Hello Ruby! Meet the new flavour of chocolate
The chocolate was named after its characteristic red hue Ruby. Photo: Barry Callebaut
(Web Desk) – A fourth type of chocolate has been unveiled by a Swedish chocolate firm. This new type will be the first in 80 years and has an all-natural pinkish color.
The three other types of chocolate loved by chocoholics all over the world are milk, dark and white.
Ruby Chocolate displayed during the launch in China. Photo: Reuters
According to the Independent, Barry Callebaut - a Swiss chocolate company, stated that they used the ruby cocoa bean for “berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness” while creating the new flavour.
The chocolate was named after its characteristic red hue ‘Ruby’. This will be the fourth ever type that has been created since the white chocolate version in 1930s – according to the firm – hoping the new type will be loved by the chocoholics.
The chocolate ruby is said to have an “intense sensorial delight”. The sweet treat offers a “totally new taste experience, which is not bitter, milky or sweet”. By unlocking the characteristic natural flavors of the ruby cocoa bean after many years of research, the chocolate is said to have entirely all natural berry flavors.
The characteristics of the chocolate has natural berry-like flavor. Photo: Barry Callebaut
“Ruby chocolate is very different and clever stuff. It’s refreshing and has a light, creamy texture,” chocolate expert and editor of industry bible Kennedy’s Confection Angus Kennedy stated. “It tastes so light and fruity you don t really realise you re gobbling up one chocolate the other, so it means consumers will be able to eat more of it than other types of conventional chocolate.
“Whether this is good or bad thing depends on your point of view.”
Swiss manufacturer, Barry Callebaut has created a new chocolate from "Ruby", a cocoa bean that combines "berry fruitiness with delicious gentleness". Photo:Barry Callebaut
Peter Boone, Barry Callebaut’s Chief Innovation and Quality Officer, said: “Consumer research in very different markets confirms that Ruby chocolate not only satisfies a new consumer need found among Millennials - Hedonistic Indulgence - but also high purchase intent at different price points. We’re looking forward to working with our partners on introducing this innovative breakthrough to the market and making the new Ruby chocolate category available to chocolate manufacturers and consumers around the world as the fourth reference next to Dark, Milk and White chocolate.”
Ruby chocolate was revealed at an exclusive launch event in Shanghai on September 5.
“It s natural chocolate. It comes with a ruby colour and a taste which is absolutely unique, which is the taste of chocolate, there is freshness and fruitiness to it," the company’s CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said, quoted by Reuters.
“This is really a mix between the fruitiness, sourness and berry taste," the company’s dessert chef Martin Diez added.
The company hopes the unusual color will be popular among both Chinese consumers. Chocolate brands have been attracted to the large and relatively untapped Chinese market for decades.
Forecasting a growth in chocolate to $4.3 billion by 2019, U.S. chocolate manufacturer Hershey’s dived head-first into the Chinese market, only to post disappointing sales figures, Reuters reported.
Barry Callebaut is adamant their product will succeed where others have failed. "We ve done specific research in China, because [it] is a very important market to us and to our customers. [...] Ruby chocolate tested incredibly well in China," de Saint-Affrique explained.
China isn’t the only market the company wants to attract. Barry Callebaut believes the so-called millennial generation will be drawn to the ruby chocolate, satisfying what the company’s chief innovation and quality officer, Peter Boone, called their need for “hedonistic indulgence.”
