After Dark, Milk and White, ‘Ruby’ makes the cut for the first new type of chocolate in almost 80 years.

In a story perfect for the modern age, Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest cocoa processor has unveiled the first new natural shade for the chocolate treat since Nestlé unveiled white chocolate almost 80 years ago.

The exciting news was announced at an exclusive launch event in Shanghai, China, on September 5, 2017.

Ruby, the fourth type of chocolate is made from the Ruby cocoa bean and the finished Ruby chocolate product is described as having an intense taste and characteristic reddish color.

Offering a completely new taste experience, which is not bitter, milky or sweet, the chocolate offers a balance between berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness.

The company notes that to create the Ruby chocolate, no berries, berry flavoring, nor color, is added. This is because the fresh berry-fruitiness and color precursors are naturally present in the the Ruby bean, making it unique. The cocoa beans are sourced from different regions of the world.

Early market research by firms such as market and consumer agency Haystack showed that Ruby chocolate meets a consumer need no chocolate ever did before. It is believed that Ruby will also be introduced in various product categories such as Dark, Milk and White chocolates.

Prior to its official launch event, Ruby chocolate was also tested and validated through extensive consumer research run by independent global research agencies Haystack and Ipsos in the UK, US, China and Japan.

As part of these studies, Ruby’s consumer appeal and purchase intent have also been tested, indicating consumers would buy Ruby chocolate at different price points.

Peter Boone, Barry Callebaut’s Chief Innovation & Quality Officer acknowledged the arrival of the chocolate as particularly in trend with food trends of today, where brightly colored foods that look particularly attractive on social media do extremely well.

“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,” Boone added.

The company further shared that they were working with their partners on refining the distribution process 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.

It the news is anything to go by, Ruby chocolate looks set to be an intense sensory delight for chocolate aficionados indeed.