Ruby chocolate is a variety of chocolate introduced in 2017 by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company. The variety has been in development since 2004 and in 2015, the product was patented by Dumarche et al. credited as inventors and Barry Callebaut as assignee under patent number . It was unveiled at a private event in Shanghai on 5 September, 2017. It is marketed as the "fourth" type of chocolate alongside dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties and is notable for its natural pink colour. The chocolate is characterized by a taste that has been described as slightly sweet and sour, which is comparable to that of berries, as the chocolate's main characteristic is its acidity. In a comparison of the phenolic content between varieties of chocolate, ruby chocolate was rated between milk and white chocolate. According to standards set by the Food and Drug Administration, ruby chocolate must contain a minimum of 1.5% nonfat cacao solids and a minimum of 20% by weight of cacao fat. It may contain antioxidants, spices, and other natural and artificial flavorings, however, these ingredients cannot mimic the flavours of chocolate, milk, butter, or a fruit, and it cannot contain additional colouring. The chocolate is made from "ruby cocoa beans". These are existing botanical cocoa bean varieties that have been identified as having the right attributes to be processed into ruby chocolate. While the exact production method is a trade secret, publications note industry speculation is that ruby chocolate is made with unfermented cocoa beans of Brazil Lavados, which can have a natural red-pink colour. Barry Callebaut registered a patent in 2009 for "cocoa-derived material" from unfermented cocoa beans that become red or purple after treating them with an acid, such as citric acid, and then defatting with petroleum ether. It has been debated by chocolate experts whether ruby chocolate constitutes a new variety of chocolate or if it is a marketing strategy. Kennedy's Confection magazine editor Angus Kennedy disputes that ruby chocolate is a new fourth variety and compared the taste to a combination of white chocolate and raspberries. The public interest of the chocolate variety has been linked to the popularity of the colour pink in marketing and on social media in the 2010s, a phenomenon that is referred to as "millennial pink".
Commercial availability
The first mass market release of a ruby chocolate product was on 19 January, 2018, when it was introduced in a new flavour of Kit Kat bar in Japan and South Korea. Nestlé, the manufacturers of Kit Kat, entered into an agreement with Barry Callebaut for exclusive use of the product for six months. Upon release in Japan, one bar cost 400 yen. In April 2018, Kit Kat announced the release of the ruby chocolate in the United Kingdom and Germany. In anticipation for Mother's Day in 2019, Kit Kat Canada announced the release of the ruby chocolate in Canada in a tweet. Various other confectionery companies have released ruby chocolate-based products including:
Costa Coffee released "Ruby Hot Chocolate" made from ruby cocoa in January, 2020
