Will bird spit coffee be the next big thing in the Philippines?

bird spit coffee
Bird spit coffee – the next big thing?

The Chinese are hoping that bird spit coffee and other similar products will be the next big thing around the world, including the Philippines. 

The birds are said to make their nests from swiftlet’s saliva and the country has taken it by including it in products like coffee, cereal and more – the so called delicacy is being promoted and hopefully catches a hold, like Civet Coffee has.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nests the birds produce are one of the most expensive foods in the world, selling for up to $2,500 American dollars per kilogram – the swiflets which weave these little wonders only live in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

China itself consumes nearly 90% of all bird nest products in the world, traditionally many know the story about “birds nest soup” – an industry that is centuries old. 

in 2014 the Chinese made a hefty profit from the sale of bird nest products – cashing in on a $5 billion dollar industry, which expects to hit $10 billion dollars in just five years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Companies such as Malaysia’s Swiftlet Eco Park, one of the country’s largest developers of swiftlet houses, want bigger gains by expanding their product line and market beyond China, where importers can often dictate the price.

“Ask anybody in the industry where is your market and they’ll say China and Hong Kong. Everybody is going there,” said Group Managing Director Loke Yeu Loong. “We are looking at new markets, but if I sell raw bird’s nest to Europe or India, they don’t even know how to cook it.”

Swiftlet Eco makes coffee, skin care, puddings and candies with bird’s nest. Loke declined to give specific sales figures but said the profit margin on some of these products was 10 times more than the raw nests. The company said it will spend huge margins of profit to promote the product in the Middle East, Europe and even the United States – they are in fact planning on raising a $30 million dollar IPO and take it to the New York Exchange.

ADVERTISEMENT

The nests are said to be rich in nutrients, help digestion, raise libido and improve the immune system. Malaysia so far is the worlds leading producer of raw nests – Yen Viet Joint Stock Co. of Vietnam is putting birds nests in cereal and porridge and investing in research to go globally. 

Follow our Facebook page for daily news updates