NESTLE & UNILEVER are both bringing RUBY CHOCOLATE to ice cream consumers! Who will make a success out of it?
Milk, Dark, White and now Ruby!
Introduced by BARRY CALLEBAUT in 2017 after more than 10 years of development, the naturally pink Ruby Chocolate is considered as the 4th chocolate variety after milk, dark and white. It is said to have its own unique flavour profile that mixes fruity berry notes with a hit of tanginess.
Unilever with Magnum
Unilever are leveraging their Magnum flagship brand for the Ruby launch. Their line up is made of 2 products:
a 3 x 90ml pack, with white chocolate ice cream and swirls of raspberry
a 6 x 55ml pack, with white chocolate / sweet cream ice cream (no swirls)
While the 3 x 90ml pack will be available in most European retailers, its distribution will be limited mostly to Impulse channels in other geographies. On the other hand, the 6 x 55ml will be launched globally with a similar recipe, even though Europe will show white chocolate ice cream on the pack while US will claim sweet cream ice cream (probably due to the FDA rules limiting chocolate labelling).
Nestlé with Haagen Dazs (in Canada / US)
Nestlé, who owns the Haagen Dazs license in North America, are also launching 2 products in the US, as limited editions:
a 3 x 90ml pack, with sweet cream ice cream (very similar to Magnum's, in a bigger size!)
a 414ml pint, complementing their indulging TRIO range and featuring 3 vertical layers of pistaccio ice cream, sweet cream ice cream and crackles of ruby chocolate. The visual is astonishing!
Last (but not least!) Canada will have their own ruby chocolate line up, proudly made with Canadian milk, thanks to a 3 x 72ml pack with strawberry ice cream. Customizing products to adapt to the local taste seems to remain relevant in Nestlé !
Enjoy!