World premiere for Belgium:
Callebaut launches RB1
Mar 7, 2018
- Ruby is the 4th category in chocolate after dark, milk and white. Callebaut ruby RB1, is the 1st ruby chocolate dedicated to artisans.
- It delivers a sparkling ruby colour and intense fruitiness with fresh, sour notes – as a result of meticulous selection and expert crafting of ruby cocoa beans. The colour and taste are naturally present in the ruby cocoa bean – no fruit flavouring or colorants are added.
- It ignites great creativity with its broad pairing possibilities combined with a great workability for chefs.
- World premiere at Salon du Chocolat (Brussels, March 1st), where Callebaut launches its Finest Belgian ruby Chocolate RB1.
Belgium will be the first market where ruby, the fourth chocolate category, becomes available for artisan chocolatiers and chefs. Callebaut Finest Belgian Chocolate ruby ‘RB1’ – the first ruby chocolate produced in Belgium by the Callebaut chocolate makers in Wieze – goes on sale in our country in early April 2018. Later on, other countries will follow. To celebrate the imminent Belgian launch, RB1 was launched in sneak preview today at a handful of chocolatiers and immediately sold out. Consumers who want to be the first to taste Callebaut RB1 creations by Belgian chocolatiers can still visit the Salon du Chocolat (2nd-4th March 2018, Brussels).
Ruby RB1: unlearn everything you knew about chocolate
Seven months after it was first revealed in Shanghai, ruby chocolate will become available to chocolatiers and chefs in Belgium as ‘RB1’ by Callebaut. Belgium is the first market where chocolatiers and pastry chefs can start creating with ruby chocolate. RB1 offers them a new platform through which to express their artisanship and artistry. Master chocolatier and Belgian chocolate champion, Marijn Coertjens states, “Without exaggerating: ruby is the most exciting thing to happen in the chocolate industry in decades. With ruby, you need to unlearn what you would traditionally do with dark, milk or white chocolate. This chocolate opens up a host of new ideas.”
With its arresting colour and unique taste, RB1 satisfies a yet unmet desire for extreme pleasure, delighting all senses. Research shows that it resonates strongly with a new generation of consumers – mainly millennials (18–35 years old) who balance a healthy lifestyle with the quest for extreme pleasure. “With ruby chocolate you haven’t seen anything yet. Its salient colour and unique taste profile calls for new pairing options in both sweet and savoury delights”, says Mathieu Brunfaut, Global Group Brand Leader Callebaut. “Now, offering ruby chocolate to artisans and chefs will unleash a wave of creativity that will lead to exciting new products and concepts for people to enjoy. Enough reasons to pay a visit to your local chocolatier soon."
Chocolatier and recent winner of the global medal of the International Chocolate Awards, David Maenhout notes, “It’s amazing how ruby pairs with ingredients such as Rosé Champagne, beers or even savoury ingredients. Ruby offers a completely new chocolate taste and colour and sensorial experience, with an intense fruitiness and fresh, sour notes.”
Ruby chocolate, a gift from Mother Nature
Ruby chocolate was discovered more than a decade ago. The invention is the work of the global R&D centres of Barry Callebaut (based in Wieze, Belgium and France – part of a global network of 28 R&D centres), the Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany), and over 175 years of expertise in sourcing and manufacturing.
The researchers found out that ruby chocolate was linked to precursors in a specific type of bean: the “ruby” cocoa bean. Identifying the ruby cocoa beans, which hold plenty of these precursors, and finding the best way to process the beans during the chocolate-making process has taken many years of research. RB1 owes its colour and specific taste solely to the expert selection and meticulous processing of the ruby beans – no fruit flavouring or colorants are added to the chocolate.
For every bag of RB1, Callebaut sources sustainably grown beans and supports cocoa farmers in cocoa farming communities.
Recognition of Belgian artisanship
With the Callebaut Finest Belgian Chocolate RB1, Callebaut is introducing the first ever expression of ruby chocolate fully dedicated to artisans and chefs. “We are proud to offer this fourth category of chocolate under the Callebaut brand and our Finest Belgian Chocolate range”, says Frederic Janssens, Global Brand Manager Callebaut. “The RB1 recipe has been crafted by the Callebaut chocolate makers in collaboration with Belgian chocolatiers, to encourage creative freedom with its remarkable colour and taste. It is low in sweetness, maximising the fresh fruity character and sour notes.”
Making ruby available for Belgian chocolatiers and pastry chefs first is also a recognition of their world-renowned artisanship and expertise. “Ruby is coming home in more than one way”, says Pascale Meulemeester, Vice President Global Gourmet. “It is fitting that RB1 can premiere in Belgium, home of the finest chocolate in the world and the place where RB1 is made by our Callebaut master craftsmen. Launching RB1 in Belgium is a homage to the artisans and pastry chefs of Belgium who, over the last century, have created a chocolate culture that resonates around the world.”
Where to buy
To celebrate the imminent Belgian launch, chocolatiers Marijn Coertjens (Ghent) and Jérôme Grimonpon (Uccle) were the first to offer ruby creations in avant-première on March 1st.
Chocolatier Marijn Coertjens (Burgstraat 151, 9000 Ghent)
Chocolatier Jerôme Grimonpon (469, Chaussée d’Alsemberg, 1180 Uccle)
Ruby RB1 can also be discovered at Salon du Chocolat during the launch evening on March 1st and at the daily ruby demonstrations, including a tasting.
Salon du Chocolat - launch evening on March 1st, open for public: March 2nd-4th (Tour & Taxis, Sheds 3 & 4, Havenlaan 86c, 1000 Brussels)
As from March 2nd, ruby RB1 can be discovered at Callebaut Chocolate ambassadors too, in limited quantities. Ruby will become more widely available in April at Belgian artisan chocolatiers. Due to limited availability, the roll out throughout Belgium and the rest of the world will be gradual.
