Is Vita Coco non-dairy coconut beverage ultra-processed?

1L Coconut-based drinks Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

coconut water, water, coconut cream, gellan gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E418 Gellan gum

As written on the pack

ORGANIC COCONUT WATER FROM CONCENTRATE, WATER, ORGANIC COCONUT CREAM, GELLAN GUM*.

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E418 Gellan gum Stabilisers are substances which make it possible to maintain the physico-chemical state of a foodstuff; stabilisers include substances which enable the maintenance of a homogenous dispersion of two or more immiscible substances in a foodstuff, substances which stabilise, retain or intensify an existing colour of a foodstuff and substances which increase the binding capacity of the food, including the formation of cross-links between proteins enabling the binding of food pieces into re-constituted food.

From least to most processed, this one ranks 9th. 74% of the coconut-based drinks here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0898999011813, last edited 22 September 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.