SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Swiss food giant Nestle unveiled the world’s first product made of natural pink “Ruby” chocolate in South Korea and Japan on Thursday, amid growing popularity of uniquely flavored chocolates among local consumers.
“Ruby,” developed by Swiss chocolate producer Barry Callebaut, is the first new type of natural color for the foodstuff since Nestle unveiled white chocolate 80 years ago. Barry Callebaut said no berries, berry flavors or colors were added to make the pinkish color of the ruby chocolate.
“Today is a historic day for Nestle and all the chocolate industry,” Nestle Korea CEO Erwan Vilfeu said during a press conference in Seoul. “Given the degree of sophistication of Korean consumers, we are delighted to announce that Nestle has decided to launch, for the first time in the world, KitKat Ruby in South Korea and Japan.”
The Sublime Ruby product will be exclusively available at KitKat’s online and offline stores in South Korea and Japan from Friday.
“We decided to collaborate with Nestle to create more influence and synergy, considering Nestle was the one who developed white chocolate,” said Racheal Toh, Barry Callebaut’s head of marketing in Asia Pacific, adding raw ruby chocolates will hit the shelves sometime next year.
(Yonhap)