Swiss chocolatier under fire for branding ube chocolate ‘Bali-style’ - Interaksyon

A Swiss chocolatier was called out for using the Filipino term for purple yam in a product it described as a “Bali-style” confection.

Lindt’s German Instagram account released a video promoting its limited-edition “Bali-style Ube Cashew and Chocos,” a chocolate featuring purple yam, cashew, coconut, caramel and vanilla.

Vlogger-entrepreneur Aileen Adalid called out the chocolate brand for using a Filipino term to market its new product while describing it as “Bali-style.”

Bali is a popular tourist destination in Indonesia known for its vibrant beaches, volcanic mountains and sun-drenched rice terraces.

“Shoutout to Lindt Germany: what is THIS?” she wrote, accompanied by a crying emoji.

“Yes, purple yam exists across Southeast Asia. But why make Bali the headline identity when you’re marketing the star ingredient under its Filipino name: ‘ube’ (especially when you acknowledge it originates from the Philippines?),” Aileen added.

“Calling it ‘Bali Style Ube’ is a VERY questionable marketing choice. Filipino culture shouldn’t become invisible just because Bali makes for prettier branding,” she continued.

“All this tells me is that ‘Philippine Style’ wasn’t aesthetic enough, but the Filipino word ube was. Should’ve just called it ‘purple yam’ then — or used an Indonesian term…” Aileen added.

Other Filipinos also weighed in, including Filipino-German beauty queen Maureen Wroblewitz.

“Bali style???? Ube comes from the Philippines! Bali is not known for ube!!” she wrote in Lindt Germany’s post, as translated from German.

“German [and] Filipino here. I already ranted on their Intsa page. I hate that they called it ‘Bali Style’ instead of something like ‘Manila Style’ (by the way, there is a Tokyo Style chocolate). Their explanation is so weak. But in the end, it’s all marketing. Bali sells better because many don’t even know the Philippines,” another said.

Some Indonesians also responded to Aileen’s post.

“I’m Indonesian, and I totally agree with you! If they had changed the word to ‘Ubi’, it would make more sense. Or they could just use the Philippine ‘Ube’ altogether!” a Threads user commented.

“Indonesian here, going to Bali almost every year. And I never heard or see any ube-based food. Cashew, there are a lot of it, tho,” another wrote.

“We do use the word ‘ubi’ for yam — but ube (as in purple yam) is ‘ubi ungu.’ So… yeah… not sure what they doing there. But Indonesian (and Malay) and Filipino got tons of similar words with same or similar meanings,” another commented.

Lindt Germany addressed the comments in two separate responses.

The first was posted on September 24, the same day its promotional video was published.

“We understand that ube originally comes from the Philippines, and we greatly appreciate your feedback and comments about this,” it said in the comments section, as translated into English.

“However, ube is also now cultivated and used in other parts of Southeast Asia. For our Bali Style chocolate, we source our ube from Indonesia. The recipe is inspired by the diverse flavors of Southeast Asia. The combination of ube, coconut, and cashew represents the tropical flavors that we associate with Bali,” it added.

On September 27, it clarified that its limited-edition chocolate is a “Southeast Asia-inspired Lindt creation.”

“Thank you for your feedback. We take it very seriously. Ube is native to the Philippines and has been part of the country’s food culture for generations. We greatly value this tradition,” Lindt Germany said.

“Our Bali Style chocolate is not a traditional recipe, but a Southeast Asia-inspired Lindt creation featuring ube, coconut, and cashew. The name refers to the flavor world that inspired us—not to the origin of the ingredient,” it added.

Reports said the limited-edition chocolate is part of Lindt’s “Flavors of the World” series, which draws inspiration from destinations and their ingredients and flavors to offer new experiences to consumers.

“Lindt Bali Style Chocolate takes inspiration from the culinary diversity and flavours of Southeast Asia,” a publisher wrote.

It also quoted Peter Zehnder, CEO of Global Travel Retail and Shared Services at Lindt & Sprüngli.

“Travel retail is an environment where the journey itself shapes what people are open to discovering. With ‘Flavors of the World. Created by Lindt,’ we want to create something travelers come to recognize and look forward to seeing in new destinations,” he said.

“Bali Style builds on that through ube, a flavor many travelers may still be discovering for the first time. We are delighted to offer our retail partners the very first taste of our latest creation in Cannes,” Zehnder added.

Ube is the Filipino word for purple yam, one of the oldest food plants in Southeast Asia.

Rosa Concepcion Ladrido, an independent researcher on Philippine art, culture and food history, states that “the Philippines is considered as the purple yam’s center of origin.”

She also said that the root crop was “eaten by our ancestors long before rice became the staple food.”

Ladrido likewise said that Bohol, the country’s largest ube-producing province, has applied for a Geographical Indication protection for its Ubi Kinampay (like Champagne in France), a global intellectual property right to preserve its authenticity, cultural heritage and economic value.

Ubi Kinampay is a variety of ube known for its red-purple color, distinct aroma and flavor.