Bringing home the bacon: Hong Kong gets a taste of the world’s first all-bacon snack line Baken
When Rachel Carrasco decided to expand her all-bacon Filipino snack brand to Hong Kong, she wasn’t just looking for another market, she was looking for the right one. In August 2025, Baken made its case at the city’s premier food trade event before proving its fine-dining credentials at an intimate dinner at French restaurant Louise.
From August 14 to 16, Baken joined the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre’s delegation at HKTDC Food Expo Pro, a leading food trade fair in the region. There, Baken introduced more than 100 trade leaders and distributors to a simple but radical idea: bacon doesn’t need to be cooked and eaten immediately to enjoy its crispiness.
The brand’s minimalist all-pink booth at the fair put the product front and centre. Real bacon crisps, bacon cookies and bacon jam, all shelf-stable and ready to eat. Clean lines, playful vibes, glowing signage and an almost gallery-like presentation signalled that this wasn’t your typical trade-show snack.
“Hong Kong is compact yet powerful, with a premium appetite and high-value consumer base,” says Carrasco, Baken’s founder. “It’s the ideal place to begin scaling our international footprint.” And scale up it did.
Baken has collaborated with several chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants in the Philippines, including Chef Chele Gonzalez of Gallery by Chele, Chef Jordy Navarra of Toyo Eatery, Chef Nicco Santos of Celera, and Chef Josh Boutwood of Helm.
Baken joined the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre’s delegation at HKTDC Food Expo Pro 2025 (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Baken is transforming bacon into a shelf-stable product while maintaining its crispness (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Can bacon work in haute cuisine? This is the provocative question to which Louise’s executive chef Loïc Portalier provided a delicious answer as the restaurant partnered with Baken for an exclusive dinner in August. His answer (the dinner) was a four part affair that transformed the concept of a snack into a dining statement, treated bacon as a serious ingredient rather than a garnish, challenging the notion of whether a snack brand can belong on a tasting menu or in fine dining.
Scallop crudo arrived dressed with bacon jam. An Oita egg came with smoked potato and bacon foam. Louise’s signature roasted Hong Kong chicken rice was reimagined with real bacon crisps layered generously over Niigata rice, adding depth and crunch to every bite. Dessert brought a playful twist: banana turon millefeuille with bacon cookie ice cream, transforming a Filipino street-food favourite into refined patisserie.
“Baken keeps the essence of bacon while opening new possibilities for chefs,” says Portalier. “It was exciting to explore how Filipino, French and Hong Kong influences could truly meet on the same plate.”
This culinary ambition was matched by the cocktail programme by Dara, a Filipino bar invited to collaborate for the evening. The event opened with a masterclass where guests crafted Bayanihan—lambanog fat-washed with real bacon crisps, finished with Tio Pepe and Filipino farm-fresh bitters, served over ice stamped with Baken’s logo. The evening featured a pairing dinner, with cocktails ranged from Balé, a savoury “Filipino homecoming” with smoky citrus notes, to Roselina’s Orchard, a dessert-style drink honouring Hong Kong’s tea traditions.
“Baken brings depth, balance and consistency—qualities that allow us to push flavour in unexpected directions,” says Jermaine Bunoan, Dara’s co-founder. “It makes savoury cocktails more compelling and opens up new creative possibilities behind the bar.”
Baken hosted an intimate dinner at Louise to showcase bacon’s surprising versatility (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
The iconic Roasted Hong Kong Chicken Rice was elevated with Real Bacon Crisps for extra crunch (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Banana Turon Millefeuille finished with Bacon Cookie ice cream (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
The evening’s cocktails, crafted by Dara, celebrated bold flavours and local cultural inspirations (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
The evening featured a four-course dinner at Louise, with each dish and cocktail starring Baken (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Baken hosted an intimate dinner at Louise to showcase bacon’s surprising versatility (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Guests enjoyed the evening (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
Guests enjoyed the evening (Photo: Courtesy of Baken)
The event was attended by 45 tastemakers, influential people and trade partners from Hong Kong and mainland China, and representatives from the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong. It signalled Baken’s dual strategy: build credibility with those who shape taste while securing the distribution partnerships needed for growth. Their presence suggested something important, that a bacon brand from the Philippines could hold its own in one of Asia’s most discerning markets.
In November 2025, Baken launches its dedicated Hong Kong online store. The brand's on-premise debut at Dara and Barkada, two Filipino-led destinations, is soon to be announced, where diners can experience Baken through chef-driven dishes and cocktail pairings.
But Hong Kong is just the beginning. Carrasco is thinking bigger. “This was never just about creating another snack,” she says. “From the Philippines to Hong Kong and beyond, our goal is to turn Baken into a pantry staple that lives on shelves, in kitchens, and on menus across the globe.”
Discover more here.