KitKat to sell first ever chocolate bar made using ruby cocoa beans

KitKat has revealed plans to sell a naturally pink, berry flavoured chocolate bar from next week.

UK consumers will be the first in Europe to try the KitKat Ruby, after it proved a success in Japan and Korea last year.

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The chocolate bar will be available from Tesco as of 16 April at a retail price of 85p, 25p more than its milk chocolate sibling.

Naturally pink chocolate

We've long indulged in milk, dark and white chocolate, but now there's an entirely new type of cocoa on the market: ruby. Zurich based chocolate manufacturers Barry Callebaut unveiled the new variety in a launch event in Shanghai last September.

The first chocolate variety for eight decades has been released. (Barry Callebaut)

The group described the chocolate, which took 13 years to develop, as offering a totally new taste experience that is neither bitter, milky nor sweet.

The cocoa bean has a characteristic reddish colour and an intense flavour due to natural fruitiness.

The Ivory Coast, which produces 1.8 million tonnes of the global cocoa crop, is the main exporter of the ruby variety, with Ecuador and Brazil also contributing.

Nestle is promising "an intense berry-fruitiness taste without the addition of any flavour or colour" from the new bar.

Crispy delight

KitKat Ruby (Nestle)

Pablo Perversi, chief innovation, quality and sustainability officer at Barry Callebaut, said: "I am very pleased to see the result of our partnership with Nestle, the iconic four-finger KitKat made with our Ruby chocolate.

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"Consumers across the world will be intrigued by the unique taste of this crispy delight."

The new KitKat was first introduced earlier this year in Japan and Korea.

Alex Gonnella, marketing director for Nestle's UK confectionery business, said: "Ruby chocolate is a big innovation in confectionery and we are very proud that KitKat is the first major brand in the UK to feature this exciting new chocolate."

This article originally appeared at our sister site, iNews