At ISM 2019, FoodBev Media spoke with Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut’s marketing director EMEA Sofia Popova about the company’s ruby chocolate, predicted to be one of the biggest food trends of 2019.
Ruby chocolate was created by Barry Callebaut after more than a decade of research and development, and the chocolate is said to be unique because its fresh berry fruitiness and reddish colour are naturally occurring.
Barry Callebaut’s stand was devoted to the ‘fourth chocolate’ and received a great deal of interest from visitors, while chocolate brands including Libeert, Heilemann and Witor’s showcased ruby chocolate products at the show.
Popova discussed the various applications that ruby chocolate can be used for, including pralines, tablets, biscuits, bakery and ice cream, with the chocolate pairing particularly well with fruit flavours such as raspberry and citrus flavours.
“Ruby chocolate is the biggest innovation in the chocolate industry in the past 80 years. It’s the kind of chocolate that unlocks new doors and opportunities in confectionery.
“It’s unique in taste and colour, and what’s particularly interesting is that the taste and the colour of the chocolate comes from the ruby bean and the unique processing method that Barry Callebaut applies to get it from bean to bar.”
“The most exciting combinations I’ve seen so far have in confectionery applications such as pralines and tablets. With pralines you can really create a very nice flavour pairing with citrus, raspberry, coconut etc … and if you layer it a bit it works really well. With the pralines for the future you can count on ruby chocolate.”
When asked whether Ruby chocolate can help cater to the growing demand for indulgent foods, Popova said: “Definitely there is a trend for more indulgent snacks, but more importantly consumers are looking for something that teases their curiosity, providing something that they don’t expect, something they are looking forward to discovering.”
“I would like to see ruby chocolate grow into the recognised fourth type of chocolate, available across a wide variety of applications and consumers know that there is dark, milk, white and there is ruby.”
Presented and edited by: Martin White
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