Purple (ube) racing matcha
Ube — the vibrant purple yam — is being flagged as the next big café trend and is starting to rival matcha’s counter presence on menus and social feeds. Expect more purple lattes and desserts to pop up alongside green matcha staples this spring. (thestar.com.my)
Starbucks this spring rolled out an “Ube Vanilla” platform — first trialled in US Reserve locations last year and launched across European stores in early March 2026 as part of its seasonal menu. (stories.starbucks.com)) Trader Joe’s lists a seasonal Ube Ice Cream pint on its product pages and has brought back other ube items (Joe-Joe’s, mochi) in recent seasons, signalling mainstream retail adoption outside specialty shops. (traderjoes.com)) Market-size reports show matcha remains far larger: matcha was valued at about USD 4.28 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach roughly USD 9.03 billion by 2034. (polarismarketresearch.com)) By contrast, specialist market research pegs the global ube market at about USD 455.3 million in 2024 with projections to near USD 943.6 million by 2035, implying rapid but still early-stage growth. (transparencymarketresearch.com)) Social‑listening analysis from Meltwater found matcha conversation is “saturated” while ube shows higher growth-rate signals across Instagram, TikTok and news sources during Dec 16, 2025–Jan 16, 2026, consistent with an adoption‑stage shift. (meltwater.com)) Regional press reporting highlights cafe-level uptake — photographers and writers noted ube lattes on menus in Seoul’s Mapo‑gu and other Asian urban centres as the visual, purple aesthetic spreads. (koreaherald.com)) Industry voices advise caution: trade outlets say cafes should source authentic ube and acknowledge Filipino culinary roots, while analysts warn scaling supply will require more processing and cold‑chain investment from the Philippines, the dominant supplier. (perfectdailygrind.com))
