The rise of pandan: Overview
- Pandan is gaining global attention, appearing in everything from drinks to desserts
- Its sweet, vanilla-like flavour and vivid green colour have drawn attention on social media
- Most pandan innovation remains concentrated in Asia, though Western brands are beginning to adopt it
- Researchers are exploring its antioxidant and blood glucose-management potential
- It’s seen as a rising trend, but not necessarily the next matcha
As global ingredients become ever more popular, pandan is starting to appear in everything from lattes and cakes to soft drinks and ice creams. Dubbed the ‘vanilla of Southeast Asia’, the New York Times tipped it to become a “star ingredient” in its 2025 trend predictions.
The plant’s long, deep-green leaves deliver a flavour that’s widely described as hard to capture, but mildly sweet, slightly grassy with hints of vanilla and coconut, and a creamy nuttiness seem to encapsulate it.
It also has a distinct aroma, which is a huge part of its appeal. It comes from a compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), which is also what gives jasmine rice its aroma and freshly baked bread crusts their toasty smell and flavour.
“Pandan is emerging as a flavour to watch, particularly among younger, adventurous consumers,” says Jonny Forsyth, Mintel Food & Drink principal strategist. “In May 2025, 52% of US Gen Zs and Millennials expressed interest in pandan.”
How is it used?
It’s a highly versatile ingredient that can be used across both sweet and savoury.
It can be added in a powdered or liquid form, or the leaves can be tied and added to stews, soups and rice. It pairs well with citrus flavours such as lemongrass, creamy flavours such as coconut, nutty flavours such as hazelnut and toasty flavours such as biscuits.
When used in foods and drinks, it turns them a bright, vivid green, similar to the vibrancy of the purple of its Southeast Asian counterpart, ube. This lends it visual appeal alongside its flavour.
“Social media is accelerating the intrigue,” says Forsyth. “In France, discussions about pandan rose nine-fold year-on-year between April and July 2026. Social media interest is also beginning to translate into early adoption, in innovator markets and foodservice sectors. For example, Black Sheep Coffee launched a pandan lemonade and iced pandan matcha in the UK in April 2026.”
Is it the new matcha?
Pandan is green and it can be used to make tea, but they’re different in taste, usage and origin story. Matcha has caffeine; pandan has none. While other countries do grow matcha, much of the finest, ceremonial-grade matcha is still grown in Japan using traditional farming practices, harnessing its origin story. Pandan, on the other hand, is grown in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Cambodia, as well as South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka.
“It does share several qualities that helped matcha break through,” says Forysth. “It is authentically Asian, turns products a vivid natural green, making it visually striking on social media and has a more approachable flavour than matcha, combining vanilla-like sweetness and creaminess with a botanical edge.
“I can see it being used as a hero ingredient to make indulgent sweet bakery and dessert products more permissible. In the first nine months of 2026 in North America and Europe, sweet bakery has accounted for 40% of launches so far in 2026, which is the same proportion as in APAC over this period.”
However, he doesn’t think it will have the same stratospheric success as matcha.
“I would stop short of calling pandan the next matcha,” says Forsyth. “As an everyday ingredient in Asia, it lacks matcha’s exclusive origin story, while our US data suggests it may not have the ‘wow’ factor needed to become a huge trend: 20% had tried it and would do so again, compared with 12% who would not.
While it’s breaking into other markets, it’s still much more heavily used in Asia.
“Mintel Global New Products Database shows that innovation remains overwhelmingly concentrated in Asia – at least for now,” says Forsyth. “APAC accounted for 95% of all global food and drink launches that used pandan as an ingredient or flavour in the first nine months of 2026. This compares with just 2% for Europe and 1% for the US.”
However, as ingredients such as ube come under pressure to meet supply, pandan could step in with its sweet, nutty flavour and vivid colour. It may also be a natural solution to green colouring as consumers become increasingly averse to artificial colours. These factors could lead to a steeper rise in interest though it would need to be careful that it doesn’t fall victim to its own popularity in the same way as ube.
Does it have health benefits?
The health benefits of pandan combined with its appealing flavour are gaining the attention of scientists and it could be these, rather than its social media appeal, that elevate it to a more global ingredient.
For example, a 2026 study combined pandan with lemongrass and turmeric to develop a ready-to-drink beverage. The authors included pandan leaves because “they are well known for their antioxidant properties… and they contain a diverse array of bioactive compounds”.
It found that the panellists testing the drink “showed a preference for beverages that contained a higher amount of pandan leaves, primarily due to the aroma they imparted”. Beverages with herbs and plants are gaining popularity as functional drinks due to their potential health benefits and natural ingredients, said the study authors, and combining these ingredients with pandan in the right ratios “presents an opportunity to create a beverage with both health benefits and sensory appeal”.
Pandan may also have a role in managing blood glucose. A 2025 animal study investigating the effects of pandan leaf extract on gestational diabetes found that it significantly reduced maternal blood glucose, improved insulin levels and increased the number of live foetuses, with effects comparable to metformin (a diabetes drug that lowers blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes).
The study authors added that previous studies have shown that pandan leaf extract “inhibits α-amylase activity, enhances glucose uptake, and scavenges free radicals, all of which contribute to improving glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity. Additionally, pandan root extract has been found to increase glycogen storage in the liver and insulin secretion, leading to lower blood glucose levels in diabetic models”.
The incorporation of pandan leaf extract into parboiled rice has also been shown to lower its glycaemic index and reduce post-meal blood glucose levels, supporting its potential use as a dietary intervention for diabetes.
One to watch
“Overall, pandan is one to watch and should become more visible in the near term, led by sweet bakery and visually striking drinks,” says Forysth. “However, I suspect it will generate a burst of intrigue and experimentation rather than become an enduring trend that we are still discussing two years from now.”
Whether its benefits beyond social media appeal elevate it to contradict this prediction remains to be seen – watch this space…
