Teh Botol Sosro heir laid to rest

JAKARTA: Soetjipto Sosrodjojo, born Liem Hway Hoo, the scion of the PT Sinar Sosro company that produces the country’s most popular beverage, was buried Friday at the San Diego Hills cemetery in Karawang, West Java.

Soetjipto, affectionately called Pak Tjipto, died at Mitra Hospital in Kelapa Gading at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday. He was 77.

Sinar Sosro has through its flagship product, Teh Botol Sosro, become a pioneer in the bottled tea business, not just in Indonesia but also in the world.

The business was started by Soetjipto’s father, Sosrodjojo, in the Central Java towns of Slawi and Tegal in 1941.

With his brothers Soemarsono, Soegiharto and Soerjanto, Soetjipto developed Sinar Sosro into a major player in the beverage industry.

In 1974, Sinar Sosro established its first bottled-tea factory.

Today, the company employs 8,480 workers directly, while more than 1.5 million more, mostly tea growers and traders, depend on the company.

Sinar Sosro also produces various fruit-flavored tea products sold in bottles, cans and Tetra packs.
In 2009, Sinar Sosro’s parent company, the Rekso Group, acquired the license and ownership of 97 McDonald’s fast-food restaurants in Indonesia through its subsidiary, PT Rekso Nasional Food. — JP