In recent years, Ube, a purple yam native to Southeast Asia and widely cultivated in the Philippines, has seen rising popularity in the region and elsewhere, particularly in the premium dessert, bakery and ice cream applications.
Ube has broadened its appeal to the wider global market as consumers seek novel flavors and visually distinctive products. Ube, with its naturally vivid purple hue has also created instant shelf and menu visibility. It seems like Ube offers a winning combination to a formulator, however like any other new product or ingredient, it has its own set of hurdles or challenges to overcome.
Firstly, unlike mainstream flavors like coffee, chocolate or matcha, Ube still faces supply issue as production is mainly focused in the Philippines. Very often, demand exceeds supply and it is getting more challenging to source for credible suppliers of raw Ube, which is limited in supply, as well as those who manufacture Ube in commercial formats such as powders, purees, extracts and concentrates. Secondly, it is also important to note that Ube takes about 8 to 11 months from planting to harvest, as such farmers, mostly smallholders, cannot quickly increase supply to meet rising demand. Finally, there is also a challenge in maintaining quality of Ube due to lack of standardization and coordination between growers and processors.
The viability of Ube in the food and beverage space obviously depends on the availability of supply to meet demand from food and beverage manufacturers. At the same time, to ensure economies-of-scale, manufacturers of Ube and Ube-related products needs to shift out from the comfortable space of focusing only on ‘indulgence’ into the ‘functional’ positioning. After all, Ube is not just about color and flavor. According to Mintel research, Ube provides low-GI starch, prebiotic fibre and antioxidant benefits that are rarely communicated and promoted to consumers. This has created a huge gap or opportunity for food and beverage manufacturers. Brands that move fast to translate these benefits into simple, credible clean-label claims will stand out beyond visual appeal.
Mintel GNPD database from March 2021 to February 2026 showed very limited new product innovations featuring Ube, with most of these concentrated in bakery, desserts and ice cream (see Chart 1.0). In addition, Mintel found that only around 10% of Ube launches carry a functional claim. Chart 2.0 showed that 31% of new product launches using Ube focuses on ‘positioning’ which leans heavily on color, social media and no additives/preservatives positioning.
Beverages and Dairy are up-and-coming categories within the Ube innovation space. For some of the latest innovations using Ube, please refer to the NEW PRODUCTS section.
