Japanese adore KitKat (there’re over 350 KitKat ‘Made in Japan’ products in a large variety of flavours), so it is not surprising that Nestlé Japan Ltd has become the first company in the world to commercialise naturally pink chocolate by launching a new ruby KitKat.
Ruby chocolate was unveiled in September by Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut and offers a new taste experience, a kind of berry flavour made from the all-natural Ruby cocoa bean with a characteristic pink hue.
What makes the Ruby chocolate special is the intense taste and colour it achieves without the addition of any flavour or colour.
Nestlé’s “Sublime Ruby” KitKat is created in partnership with Barry Callebaut with the help of chef and patissier Yasumasa Takagi. This flavour is on sale as a limited edition online and at Japan’s Kit Kat Chocolatory boutique stores for 400 yen (US$3.60) per bar.
KitKat is Japan’s top chocolate brand, and its sales have grown by 50% since 2010. Nestlé opened a new factory in the country in July dedicated to flavored KitKats. The company is also planning to sell them at around 80 pop-up stores across Japan as Valentine’s Day approaches.