Magnum Becomes First Brand to Release Ruby Chocolate Ice Cream in US

British/Dutch owned ice cream brand Magnum is debuting the first-ever ice cream made from ruby chocolate in the US.

The new Ruby Magnum Minis are ice cream bars coated with chocolate that has been fermented from Ruby colored cocoa beans. The red pigmentation on the beans is what gives the chocolate a unique rose-colored hue followed by a fruity berry flavor that is different from conventional cocoa beans.

Ruby chocolate was first manufactured in 2017 by coco brand Barry Callebaut, a supplier of chocolate for Magnum. This pioneered the fourth variant of chocolate in 80 years in the confectionary business, following white, dark and milk.

“As the chocolatiers of ice cream, we’re uniquely positioned to launch the first ice cream featuring this new chocolate variant, ruby,” says Leslie Miller, director of marketing, Ice Cream North America. “We’re excited to give Magnum ice cream fans another decadent ice cream and cacao pairing, creating the ultimate indulgence moment.”

Other big-name confectionery brands that have also debuted ruby chocolate in their popular brands is Nestlé. The company first released pink KitKat bars in Japan and Korea in 2018 made from the ruby chocolate and later expanded to European and American markets last year.

Furthermore, Italian chocolate line Baci Perugina also debuted a limited edition line of ruby-colored chocolates back in 2018.

The ruby-colored cocoa beans can be found in parts of the world like Ecuador, Brazil and the Ivory Coast, which are all known to supply the bulk of the world’s cocoa bean production.

The mini ice cream bars will be paired with a custom made ‘sweet cream’ ice cream flavor to compliment the ruby chocolate coating and contains 130 calories. Each package contains six bars retailing at $4.99 and will be available at grocery stores nationwide this February.