After the "strawberry in love" (morango do amor), this year Brazil's new dessert top stream "bolo pudim" is sweeping the internet. Online, the innovative product, which combines two classic desserts - cake and pudding - has seen sales soar recently and is becoming a cash cow for entrepreneurs across Brazil.

Brazil's "G1" website reported on May 17 that in January, dessert artist Maria Teresa dos Santos (pictured) appeared at a market in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. Maria Tereza dos Santos sold more than 400 pudding cakes in just a few hours, with customers willing to wait in line for two hours.

A similar scene took place in the state of Juiz de Fora. Pastry chef Raphaela Garbeto Brandi said she had sold more than 500 slices in just 10 days, as well as orders for whole cakes. Meanwhile, her pudding cake video has been viewed more than 18 million times on social media and has quickly grown to more than 20,000 followers.

What makes pudding cake so popular? Experts believe that the pudding cake has accurately hit two core keywords in contemporary consumer culture: emotional memory and visual impact. And social media further reinforced that appeal, accelerating the rise of new food trends that turned them into a national phenomenon almost overnight.

Marketing Company Bunch Marketing & Growth CEO Bruno Sola said products with strong visual, emotional and sensory appeal often find fertile ground on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.“Short videos and impactful images quickly inspire consumers to buy. The curiosity generated on digital platforms quickly translates into a demand for buying in the real world.”

In Soraya's view, the reason these products have become popular is not just because they look good.“When a product has both nostalgia, freshness, indulgence, and sensory impact, it will generate emotional resonance, and people are more willing to share, comment, and spontaneously create content. This is followed by a social identity effect that further drives heat consumption.”

Sola believes that this trend presents a very important growth opportunity for small- and micro-business entrepreneurs, as these merchants can quickly test new tastes, packaging and forms, and quickly reap the first wave of dividends before the trend fades.

Soraya also highlights the ability of Brazilian entrepreneurs in this area: "They have a very acute intuition to understand the logic of the platform's algorithms and produce content that is most likely to get exposure and engagement."

Karine Karam, a professor at the Brazilian High School of Advertising and Marketing (ESPM), agrees that the biggest attraction of this dessert is the strong emotional memory it carries. For her, both cakes and puddings belong to the collective childhood memories of Brazilians, evoking grandmothers, family gatherings and carefree times. When two items are combined, this sense of nostalgia is further amplified. In today's era of information overload and widespread anxiety, these "high-satisfaction desserts" actually serve as emotional consolation.

At the same time, visual effects are also an important reason for its rapid popularity.“Pudding cake is perfect for sharing on Instagram. Clear layering, flowing syrup, contrasts between different textures, and the moment of cutting open all create a strong visual stimulus. Nowadays, many foods are first 'tasted' by the eyes and mobile phone cameras.”Karan explained.

Karan concluded that the popularity of pudding cakes is not only a temporary trend, but also reflects the general trend of contemporary dessert consumption.“Today's dessert industry places an increasing emphasis on'mixed, hyperbolic and highly sensory'. Food is no longer just food, it is also an experience, an entertainment, and even a content.”