00:00If a bright purple pastry has caught your eye while scrolling online, chances are that it was
00:05ube. The Southeast Asian flavor is increasingly cropping up on dessert menus. There are ube
00:10lattes, cheesecakes, pancakes, cocktails, and more. It has officially gone viral. In fact,
00:16ube appears on triple the number of restaurant menus than it did four years ago. And as a result,
00:21supplies are tightening. Why? Ube is grown mostly in the Philippines, largely by small seasonal
00:27farms, limiting expansion. Production has dipped slightly since 2021, but exports? They've
00:33skyrocketed. It wouldn't be the first time social media virality has strained global trade flows.
00:39Matcha had a similar moment. The risk isn't just a shortage, it's also who benefits. Unlike champagne,
00:45ube is not geographically protected. That's created a fear that the farmers won't be able to profit from
00:50the global craze, or that production will shift to other countries with more capital. And some are
00:56concerned that the virality of ube will reduce it to just another trend. That consumers might forget
01:01that the ingredient coloring their purple cakes has also fed and supported the Philippines for centuries.
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