What happens when Malaysian kaya meets Japanese matcha?

Two homegrown Malaysian F&B brands are bringing Malaysian and Japanese food culture together in a new collaboration, with Niko Neko Matcha and Oriental Kopi launching a limited-edition menu built around kaya, matcha and hojicha.

Called "Niko Neko Matcha x Oriental Kopi: Shared ritual, shared culture", the campaign runs from 1 September to 31 October 2026, with the collaboration available exclusively at Niko Neko Matcha outlets.

At the heart of the partnership is the idea of taking two cultures that may initially seem very different and finding a common ground between them through familiar food and drink rituals.

Don’t miss: CHAGEE's matcha debut banks on community as the new flavour strategy 

Rather than simply combining two ingredients or putting two brands together, Niko Neko Matcha said the collaboration was designed to explore how different cultures can come together to create something that can be enjoyed regardless of nationality, age, race or background.

“Both Niko Neko Matcha and Oriental Kopi represent two very different cultures, Japanese and Malaysian. But what makes this collaboration special for us is that the idea of sharing culture goes beyond just combining two countries or two flavours,” Syun Hattori, one of the founders of Niko Neko Matcha told A+M. 

The collaboration was also timed around Malaysia's National Day celebrations and the upcoming Malaysia Day on 16 September, giving the brands an opportunity to explore what Malaysian culture means through a cross-cultural lens.

For Niko Neko Matcha, Oriental Kopi was a natural partner because of its connection to familiar Malaysian kopitiam rituals and flavours. The collaboration takes those nostalgic elements and introduces them to Niko Neko Matcha's Japanese-inspired matcha offering.

“We wanted to take something that everybody loves and is familiar with in Malaysia and share it together with the culture of another country,” said Hattori. 

He added that the collaboration represents Niko Neko Matcha's own way of celebrating Malaysia, not simply as a melting pot of different races, but as a country that is open to welcoming and embracing other cultures.

The idea comes through most clearly in the matcha kaya gelato, which pairs the familiar Malaysian flavour of kaya with matcha, an ingredient deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Other menu items include the Hojicha pandan kaya gelato and kaya toast matcha latte. 

The kaya matcha gelato combines kaya with matcha, while the Hojicha pandan kaya gelato brings together pandan kaya and Hojicha. The kaya toast matcha latte translates the familiar kopitiam pairing into a drink, bringing matcha together with kaya toast-inspired flavours.

For Niko Neko Matcha, the collaboration is ultimately about more than the products themselves. As Hattori puts it: 

Culture is something that we should value and be proud of, but at the same time, we believe it is also something meant to be shared. As the tagline goes, ‘Shared ritual, shared culture’.

Related articles: 
Mamee Monster and ZUS COFFEE find their perfect Merdeka match
Inside Scoop and Oriental Kopi turn dad’s favourite brew into dessert
11 campaigns that struck the right chord this Merdeka