Ruby chocolate is a style or distinct variety of chocolate that is pinkish or purple in colour. Barry Callebaut, a Belgian–Swiss cocoa company, introduced it as a distinct product on 5 September 2017 after beginning development of their product in 2004.[2][3][4] It has a pink color, and Barry Callebaut says it is a fourth natural type of chocolate (in addition to dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties).[5][6] Some other industry experts have said that some cacao pods are naturally pink or purple in colour, and thus pink chocolate has been available before.
The Barry Callebaut ruby 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.[11][10] In a comparison of the phenolic content between varieties of chocolate, ruby chocolate was rated between milk and white chocolate.[10] According to a 15-month temporary marketing permit granted by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States in 2019, ruby chocolate is defined as "the solid or semiplastic food prepared by mixing and grinding cacao fat with one or more of the cacao ingredients (namely, chocolate liquor, breakfast cocoa, cocoa and lowfat cocoa), citric acid, one or more of optional dairy ingredients, and one or more optional nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners", and it must contain a minimum of 1.5% nonfat cacao solids and a minimum of 20% by weight of cacao fat.[12][13] Under the temporary marketing permit, the product does not contain added colouring and although it may contain antioxidants, spices, and other natural and artificial flavorings, these ingredients cannot mimic the flavors of chocolate, milk, butter, berries, or other fruit.[13] The FDA said the product meets "most of the current standards for cacao products", but "deviates from the current standards of identity for chocolate products in terms of its final composition, taste, and color".[13]
A broken ruby bar with caramelised almonds and pistachios
The chocolate is made from "ruby cocoa beans".[4][14] These are existing botanical cocoa bean varieties that have been identified as having the right attributes to be processed into ruby chocolate.[15] 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.[16][15][17] Barry Callebaut filed a European patent application in 2010 for "cocoa-derived material" from unfermented cocoa beans (or beans fermented for no more than three days) that become red or purple after treating them with an acid, such as citric acid, and then defatting with petroleum ether or probably with CO2.[7][15]
It has been debated by chocolate experts whether ruby chocolate constitutes a new variety of chocolate or if it is a marketing strategy.[18] Chocolate expert Clay Gordon stated that ruby chocolate could become as diverse as white chocolate.[19] Angus Kennedy, the editor of Kennedy's Confection magazine, disputes that ruby chocolate is a new fourth variety, saying "Yes, it's a different colour but having said that I know chocolate producers in Peru that have been producing this type of pink chocolate for years."[20] He compared the taste to a combination of white chocolate and raspberries.[20] "Now if you look at a cocoa bean casing, they're actually sort of pink and purple when you see photographs of them. So actually the natural colour for a cocoa bean can be purple so it's not unusual," he said.[20]
The public interest of the pink chocolate variety has been linked to the popularity of the color pink in marketing and on social media in the 2010s, a phenomenon that is referred to as "millennial pink".[21]
Commercial availability
KitKat's Japanese Ruby Chocolate, introduced in 2018
The first mass market release of a ruby chocolate product was on 19 January 2018, when it was introduced as a coating for a new Kit Kat wafer bar in Japan and South Korea.[22][23]Nestlé, the manufacturers of Kit Kat, entered into an agreement with Barry Callebaut for exclusive use of the product for six months.[18] Upon release in Japan, one bar cost 400 yen (USD$3.60).[24] In April 2018, Fortnum & Mason launched a pure ruby chocolate bar in the United Kingdom followed by Nestlé who announced the release of the ruby chocolate Kit Kat in the United Kingdom and Germany.[25][26] In anticipation for Mother's Day in 2019, Kit Kat Canada announced the release of the ruby chocolate in Canada in a tweet.[27]
Various other confectionery companies have released ruby chocolate-based products including:
Bachmann, a confectionery based in Lucerne, released several ruby chocolate products in May 2018, including pure bars.[28]
Chocolove released a "Ruby Chocolate" bar which has been available since 2019 or late 2018.[29]
^ abEP patent 2237677, Dumarche Arnaud; Troplin Philippe & Bernaert Herwig et al., "Process for producing cocoa-derived material", issued 2012-06-13, assigned to Barry Callebaut AG
^US patent 9107430B2, Dumarche, Arnaud; Troplin, Philippe & Bernaert, Herwig et al., "Process for producing red or purple cocoa-derived material", published 2015-08-18, issued 2015-08-18, assigned to Barry Callebaut AG
^ abcŠeremet, D., Mandura, A., Vojvodić Cebin, A., Oskomić, M., Champion, E., Martinić, A., & Komes, D. (2019). Ruby chocolate–bioactive potential and sensory quality characteristics compared with dark, milk and white chocolate. Hrana u zdravlju i bolesti: znanstveno-stručni časopis za nutricionizam i dijetetiku, 8(2), 89-96.
^Kwil, I., & Podsiadły, K. (2019). Innovations in the Chocolate Manufacture as Part of Polish Confectionery Industry. Wrocław University of Economics.
