The Cost of Craze: How Trends Exploit Cultural Ingredients

In the past decade, Western social media has showcased a strong fascination with Asian flavors, most notably through the recent Dubai chocolate, matcha, and ube trends influencing cafes and chains across the nation. However, this sudden “discovery” has come at a steep price, disrupting supply chains, stripping away authenticity, and leaving local farmers struggling to keep up. From severe shortages to declining quality in crops, the price of popularity is higher than many consumers realize. 

Matcha has become extremely popular these past few years, and recent trends have relabeled what was once a symbol of Japanese hospitality and tea culture as simply “performative” and “grassy,” both adjectives that dilute the tea’s historical and cultural significance. More importantly, global matcha demand has created a severe supply crisis, with high-grade matcha becoming increasingly scarce, pressuring suppliers to raise their prices drastically. 

High demand has also led to companies producing lower-grade and counterfeit matcha products to take advantage of the ongoing trend, while coffee shops and retailers are forced to limit their matcha menu options lest they resort to using low-quality matcha. Counterfeit matcha is produced by grinding up generic green tea leaves that have not been grown or processed under the strict shade-grown conditions for authentic matcha, and is also mixed with additives, artificial coloring, and fillers like cornstarch or wheat flour. As a result, this matcha lacks the nuanced flavor and smooth texture of authentic brands, and ends up tasting bitter and flat in comparison. The increased use of this low-quality matcha by cafes and chains has also fed into the growing sentiment that matcha tastes grassy and bitter, even though many consumers may not recognize that they are not getting an authentic taste, misrepresenting the actual product.

Similarly, ube, or Filipino purple yam, has also been gaining traction, especially for its deep purple color that makes for vibrant desserts and trendy social media photos. However, just as with matcha, this growing popularity has led to a strain on the ube industry—one potentially just as severe. Ube is a seasonal plant, and the Philippines already struggles with domestic demand. With mainstream Western companies like Starbucks and Trader Joe’s starting to use ube in their products, ube farmers are working even harder to keep up. Annual production has dropped from over 15 million kilograms in 2021 to roughly 14 million kilograms as of December 29, 2025, with most of it dedicated to local demand, making foreign exports more difficult. 

As a result, many products on the market are using flavoring, purple sweet potato, fillers, and food coloring to make up for it, misrepresenting the true taste of ube and causing many other products to be mislabeled. Just like matcha, the ube craze has led to the dilution of its cultural roots and oversimplification of traditional recipes while being reduced to another fad.

The Dubai chocolate industry in particular has suffered from similar and more drastic strain on supply: the trend has resulted in a worldwide pistachio shortage. Pistachios are primarily grown in the U.S. and Iran, two regions with complex trade dynamics, and the increasing demand has led to increased competition between manufacturers. The shortage has also increased prices not for just Dubai chocolate, but for all pistachio-based products.

To mitigate the risk of erasing these foods’ cultural significance and exploiting the communities cultivating them, consumers should avoid purchasing counterfeit products just because they’re cheaper. Buying authentic products not only provides a better experience for the consumer, but also supports local farmers and manufacturers that are currently struggling under these shortages. People should also take care to learn more about the history and the culture surrounding these ingredients in order to deepen their appreciation and to allow them to recognize when a product is being misrepresented. Likewise, businesses should sell with integrity, sourcing ingredients from sustainable and ethical brands, being transparent about where they source their products, and also helping to educate customers without utilizing exploitative marketing that waters down traditions for convenience or profit.

Cultural foods gaining popularity is not inherently negative, nor is feeding into these trends. However, it is important to be mindful about how we react to these food crazes, and about knowing where the products we consume are coming from. These flavors are more than just bright, aesthetic colors to post online, and at the very least, we should educate ourselves on their heritage and their current situation before we permanently commodify their taste and meaning.