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Ruby Chocolate From Barry Callebaut Wins U.S. Marketing Permit

Ruby Chocolate From Barry Callebaut Wins U.S. Marketing Permit

(Bloomberg) -- Barry Callebaut AG plans to starting marketing its Ruby chocolate products, a pink, berry-flavored variety, in the U.S. after winning regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

The product, first announced by the Zurich-based company in September 2017, had been introduced as Ruby cacao in North America at companies including Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Trader Joe’s and Harry & David.

The FDA granted a so-called temporary marketing permit. The world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate took the next step to toward establishing the Ruby product as the fourth main standard alongside dark, milk and white varieties. and the company will move ahead with sales in the U.S. market, Americas Chief Executive Officer Peter Boone said in a statement.

The Ruby was the first new chocolate variety since the debut of white bars in the 1930s. The company started offering the product in the U.S. and Canada after making a splash in Asia with KitKat bars starting in Japan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Patrick McKiernan

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