Ube or Not Ube: The Philippines’ Next Big Export?
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Ube (Photo by Elmer Centeno Guevarra/Wikimedia)
Ube.
For generations, Filipinos have eaten it in halaya (curd), ice cream, cakes, pastries and countless other desserts. We never thought much about it. It was simply ube.
But the rest of the world is beginning to discover what Filipinos have known all along.
Ube Halaya (Source: Wikimedia)
Ube is becoming fashionable.
Walk into cafés and bakeries in the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan or South Korea and you are increasingly likely to find ube lattes, ube croissants, ube doughnuts, ube cheesecakes and ube ice cream.
Social media has helped turn it into something of a global food phenomenon. But this is beginning to look like more than just another Instagram or TikTok food craze.
Following the Purple
The money is starting to follow the purple.
Philippine ube and ube-based exports reached about US$3.06 million in 2025. That is still tiny compared with the country’s traditional agricultural exports, but it is significant because it shows that international interest in ube is becoming a genuine commercial opportunity rather than merely a cultural trend.
And unlike many food fads that disappear as quickly as they arrive, ube has something going for it that could give it staying power.
It is different.
For one thing, there is that color. Ube is not just purple. It can be an almost startlingly deep purple. And that is both its biggest selling point and, potentially, its biggest problem.
People who have never encountered ube before can be hesitant when they see it. Is that color natural? Is it food coloring? What does a purple yam actually taste like?
We are accustomed to food looking a certain way. Strawberries are red. Bananas are yellow. Carrots are orange. Potatoes are brown or white.
Then along comes ube, looking like somebody dropped a bottle of purple dye into a yam. But that is precisely what the Philippines should capitalize on.
Sell the Purple
In a world where restaurants and food companies are constantly looking for something visually different, ube has a built-in advantage. Put an ube pastry beside an ordinary chocolate pastry and guess which one people are more likely to photograph and post on social media.
But color alone will not create a lasting international market. The taste has to deliver. And ube does.
It has a distinctive sweetness and aroma, with a flavor that many describe as nutty, creamy and almost vanilla-like. Certain varieties, particularly Bohol’s prized ubi kinampay, are valued for their exceptionally fragrant character.
Ubi kinampay (Source: Lunti PH/Facebook)
That makes ube much more than a purple food coloring. It is a flavor. And that distinction is important.
The Philippines should not simply export ube. It should build “Philippine Ube” into a brand. Think about what Japan has done with matcha. Or what Canada has done with maple syrup. The Philippines has an opportunity to do something similar with ube.
And there are already signs that the government is beginning to recognize its potential.
The Department of Agriculture has recently distributed about ₱2.6 million worth of ube planting materials to farmers in Leyte and Bohol, helping expand production of a crop whose international demand is growing.
That may sound like a small investment compared with the billions generated by the country’s traditional agricultural exports. But every major industry has to start somewhere. And ube is particularly interesting because we don’t have to limit ourselves to exporting the raw crop.
We can export ube powder. Ube puree. Ube extract. Frozen ube. Ube fillings. Ube beverage ingredients.
Ube Flavouring (Source: Reddit)
Ube products that can be shipped around the world and used by food manufacturers, pastry chefs, restaurants and beverage companies.
That is where the real money could be.
Instead of remaining simply a supplier of raw agricultural products, the Philippines can become a supplier of higher-value, uniquely Filipino ingredients.
But there is a warning here.
We should not allow ube to become another Philippine agricultural product where foreign companies make the big money while Filipino farmers remain at the bottom of the value chain.
If ube becomes a global phenomenon, Filipino farmers should be among its biggest beneficiaries.
That means better planting materials, technical assistance, reliable markets, processing facilities, quality standards and a supply chain capable of meeting international demand.
It also means protecting the identity of Philippine ube and, eventually, developing premium products around distinctive local varieties.
The opportunity is there. The world is curious about ube.
The deep purple may initially make some people hesitate. But curiosity is exactly what gets people to try something new.
And once they try it, the purple suddenly doesn’t look so strange. It looks delicious.
The Philippines should not simply export ube. It should build “Philippine Ube” into a brand. Think about what Japan has done with matcha.
That is the opportunity the Philippines should seize.
We have spent decades exporting bananas, coconuts, pineapples and other agricultural commodities.
Perhaps our next big agricultural export won’t be yellow, green or brown.
Perhaps it will be purple. Ube could be the Philippines’ next great export.
And for once, the world is already asking us for it.
Rene Astudillo is a writer, book author and blogger and has recently retired from more than two decades of nonprofit community work in the Bay Area. He spends his time between California and the Philippines.
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