The seasoning industry in Indonesia has experienced significant growth, driven by modern lifestyles that demand practicality and efficiency in cooking. Indofood, as one of the largest food companies in Indonesia, has presented Bumbu Racik products that aim to facilitate consumers in preparing dishes quickly and practically. However, in business competition analysis, the threat of new entrants is a factor that needs to be considered to maintain market share. This article discusses how the threat of new entrants can affect Indofood’s Bumbu Racik position in the market. 

Bumbu Racik’s Strength as a Market Leader 

Bumbu Racik is one of the products from the food flavoring division that produces a variety of culinary products, including recipe mixes, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce, tomato sauce and stock soup owned by PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk. It has achieved many achievements and awards, for example in 2021 it managed to maintain its position as one of the major players in the culinary products category, and the Indofood brand was awarded as “#1 Indonesia FMCG Brand” for The Cooking Ingredients Category by YouGov. The division achieved total sales value of IDR2.85 trillion in 2021, which was relatively similar to the achievement in 2020 of IDR2.87 trillion. EBIT margin increased from 11.2% in the previous year to 13.1% on the back of better product mix. Throughout 2021, they implemented several strategies to strengthen their position in the market. They ran various marketing campaigns to strengthen brand equity, launched several new products to attract consumer interest, improved product availability and visibility, and expanded their customer base by exploring new sales channels. In addition, they also implemented various initiatives to improve productivity.  

Examples of MSMEs that pose a threat to Indofood’s seasoning products 

Perhaps here I will give 2 examples of MSMEs that could be a threat to seasoning, namely Rumah Bumbu Ratna and Roeparasa. Rumah Bumbu Ratna, for example, experienced a 300% increase in sales during the pandemic by selling Makassar’s specialty spices on online platforms such as Tokopedia. The pandemic experience has increased consumers’ preference for online shopping, and this benefits MSMEs that can offer a variety of distinctive ready-made seasonings. On the other hand, Roeparasa, which sells seasoning mixes with Nusantara spices. Roeparasa’s products are designed to make it easier for urban consumers who don’t have time to cook, making it suitable for those who want to cook traditional dishes practically. In addition, these products have successfully penetrated the international market, with exports to countries such as the US and Singapore, supported by the BPOM program that facilitates the export of Indonesian herbs and spices products. Of course, these products pose a threat to Bumbu Racik Indofood to become the market leader in the spice world. Therefore, they will continue to innovate and take advantage of existing opportunities, such as collaborating with surrounding umkm to increase production while improving the economy of the community in the area. 

BPOM Supports Indonesian Spice MSMEs to Enter Foreign Markets 

Another example of a threat is government support for spice MSMEs, especially in the field of spice exports. To encourage the progress of Indonesian culinary, which includes seasoning and spice products, so that they can easily enter foreign markets, BPOM launched the Indonesia Spice Up The World program on Tuesday (22/6/2021).  BPOM has compiled “Guidelines for the Export of Spice Products in order to support the Spice Up the World Program”. This book complements several previous guidelines related to registration, including for Household Industry Food (PIRT), Good Processed Food Production Methods (CPPOB), labeling and food production and circulation during a pandemic. Since May 1, 2021, BPOM has also provided assistance to 92 seasoning producers, namely 30 assistance at the stage of applying for the Edar License Number (NIE), 35 at the stage of fulfilling CPPOB, and 27 at the stage of applying for an Export Certificate (SKE).  

Reference: 

https://www.idx.co.id/StaticData/NewsAndAnnouncement/ANNOUNCEMENTSTOCK/From_EREP/202205/b53ec5d381_6fba45a71f.pdf  

https://www.suara.com/lifestyle/2021/06/22/175428/bpom-dukung-umkm-bumbu-rempah-asli-indonesia-masuk-pasar-mancanegara  

https://ukmindonesia.id/baca-deskripsi-posts/roeparasa-racikan-bumbu-nusantara-di-dalam-kemasan/ 

https://katadata.co.id/berita/bisnis/5f1e70269a891/bumbu-racik-memetik-untung-saat-pandemi 

 -SULTHAN AFIF PRATAMA