As Dujjonku fades, butter rice cake takes off: Sales of glutinous rice flour and tapioca surge

[The Financial News] As the craze for Dubai Chewy Cookie (Dujjonku), which once caused ingredient shortages, begins to cool, "butter rice cake" is emerging as a new dessert powerhouse, especially on social networking services (SNS).
According to the retail industry on the 12th, butter rice cake, which is said to have originated in Shanghai, is a dessert made by baking a dough of mixed glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch with milk and butter.
Butter rice cake is known for its crispy exterior and chewy interior. As it has gone viral recently on SNS, sales of its key ingredients, glutinous rice flour and tapioca, have also jumped sharply.
Emart reported that from early last month, when the butter rice cake trend began, through the 10th of this month, sales of glutinous rice flour rose 108.6% compared with the same period a year earlier. During the same period, sales of tapioca starch increased by 37.5%.
As butter rice cake gains popularity, more cafes are replacing their previous Dujjonku offerings with butter rice cake.
On food delivery apps, "butter rice cake" is also ranking among the top search terms, showing that interest continues to grow.
Some stores are already experiencing sellouts, and a few have even imposed limits on the quantity each customer can buy. This mirrors the situation during the Dujjonku boom, when certain shops restricted purchase volumes.
However, some observers are voicing concerns about rising raw material costs. They warn that, just as prices of Pistachio and kataifi surged during the Dujjonku craze, the ingredients for butter rice cake could also become more expensive.
In fact, some online sellers have already slightly raised prices for glutinous rice flour, and there are even reports of it being sold at more than three times the usual price.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter