Pandan cake from Singapore conquers the world: the family behind the enjoyment
Pandan cake from Singapore conquers the world: the family behind the enjoyment
In Singapore, a bright green cake has become a daily favorite pastry. The locals often fall back on a piece of the ring-shaped Pandan chiffon cake while they are rushing or getting a whole cake for birthday celebrations from friends.
The origin of the Pandan Chiffon cake
The light, airy cake receives its color and subtle, grassy vanilla taste from the tropical pandan plant. This has been used in Indonesian cuisine for centuries and is originally supposed to come from the Molukken.
The triumphal march of the cake in Singapore
In Singapore, the Pandan Chiffon cakes appeared for the first time in the 1970s, as the local food historian Khir Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane Johane. Today the dessert is widespread in the city and can be found in small bakeries as well as in upscale restaurants.
The first Bengawan Solo bakery
A special family -run bakery has contributed to making the cakes known throughout the city. "I made him popular in Singapore," says Anastasia Liew, who founded the first Bengawan solo cake bakery, a small neighborhood business in 1979. "Sorry, we are not very modest," adds her son Henry, a managing director.
Anastasia originally sold the cakes that she baked at home, but had to open a shop to meet the license requirements for sale in department stores. Today Bengawan Solo has more than 40 branches in the city with six million inhabitants.
famous fans and sophisticated popularity
Henry explains that the popularity of the bakery is based on mouth-to-mouth propaganda, supported by prominent fans. For example, the Singaporian mandopop star JJ Lin gave a Bengawan solo cake to his jurors in a Chinese singing show eight years ago. In 2022, the Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou posted on Instagram that he was given the cake when he was performed in Singapore.
The company also sells other products such as Kueh Lapis, a layer cake, ondeh ondeh, adhesive, glue rice balls filled with palm sugar, and pineapple tart, filled with fruity jam. But the Pandan Chiffon cake is the best known product.
growth and global ambitions
Last year, the bakery sold around 85,000 entire Pandan Chiffon cakes at a price of 22 Singapore dollars ($ 17) and thus achieved sales of around 76 million Singapore dollars ($ 57 million) across all products, which corresponds to an increase of older $ 11 % compared to 2023. However, the greatest growth opportunities can be seen abroad."I don't think we can still grow a lot in Singapore," says Henry. He adds that the company plans to market its products as food gifts throughout Asia, and hopefully beyond. You also work on unique packaging. "There is a pronounced gift culture in the Asian region," he says.
The presence in the international airport
It is impossible to leave Changi Airport in Singapore without getting past a Bengawan solo bakery. There are five shops, including one in every departure terminal, in the fourth largest international airport in the world in 2024.
The cakes are incredibly popular in places such as Hong Kong, where friends, family and colleagues from Singapore are often expected with a cake. The demand even created a secondary market on Facebook Marketplace and the Carousell app.
export plans and challenges
henry reports that the airport shops now make up more than half of Bengawan's total sales and are popular with travelers from Hong Kong, mainland-China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
The company has considered expanding internationally, but is faced with challenges such as high rental costs in Hong Kong. The family also wants to ensure that the quality is preserved. Today you mainly use local sources for the ingredients and get 300 to 400 kilograms of pandan leaves directly from the border in Malaysia.
growing global demand for Pandan
whether with or without Bengawan solo, the worldwide demand for Pandan seems to be increasing. In Hong Kong, Pandan is sold the cakes in two upscale shopping centers. Pandan cake and dishes, from Mochi egg tarts to cronuts, appear in cities such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Keri Matwick, a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who deals with food and language, reports of a growing interest in Asian baking in the USA. This also includes desserts, which are flavored with ingredients such as Matcha, coconut and UBE - a violet yam from the Philippines.
Matcha, a Japanese green tea that was integrated into everything from Tiramisu to Cupcakes to banana pudding, has achieved such a popularity that some tea sellers in Japan before an upcoming scarcity Warn.
pandan in the ascent
Now it seems to be that Pandan gives a global foot. "Matcha has already set the precedent that something green is in order," says Matwick. "I think Pandan begins to come into its own more than ever."
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