YORK confectioner Nestlé is launching a new version of KitKat - made with 'Ruby chocolate.'

The company says the chocolate is derived from Ruby cocoa beans, which have 'an intense berry-fruitiness taste without the addition of any flavour or colour.'

A spokeswoman said the 4 finger KitKat Ruby was developed by scientists at its Global Product Technology Centre for Confectionery in York but was currently being made at its factory in Hamburg.

She said the new version of the top choc bar was launched earlier this year in Japan and Korea as Kit Kat Chocolatory Sublime Ruby and will be available exclusively in Tesco from next Monday and will be introduced to consumers across Europe and the Americas later.

"Ruby chocolate was created by Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut which spent over a decade developing this innovative flavour, creating a fourth kind of chocolate to add to the traditional varieties of dark, milk and white," she said.

Meanwhile, Nestlé has also announced that it has an ambition to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

The spokeswoman said its vision was for none of its packaging, including plastics, to end up in landfill or as litter.

"Nestlé believes that there is an urgent need to minimize the impact of packaging on the environment," she said.

Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said: “Plastic waste is one of the biggest sustainability issues the world is facing today. Tackling it requires a collective approach. We are committed to finding improved solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle."