Skittles used be vegan in US but not in the UK. This was because it contained E120 cochineal but recently has been removed.

The Wrigley's Websitestill lists E120 as an ingredient[1] but it is no longer listed on a back of the packet and it says "Suitable for Vegetarians" :

Skittles is a brand of fruit-flavoured sweets, currently produced and marketed by the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a division of Mars, Inc. They have hard sugar shells which carry the letter S. The inside is mainly sugar, corn syrup, and hydrogenated palm kernel oil along with fruit juice, citric acid, and natural and artificial flavours. The confectionery has been sold in a variety of flavour collections, such as Tropical and Wild Berry.

History

Skittles were first made commercially in 1974

Skittles' "taste the rainbow" theme was created by New York ad agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles circa 1994

Vegan

Email Received the 7 May 2015:

We are constantly seeking to improve our products for our consumers. We have changed the formula for Skittles Fruits, Skittles Wildberry and Skittles Confused to make them suitable for a vegetarian diet by removing the E120. Please be aware that there might still be product in the market that is not suitable though so you should always check the ingredient line for the words ‘Suitable for vegetarians’.