Those engaged in baking and pastry must be aware that creating an eye-catching brand requires not only good product quality but also unique product design. In the age of social media, desserts that can attract attention rely not only on the skills of bakers but also on distinctive looks, flavors, and presentations, all of which can become the key to the success of dessert popularity.

This article collects baking product designs from major brands in Taiwan and Southeast Asia in the hope that those engaged in the baking industry can gain inspiration from them and see how brands in different countries found their feet.

To make novel desserts, changing the taste is the most concise and effective way. If your brand specializes in selling specific desserts, try to break away from the frame and use different ingredients to bring surprises to consumers.

Indonesian brand "Martabak Mafia" specializes in selling innovative flavors of martabak manis (Indonesian sweek pancake). Traditionally, martabak manis has a brown outer skin, and the dough is a light yellow color, similar to honey cake. Between the two layers of dough, fillings such as chocolate candy, cream cheese, and matcha powder are added. However, Martabak Mafia redesigned martabak manis from zero. For example, the brand's signature "Red Velvet Cream Cheese Oreo" flavor has a regular filling, but the dough is inspired by red velvet desserts popular in the southern United States, known for its particularly eye-catching color. The novel dessert also offers a good opportunity for people who have never tried red velvet desserts to try something new.

In addition, the "Charcoal Choco Heaven" flavor also subverts Indonesians' perception of martabak manis. The dark cake is paired with thick chocolate sauce. By just looking at it, people would believe that they’re about to intake a double dose of sweetness. Charcoal and chocolate somehow do not conflict with each other. Overall, the flavor is a great blessing for chocolate lovers.

Besides changing its flavor, changing the texture of dessert is also a great way to innovate. The "St. Paul Q Cake" from the brand St. Paul Baking Garden, which was selected as one of the "Top 30 Taiwan Bakery Award 2022", is an excellent example of creating a novel texture using Chinese pastry. When eating traditional Chinese flaky pastry, the most anticipated experience is biting through the layers of flaky crust to taste the soft and smooth bean or meat filling. St. Paul Baking Garden brings more surprises: pork floss, mochi, and bean paste bring a crispy, chewy, and soft texture, respectively, with a gradual transition from savory to sweet. With just one bite, you can taste the surprises of different elements, elevating the enjoyment of Chinese pastry to a new level.

People often hold preconceived expectations for certain desserts. They already have a fixed image in mind when they hear the name of a kind of cake or cookie.

Therefore, novel visual innovation is also the direction for developing innovative products! Kek lapis (layered cake) is a common dessert in Malaysia, made by stacking thin, yellow layers of pastry on top of each other. When cut, the side of the cake reveals thin stripes. In addition to monocolors, there are also multicolored styles resembling kek lapis sarawak.

Malaysian bakery brand "Kitchen Confidante" breaks the traditional appearance of kek lapis sarawak. They design the originally monotonous side of the cake into various patterns, each presenting colorful tile-like geometric patterns. Even before consumers take a bite, they are already visually pleased. This design was made into gift baskets for sale before the Hari Raya Aidilfitri, showing extra thoughtfulness when given to family and friends.

With a bit of creativity, even the most common desserts can be impressive. When visiting Taiwan's bazaars, you'll find that cinnamon and scones are often the highlights of innovation. When multiple brands are fiercely competing to sell similar items, the Taiwanese brand "19 Wood Alley Cafe" decided to combine the features of both and develop the "Cinnamon Scone Roll with Black Sugar" (肉桂黑糖捲). Although it's called a cinnamon roll, it's actually a scone presented in the form of a cinnamon roll. While retaining the fluffy texture of a scone, it's paired with black sugar cinnamon sauce and lemon icing, creating a multi-layered taste. The ingenuity of the multiple rolls in the scone is a rare feature among its peers.

The production process is meticulous and time-consuming, and the appearance of the cinnamon roll is deceptively realistic. The exquisite details of the creation perfectly shatter people's preconceived notions of what a scone should look like!

The above examples are all about redesigning desserts. However, dessert innovation also includes the way they are presented.

