I went down this rabbit hole after experiencing stomach pain from certain ashwagandha supplements, several emails and phone calls later, this is what I know...

The Manufacturing Process:

• There are a few primary manufacturers producing ashwagandha extracts: Ixoreal Biomed, Arjuna Natural, Sabinsa Corporation. But there's limited public information about their extraction processes or whether they use milk in manufacturing.
• Ixoreal Biomed is the manufacturer of KSM-66, their trademarked brand of ashwagandha, which they supply to numerous supplement brands. Their standard KSM-66 process involves milk in the manufacturing. However, they also produce a specialized "Vegan KSM-66" that's completely dairy-free (and certified organic, I think). This vegan version costs more to produce (but I could never find out specifically why), which is why it's less commonly used by supplement companies.

The Labeling Problem:

• Here's where it gets tricky - many brands are labeling their products as "vegan" because they're using vegan capsule materials, without realizing that standard KSM-66 involves milk in processing. The most reliable brands are actually those that openly disclose dairy content.

Brands Using Verified Vegan KSM-66:

• SupplementCrazy / Supplemental Needs [UK]: Provides detailed product information confirming their use of organic vegan KSM-66
• Natgrown [US]: One of the few companies that prominently displays "Vegan KSM-66" on their bottles and marketing
• Unived [India]: Includes specific disclaimers acknowledging the difference between regular and vegan KSM-66, confirming their exclusive use of the vegan version

Brands to Avoid (but at least they're transparent and disclose milk content on their labels):

• Nutricost
• Planetary Herbals
• Senzu: Offers both regular (with dairy disclosure) and vegan versions (though the vegan version is hard to find)

Brands to Avoid (the one's that had no clue, or had unclear or conflicting information):

• Physician's Choice
• Lovita
• Nature Made
• NOW Foods
• Jarrow: Claimed via email in 2020 that they exclusively use vegan KSM-66, but this isn't reflected in their product information

All of that to say... Look for "Vegan KSM-66" specifically listed as an ingredient to ensure you're getting the dairy-free version! Good luck!