Swiss B2B chocolate and cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut has launched a ruby-coloured chocolate, which it claims is the first new natural chocolate colour since the white variety was introduced 80 years ago.
At an exclusive event in Shanghai earlier this week, the company said the ‘fourth’ chocolate – after milk, dark and white – is made from the ruby cocoa bean which gives it a natural pink colour and a “fresh berry fruitiness”.
The cocoa beans are sourced from different regions of the world. The company said it intends to introduce ruby chocolate in various product categories.
Barry Callebaut Chief Innovation & Quality Officer Peter Boone 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.”
Geneva Blue: Looking to change the image of wine
The new chocolate joins a growing global trend for unusually coloured foods and drinks.
A recent article in La Tribune de Genève highlighted the launch of a blue wine by start-up company, Geneva Blue, in Switzerland.
Geneva Blue representative Thomas Heinimann told the newspaper: “We wanted above all to give a new image to wine, which is considered by young people as old-fashioned.”
The wine, intended to mirror the blue of Lake Geneva, is made from a blend of white grape varieties and derives its blue colour from the natural pigments present in grape skins and colour stabiliser E-133.
“The wine is naturally blue. All we do is intensify the colour,” Heinimann said.
Geneva Blue’s wine is made from grapes imported from Spain, the base of fledgling company Gik, which introduced its blue wine to the local market last year.
Gik blue wine: Starting a revolution in Spain
Gik’s young entrepreneurial founders aim to “revolutionise” the Spanish wine industry. The wine is produced from different varieties of red and white grapes from wine regions, including Castilla la Mancha and Rioja.
According to the company, anthocyanin, a pigment from the red grapes’ skin, and indigotine, which is derived from plants, give the wine its bluish colouring. Non-caloric sweeteners are used to modify the flavour and create a sweet drink with 11.5%abv.
The entrepreneurs claim to have sold around 70,000 bottles in Spain within a year. Its clients, according to research, are men and women aged between 25 and 34.
Italian winemaker Saraceni is also following the blue wine trend with its blue wine-based bubbly cocktail Blumond.
