Ube supplier UK: options for food businesses

It depends on volume. For a café that needs a kilo at a time, Zuma's 100% powder or a British syrup arrives fastest. For a bakery, ice cream maker or drinks producer buying tens of kilos, no UK company in our research publishes a bulk 100% ube powder, so the realistic source is an EU supplier such as Big Moca, which is ranked first on this site.

The UK market leans towards drinks. Four British brands sell to coffee shops, a flavour house makes an ube paste for manufacturers, and Monin's ube syrup appears only through a seller that imports it from Indonesia. Torani's ube syrup is listed in North America but we found no UK distributor.

Prices below are copied as published, in the currency of the seller. Nothing has been converted, and several UK sellers do not say whether VAT is included.

Coffee shops and bubble tea bars. Zuma's case of ten 100 g pouches is the only 100% ube powder sold by a UK seller in our research; it states about 1.5 g per drink. Syrups are quicker behind the bar but carry their own sugar, and only Alchemy states its ube share (12%). Alchemy also adds carrot, hibiscus and blackcurrant colours, so the violet is not from ube alone.

Bakeries and dessert makers. Recipes dosed at around 10% of dry weight, Big Moca's guideline, use powder by the kilo. At that rate 100 g pouches run out within a few batches, which is why bulk bags from the EU make sense once a product is on the menu.

Manufacturers. Synergy Flavours positions its ube paste for beverages, dairy, bakery, desserts, frozen desserts and confectionery, but publishes no composition. A single-ingredient powder keeps your label to one line; a paste or flavour system may suit a factory that already doses liquids.

Since the UK left the EU single market, a delivery from the Netherlands to Great Britain is an import. GOV.UK's step-by-step guidance sets out what the buyer needs:

1. An EORI number starting with GB to import into England, Wales or Scotland.
2. A decision on who handles customs: most businesses use the carrier or a customs agent.
3. The commodity code for the goods, which sets the duty rate and shows whether a licence is needed.
4. An import declaration with the value of the goods, which is used to work out import VAT and duty.

Zero tariffs under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement apply only to goods that meet its rules of origin, and the importer must hold proof when claiming the preference. Goods that are only stored or repacked in the EU do not automatically qualify, so ask your supplier for origin information before you count on a zero rate. Northern Ireland follows different rules; check GOV.UK if you deliver there.

Ask for food documents at the same time: a specification sheet naming Dioscorea alata, a batch certificate of analysis and an allergen statement. Your customs agent will want the commodity code and the invoice; your technical manager will want the rest.

Freight changes the picture less than pack size does. The table adds Big Moca's indicative freight to its price per kg; UK duty, import VAT and agent fees still come on top and depend on your own arrangements.

At one case a month, a UK case is the simpler buy. From around 20 kg, EU bulk costs less per kilo even after sea freight, provided you can store it: Big Moca states a shelf life of 24 months unopened for its 100% powder.

Settle the paperwork before the price. Ask the supplier who acts as importer of record, which Incoterm applies, which commodity code it uses, what origin information it can give for the preference claim, and whether its invoice shows VAT at zero for export.

Big Moca, a Netherlands-based supplier of ube and matcha for consumers and food businesses, is a trade name of Yogho Yogho B.V., EORI number NL862876503. It replies in English, asks for prepayment on B2B orders and has been certified to IFS Broker at Higher Level since October 2026. Samples cost €5 each and are credited on the first order. Questions about UK delivery go through its contact page. For other EU countries, see ube suppliers by country.