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The Biscoff will be this year’s Christmas trend, predicts The Guardian. The Belgian speculoos biscuit is gaining popularity with the British, thanks to the social media app TikTok.
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The latest TikTok hit in the United Kingdom is quintessentially Belgian: the Lotus caramelized biscuit. Although the typical snack has a different name. Speculoos doesn’t speak very well outside the country, so it became Biscoff – a portmanteau of ‘biscuit’ and ‘coffee’. The British newspaper The Guardian calls the Biscoff this year’s Christmas hit, thanks to social media. Countless videos of Biscoff recipes are doing the rounds in the UK: from oatmeal to iced latte, from truffles to tiramisu, each time starring the famous biscuit.
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The videos are popular on TikTok, often with hundreds of likes. Also some real ‘baking accounts’ with millions of followers add to the hype. According to Els De Smet, who is responsible for the European sales offices at Lotus, there is ‘no orchestrated influencer campaign behind this’. “We haven’t paid anyone to advertise, but this shows that our international marketing is paying off.”
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In ten years’ time, the Biscoff has become a staple for a quarter of the British population, says De Smet. The cookie maker has been investing heavily in internationalization for years. Biscoff is more than an international term to avoid confusion of tongues: Lotus wants to make it a global brand, CEO Jan Boone does not hide that.
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In ten years, the Biscoff has become a staple among a quarter of the British population.
The De Smet
European Sales Manager at Lotus
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Speculoospasta
With targeted partnerships with popular brands such as coffee chain Costa Coffee and donut brand Krispy Kreme, it is making itself a household name. “At the beginning of 2020, we also launched a TV spot for our caramelized biscuit spread in the UK, which emphasized the versatility of the product,” says De Smet. “When the lockdown started after that, many people started experimenting with baking at home.”
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