the asian butter

The gap

Look at your spread aisle. Notice what's not there?

The American breakfast spread aisle has been the same for a hundred years. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia has been slathering kaya on toast for breakfast for generations. We're not disrupting anything. We're just showing up to a table that was always big enough.

The spread aisle, growing.

Strawberry jam
Grape jelly
Peanut butter
Hazelnut spread
Marmalade
Honey
✧ finally ✧
Kaya (coconut) — launching first New
Ube — coming next New

The lineup

Two flavors. Focused. Zero food dye.

Kaya

Coconut jam. Slow-caramelized coconut milk, real pandan leaf, sugar. The breakfast staple of Malaysia and Singapore.

Launching first

Ube

Filipino purple yam. Nutty, sweet, and yes — that purple is the yam itself, not the label.

Coming next

Founder note

Growing up, my toast wasn't Asian at all.

I'm Emilio — Filipino-American, born and raised in Ohio. Ube I knew. My family made ube halaya at Christmas, ube ice cream in the summer, ube desserts for every occasion that mattered. But kaya? Never heard of it. Nobody in my grocery aisle had, either.

Then I met my partner. She grew up in a country where kaya on toast is a Tuesday morning. She spread some on white bread one weekend, and my whole spread aisle got smaller. This December I'm going to her hometown with her — meeting the aunties who've been making this the right way for a lifetime.

That's the brand. Ube I grew up with. Kaya she brought me home to. Traditional recipes, real ingredients, a little functional protein because it's how we eat now. Both belong in the American aisle — and both are landing there.

— Emilio, founder 🐝

How we build

Three rules we won't bend.

Real ingredients, always.

Pandan color comes from real pandan leaf. Ube purple comes from real ube. If you can't pronounce it, we won't put it in.

Authenticity over Americanization.

We're not sweetening down the recipe to make it more "familiar." Kaya tastes like kaya. Ube tastes like ube. That's the whole point.

Protein where you don't expect it.

Traditional recipes, 1:1 — with a real boost of protein baked in. Because breakfast should actually do something for you.

Questions

Answers before you ask.

Wait — what is kaya?

Kaya is a coconut jam made by slow-caramelizing coconut milk, eggs, sugar, and pandan. Breakfast staple across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Think: sweet, custardy, glossy, spread on toast. If peanut butter and dulce de leche had a coconut cousin.

When can I actually buy this?

Kaya launches direct-to-consumer in 2027 pending final formulation and packaging. Waitlist members get first shot at the sample program before public launch, plus a founder discount on the first drop.

Is this actually made by Asian people?

Yes. Filipino-American founder (Emilio) and a food science grad-student co-founder. Recipes hew close to traditional Southeast Asian preparations — this is the point.

What makes yours different from imported kaya?

Two things. One: recipes are 1:1 traditional — real coconut, real pandan leaf, no sweetening-down. Two: we add a real boost of protein, so a spread actually earns its place at breakfast. Authentic flavors, plus a bit of function you didn't know breakfast could have.

Where are you based?

Cincinnati, Ohio for HQ and content. Product R&D happens at a University of Illinois food science lab. Community and early distribution focus: Filipino-American organizations, AAPI food networks, and the Midwest.

How do I get on the founder list?

Drop your email above. First 100 signups get early founder updates, priority for the sample program, and a discount on the first commercial drop. It's the whole point of getting in early.

Asian breakfast,
in a jar.