Barry Callebaut, the world's largest cocoa processor, has developed a new pink chocolate, named 'ruby', which is claimed to be the first new natural colour for chocolate since white chocolate was introduced over 80 years ago. The product could be available in UK supermarkets within six months.
The rose-hued chocolate has been in development for 13 years, with the company discovering a new type of cocoa bean during experiments. No extra colours or flavours are added; the pink hue comes from a powder extracted during processing. The flavour is described as 'a tension between berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness', and it is less sweet than milk chocolate.
The ruby beans are grown in the Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Brazil, and are entirely natural and non-genetically modified, according to Peter Boone, chief innovation and quality officer for Barry Callebaut. He said the company had to understand how to process the chocolate and scale up the operation over more than a decade.
The arrival of pink chocolate coincides with a global trend of brightly coloured foods that perform well on social media. Boone said the chocolate satisfies the 'hedonistic indulgence' of millennials, and early market research showed high interest, particularly in China. The company hopes it will become as popular as dark, milk, and white chocolate in the future.
Food Instagrammer Sarah Phillips predicted the chocolate would become an instant craze, but noted its success depends on how it performs technically for melting, tempering, and moulding. She said, 'If they can definitely prove this is all-natural colouring – and if it definitely tastes nice – then I think it will be really popular.'
