Matcha’s Quiet Play In Premium Chocolate
Matcha continues to expand across global consumer categories, supported by its distinctive flavor profile, natural credentials, and perceived wellness benefits. Recent activations—from Oatside’s matcha oat milk in Singapore, and Oreo’s Cherry Blossom Matcha Thins to Starbucks’ Dubai Chocolate Matcha Latte—reflect growing consumer interest across diverse product types.
Within this broader context, matcha’s presence in premium chocolate confectionery has been notably active. Here, brands are deploying it to drive product differentiation, tap into evolving consumer preferences for elevated flavor experiences, and position around health-adjacent indulgence.
Matcha In Chocolate: A Niche But Strategic Flavor
Matcha consistently shows up as a premium inclusion in chocolate, though adoption remains selective, with matcha featuring in only a small percentage of total chocolate launches year-to-date caccording to Linium Intelligence data. In contrast, flavors like pistachio—buoyed by viral trends such as “Dubai chocolate”—have achieved significantly broader penetration.
This contrast highlights different market dynamics. Pistachio is scaling through volume and mainstream appeal, while matcha is being applied more selectively to support premium positioning and experiential innovation. For brands operating in higher-value segments, matcha presents an opportunity to differentiate through flavor sophistication, cultural relevance, and functional perception.
Premium Brand Activations And Deployment Strategies
This year, several leading brands have made calculated investments in matcha-focused products within the chocolate category:
Pierre Marcolini (Japan): Launched a bitter milk chocolate ganache infused with matcha and yuzu, highlighting refined flavor pairing in a limited-edition format.
Conspiracy Chocolate (Hong Kong SAR): Released a Golden Mahjong Tea Collection featuring matcha pralines, aligning luxury chocolate with cultural and seasonal relevance.
Patchi (Middle East): Deployed matcha across multiple products (Matcha Vanille, Matcha Pistachio, Matcha Yuzu) in Kuwait and Jordan, indicating strategic flavor-led market expansion.
Läderach (USA, UAE, Switzerland): Introduced the FrischSchoggi Matcha Fusion White-Dark — a marbled chocolate offering designed to leverage both matcha’s visual impact and taste complexity.
Norman Love Confections (USA): Created a Matcha & Ginger Bar that caters to evolving consumer palates through more adventurous flavor profiles.
Mr. Bucket Chocolaterie (Singapore): Collaborated with Kamakura on a limited-edition collection featuring three Japanese-inspired bon bon flavors, including Matcha Azuki — blending regional authenticity with premium craft positioning.
Supply Constraints And Market Continuity
Matcha continues to feature in new premium chocolate launches despite widely reported global supply constraints. This indicates that brands are proceeding with matcha innovation even in the face of elevated cost or procurement complexity.
Rather than scaling back, many high-end players have opted to introduce limited editions or tightly curated formats—suggesting a focus on maintaining quality and narrative value over volume. Limited launches enable brands to navigate sourcing challenges without pulling back on matcha entirely.