In fact, Ryan revealed with a smile that he had skipped school to attend the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only later did the full story emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His business partner is not another young startup founder, but his father, Tom Hew, CEO of Base Food, one of Malaysia\u2019s most innovative food ingredient companies. Through its proprietary processing technologies, Base Food has developed alternative sweetening solutions derived from sugar cane, serving both retail and industrial food manufacturers across Asia and the Middle East. The company exports to markets including Thailand, China, and Vietnam, and has built a reputation for innovation in the food ingredients sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The family business also has experience in tea distribution, having supplied Sri Lankan teas within the Malaysian market for several years. Recognizing the extraordinary growth of matcha consumption both locally and internationally, Base Food made the strategic decision to launch Yoko Matcha in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What makes the project particularly interesting is the combination of two generations working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On one side is Base Food\u2019s manufacturing expertise, distribution network, and product development capabilities. On the other is the perspective of a young consumer who understands exactly how his generation discovers, evaluates, and engages with brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result is a matcha concept designed specifically for a younger audience and for the rapidly evolving caf\u00e9 and tea house culture emerging across Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Matcha is a young trend,” explained the team during the exhibition. While older consumers often remain attached to more traditional tea formats, younger generations have embraced matcha as part of a broader lifestyle movement that combines wellness, aesthetics, and social experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This insight influenced not only the branding but also the product itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding local preferences, Yoko Matcha has incorporated Base Food\u2019s proprietary sweetener into some of its formulations. In Malaysia, consumers often enjoy matcha with a touch of sweetness, and the company saw an opportunity to combine its expertise in sugar alternatives with the country’s growing appetite for premium tea-based beverages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yoko Matcha represents more than another entrant into the booming matcha market. It is a compelling example of how businesses are reinventing themselves, combining industrial know-how with youthful creativity to capture new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether Yoko Matcha becomes an international success remains to be seen. But if the crowds around its stand at ICBS were any indication, the brand has already achieved something important: it has managed to stand out in one of the fastest-growing and most competitive categories in the global beverage industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Caf\u00e9 & Beverage Show (ICBS) in Kuala Lumpur is a place where established brands meet emerging trends. This year, however, one of the most talked-about discoveries for T Hospitality came not from a multinational tea company, but from a 17-year-old entrepreneur presenting a brand that had been launched only months earlier. At one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplies","tag-highlights"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/yoko_matcha1.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1291,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions\/1291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/th.oriensconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/yoko_matcha.webp\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n