New Chocolate Academy Center in Banbury – a hub for innovating on the latest chocolate trends

 

 

Today’s chocolate consumer is on a constant hunt for new and innovative tastes and recipes. Barry Callebaut inaugurates its brand Chocolate Academy Center in Banbury, UK.

 

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, inaugurates the new Chocolate Academy in Banbury, UK, part of the company’s ambitious growth strategy in one of Europe’s biggest chocolate confectionery markets in volume terms. Barry Callebaut has established itself as a pioneer and innovator in chocolate and cocoa, globally.

The new Chocolate Academy will help to meet the growing demand for innovative and high-quality chocolate products in the UK. The Center in Banbury is part of a global network of 23 Chocolate Academy Centers where artisans and professionals who want to improve their skills in chocolate and learn about new trends, techniques, and recipes are trained. In fiscal year 2018/19, over 60,000 chocolate aficionados participated in these training sessions.

The revamped Chocolate Academy Center in Banbury will provide customers, global and local food manufacturers, as well as artisans and professional chocolatiers, with improved facilities and support for training. In addition, the Chocolate Academy is a hub for exploring and innovating on the latest trends, techniques and recipes in chocolate.

 

“With the brand new Chocolate Academy Center Banbury and a fantastic team, we renew our promise to our customers to share our expertise and work even closely together to bring these premium and exciting innovations to the market,” shared Vincenzo Mangano, Sales Director Barry Callebaut Gourmet UK & Ireland.

” The UK is a huge growth market, bursting with opportunity. The inauguration of this new Chocolate Academy Center in Banbury marks yet another milestone in our successful growth story in the UK and over the next years, we will continue to invest in our business and strengthen our collaboration with food manufacturing and artisanal customers in the UK,” said Richard Terme, Barry Callebaut General Manager UK.

Ruby chocolate was discovered and created by Barry Callebaut.

The new variety of chocolate was revealed to the world on September 5, 2017 in Shanghai, China. Ruby took more than 10 years to develop and is made from the Ruby cocoa bean. The unique processing unlocks the naturally present flavor and color tone from the bean. The taste experience of ruby can be described as an intense sensorial delight: it’s a sensual tango of berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness. No berries, berry flavor nor color have been added.

Consumer research agencies Haystack and Ipsos ran extensive studies through which Barry Callebaut found out that Ruby chocolate is truly unique. Studies show that Ruby chocolate satisfies a need no other chocolate can. It stands to become the biggest innovation in the chocolate industry in 80 years, since the launch of White chocolate.

The fourth type of chocolate became available for the first time in 2018 when Nestle KitKat Japan introduced its KITKAT Sublime Ruby in the KITKAT Chocolatory in Tokyo, Ginza. To date ruby has been introduced in Asia-Pacific, EMEA and South Africa. Ruby chocolate is now available in over 40 markets and has been introduced by more than 20 brands.

Barry Callebaut has been granted a Temporary Marketing Permit (TMP) by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) in the United States, clearing the way to market Ruby as chocolate in the United States. Ruby’s unique taste, color and composition, made from the Ruby cocoa bean, required a TMP from the FDA for it to be marketed as the fourth type of chocolate.

The TMP is an important step towards establishing Ruby chocolate as the fourth type standard of identity for chocolate after Dark, Milk and White chocolate.