The Nasi Lemak Ice Cream designed by the Malaysian ice cream shop "Crème De La Crème（CDLC）" is one example. Unlike the usual ice cream served in cups, on plates, or in cones, this ice cream comes in a bamboo basket covered with banana leaves, containing various flavors of ice cream. In addition to this highlight, each ice cream is designed to include all the ingredients of traditional nasi lemak!

Nasi lemak is a famous Malaysian dish consisting mainly of coconut milk-steamed rice, fried chicken, boiled eggs, and sambal sauce (some may also have lettuce and cucumber). The Nasi Lemak Ice Cream brings out all the elements of this dish and creates a surprising dessert. Of course, these are all real ice creams, with chocolate ice cream dipped in corn flakes as fried chicken legs, and coconut ice cream wrapped in white chocolate and rice fragrance as rice. Everything is full of surprises, and it's worth taking photos before eating.

In addition, the Thai coffee shop "Sane Cafe & Workshop" also uses bamboo baskets to present exquisite dishes. Their "Signature Dessert Set" brings together a variety of small and colorful desserts on one plate, creating a palette-like array of vibrant colors. The set includes nine desserts, such as pandan coconut milk pudding (Khanom Tuai Khaidaw; ขนมถ้วยไข่ดาว), steamed cakes (Bulan Dan Mek; บุหลันดั้นเมฆ), coconut pandan cake (Khanom Piakpoon; ขนมเปียกปูน), Japanese dango with coconut sugar, coconut balls (Khanom Dom; ขนมต้ม), egg yolk cake (Thong Ek; ทองเอก), orange cake (Saneh Jaan; เสน่ห์จันทร์), jelly candy (Khanom Arlua; ขนมอาลัว), and coconut cookies (Khanom Sampanee; สัมปันนี ขนม).

These nine desserts are all different in shape, and each has its own charm in color. The blue-and-white porcelain plate emphasizes the main and secondary positions of the dishes, giving people a sense of formality similar to enjoying English afternoon tea.

Each food has its irreplaceable characteristics, so when coming up with innovative ideas, one can take the unique features of other foods as a starting point, in order to break the consumers' impression of snacks.

The "Chia-Cheese Brown N Rice Roll" from Taiwanese brand "Coolmix" is an example of this. The selection of brown rice crispy rolls and rich cheese filling has already demonstrated the brand's careful consideration, but Coolmix also breaks the traditional snack stereotype by using the Taiwanese-style pork floss bread as a starting point and mixing seaweed sesame seasoning with brown rice rolls to create a unique and innovative snack. Even before tasting the crispy and savory-sweet brown rice rolls, the sesame seasoning alone can evoke nostalgic childhood memories in Taiwanese people and stimulate their appetite.

Additionally, the ice dessert brand "Cheevit Cheeva," originating from Chiang Mai, Thailand, specializes in bingsu (Korean shaved ice). The dense shaved ice, piled into small hills, served in a simple and comfortable store, creates a popular destination for many internet celebrities. The brand's bingsu has developed satisfying flavors such as sesame tangyuan, matcha red bean, and caramel pudding. Among them, the most well-known is the "mango sticky rice flavor." The combination of sticky rice and mango is blended into Korean-style shaved ice, with the filling placed on top of the ice hill and topped with mango coconut milk. It’s certainly beloved by visitors!

The mango sticky rice flavor of bingsu is undoubtedly a dessert inspired by traditional Thai desserts. Another example is the "salted egg yolk tangyuan flavor": colorful tangyuan are placed on the shaved ice and can be topped with coconut milk and salted egg yolk syrup based on personal preferences. The unique salty-sweet combination is an innovation rarely seen in the shaved ice industry! Despite the seemingly contradictory elements, taking one highlight of a dessert and using it in another is always a good idea.

As long as people use their creativity, the world of food will constantly innovate and evolve. Uncommon combinations may become the next trend in cuisine with appropriate modifications. When you observe the changes in food and season carefully, you will gain a never-ending stream of inspiration. If there is any element that makes you think "this combination might be delicious," why not try it out and present your desired uniqueness? What is your most impressive innovative dessert? Share it with us!