence of cross-contamination controls.

1. Receive your certification decision: The review process typically takes 30–60 working days. Upon approval, you will receive a licence to use the Vegan Trademark logo on your registered product(s).

1. Apply the trademark to your packaging and marketing: Display the Vegan Trademark logo on product packaging, your website, and marketing materials in accordance with the Vegan Society's brand guidelines.

1. Renew annually: Licences are valid for 12 months. Renew each year by resubmitting updated ingredient and process documentation and paying the renewal fee to maintain certification.

The Vegan Trademark evaluates products against three core criteria, all of which must be satisfied for certification to be granted.

Ingredient and Formulation Review: Every ingredient and sub-ingredient in the product is assessed to confirm it contains no animal-derived substances or by-products. This includes obvious animal ingredients (meat, dairy, eggs, honey, beeswax, lanolin, carmine, etc.) as well as less obvious derivatives such as certain E-numbers, processing aids, and carrier substances. Supplier declarations are required for each ingredient to substantiate vegan status.

Animal Testing: The product and all of its ingredients must not have been tested on animals at any stage of development or production. This applies to the finished product, individual ingredients, and any sub-components. The Vegan Society requires documentation or supplier confirmation that no animal testing has been commissioned or conducted.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): The product must not contain or use any animal-derived genetic material. Ingredients produced using animal-derived GMO technology are not permitted, even if no animal material is present in the final product.

Manufacturing Process and Cross-Contamination Controls: The Vegan Society also reviews manufacturing processes to assess the risk of cross-contamination with animal-derived materials. Applicants must demonstrate that adequate controls are in place to prevent unintended animal material from entering the product during production.

All assessments are conducted as a document-based review by the Vegan Society's in-house team of vegan experts. There are no on-site audits as standard, though the team may request additional evidence or clarification during the review process.

The Vegan Trademark is widely regarded as the gold standard in vegan product certification globally. As the world's oldest vegan labelling scheme — established in 1990, three decades before most competitors — it carries significant brand equity and consumer recognition, particularly in the UK and Europe. With over 70,000 certified products across 65+ countries, it dwarfs most competing schemes in scale. Its closest international rival, V-Label (operated by the European Vegetarian Union), has a strong presence in continental Europe, while Certified Vegan (Vegan Action) and BeVeg are more prominent in North America. The Vegan Trademark's association with The Vegan Society — a respected UK charity and the organisation that coined the word "vegan" in 1944 — lends it a level of institutional credibility that newer commercial certification bodies cannot easily replicate.

Demand for vegan certification has grown substantially over the past decade, driven by rising consumer interest in plant-based diets, ethical consumption, and sustainability. The global vegan food market was valued at over USD 26 billion in 2023 and is projected to continue growing at a compound annual rate of around 10%. Retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Holland & Barrett actively promote Vegan Trademark-certified products, and many brands cite the trademark as a key driver of consumer trust and shelf placement. The Vegan Society's own research indicates that a significant majority of vegan and plant-based consumers in the US and UK are willing to pay a premium for products carrying a recognised vegan certification.

One area of ongoing debate is the lack of third-party accreditation (e.g., ISO 17065) for the Vegan Trademark's certification process — the scheme is self-governed by The Vegan Society rather than independently accredited by a national accreditation body. Some procurement teams and larger retailers prefer certifications backed by formal accreditation frameworks. However, for the vast majority of consumer-facing applications, the Vegan Trademark's market recognition and rigorous in-house standards more than compensate for this. The scheme continues to expand internationally, with growing uptake in Asia-Pacific and Latin America, and remains the default choice for brands seeking a globally recognised vegan label.

The Vegan Trademark was created in 1990 by The Vegan Society, a UK-registered charity founded in 1944 — the organisation that first coined the term "vegan" and defined veganism as a philosophy and way of living. The trademark was established to address a growing need for a reliable, third-party verified label that consumers could trust when identifying products free from animal ingredients and testing. At the time, vegan labelling was inconsistent and largely self-declared, making it difficult for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. The Vegan Society's trademark provided the first standardised, independently reviewed vegan certification in the world.

Over the following decades, the scheme expanded steadily from its initial focus on food and drink to encompass cosmetics, personal care products, clothing, textiles, and household goods. By the 2010s, the rapid growth of the plant-based food market and increased mainstream interest in veganism accelerated uptake significantly. The trademark crossed the milestone of 10,000 registered products, then 30,000, and by the early 2020s surpassed 70,000 products across more than 65 countries. The scheme has also evolved its standards over time — notably tightening criteria around animal-derived GMOs and cross-contamination controls — to keep pace with advances in food technology and manufacturing. Today, the Vegan Trademark is recognised as the leading vegan product certification scheme in the world, and The Vegan Society continues to operate it as a self-governed, charity-run programme with an in-house team of vegan experts.