Long used as a “staple” in Filipino desserts, ube is now “increasingly appearing on the menus of UK cafes”, including “big hitters” like Costa, Starbucks and Pret A Manger, said Country & Town House. Native to the Philippines, the colourful yam is similar to a sweet potato, with an “aesthetic purple hue”.
As a "key part of the country’s food culture", it is used to make halaya (a sweet jam crafted from ube with milk and sugar) as well as pandesal, which is essentially a “fluffy bread roll”. Now, it’s popping up in the UK in all kinds of lattes, cocktails, pastries and more.
A root vegetable may not sound like the most inviting ingredient. “I remember the faces people used to pull when they saw the purple ice cream,” said Filipino restaurateur Omar Shah. Many would “walk in and walk straight back out” of Mamasons, his dessert shop in London, when they realised familiar flavours like strawberry or vanilla weren’t on the menu.
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Now, the tide has turned and the “majority of our customers come specifically because we do ube”. Its natural nuttiness and vanilla notes work well in “European formats” like pastries and tiramisu, said Shah, adding to the visual appeal “without feeling gimmicky”.
Now, high street chains are investing in ube-flavoured menu items in an attempt to “replicate the viral success of matcha among younger, higher-spending customers”, said the Financial Times. As brands tap into social media trends, ube’s “unusual and vibrant colour” is appealing to big brands, said Kiti Soininen, a food and drink analyst at Mintel.
Companies are in a “flavour arms race”, actively investing time and money finding novel ingredients, said The New York Times. Most of these new flavours are offered for a “limited time” and Gen Z customers “rush to become one of the first to review the new summer drink or fall snack”. However, unlike the Dubai chocolate trend, ube is more of a “slow burn”, said industry veteran Mark Webster.
There are some “mixed feelings” about ube “going mainstream”, said Philippines-born bakery owner Maria Leyesa. She hopes the “proliferation of ube brings greater awareness to Filipino cuisine” but worries most people engaging in the trend won’t understand its origins.
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If you do want to try it for yourself at home, strain and whisk ube powder with a “splash of hot water until in forms a paste”, said The Times. Then add your milk of choice (coconut milk works “exceptionally well”) to a glass and pour in the lavender-coloured mixture.
Deeya Sonalkar joined The Week as audience editor in 2025. She is in charge of The Week's social media platforms as well as providing audience insight and researching online trends.
Deeya started her career as a digital intern at Elle India in Mumbai, where she oversaw the title's social media and employed SEO tools to maximise its visibility, before moving to the UK to pursue a master's in marketing at Brunel University. She took up a role as social media assistant at MailOnline while doing her degree. After graduating, she jumped into the role of social media editor at London's The Standard, where she spent more than a year bringing news stories from the capital to audiences online. She is passionate about sociocultural issues and very enthusiastic about film and culinary arts.
