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Online food business tasty opportunity
The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the lives of many
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span>The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the lives of many. The virus has spread rapidly, businesses have been forced to temporarily stop operating and many jobs have been lost.
During such a time, online food businesses provide an attractive option for those seeking a new venture.
Yohanes Sandy, who recently established an online culinary business, is one of these new players.
Sandy told The Jakarta Post that he had wanted to develop his own food business for years but that the COVID-19 outbreak was what finally made him step out of his comfort zone of working in the media industry for 15 years and pursue his dream.
“The work-from-home policy allowed me to have more free time,” said Sandy regarding the beginning of his business Sisrieat, which he cofounded with a partner in March.
After he was laid off by the company he was working for, Sandy decided to focus on developing Sisrieat full time.
The business, based in South Tangerang, Banten, started by selling chocolate pudding and became quite successful, managing to sell more than 150 bowls of pudding in two months. Sisrieat now also offers a variety of Indonesian comfort foods, such as pepes ikan (steamed fish wrapped in banana leaves), ayam ungkep lengkuas (chicken cooked in galangal and various spices), a complete set of ketupat (rice cakes served with side dishes) for Idul Fitri, as well as puddings in a variety of flavors.
Sandy believes large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) have contributed to Sisrieat’s success.
“At the same time, we try to offer simple dishes that are favored by all family members,” he added.
Clara Alverina has also been busy over the past few months realizing her dream of owning a bakery. As a travel journalist for a national television station, her job is currently on hiatus.
“I used to travel at least twice a month,” she said.
As she is now working on a morning program, Clara says she has more free time, which allowed her to establish the C-Baked brand in May.
The online bakery is currently offering fudge brownies and Basque cheesecake and is taking pre-orders from Jakarta and Tangerang.
“I saw this as a new opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many people are feeling bored, a new hobby has appeared, which is snacking,” she explained.
She added that as people became more aware of the virus, they were looking to purchase foods that were hygienic and produced by someone they trusted.
As a consumer, Indiera Nathania, a kindergarten teacher who lives in Bekasi, West Java, shared a similar view.
She acknowledged that the COVID-19 outbreak had temporarily stopped her from buying outside food and snacks. However, after two months of cooking her own meals, Indiera began to purchase ready-to-cook dishes and snacks, such as dim sum and otak-otak (fishcakes), from people that she knew personally.
Indiera said the dim sum and otak-otak sellers had only recently started selling products because of the pressures of COVID-19. “But since I know their products are great, I offer them to my other friends,” she said, adding that she was now a reseller of those products.
Food writer Kevindra Prianto Soemantri said that despite the fact that many industries had been affected by the pandemic, the demand for certain types of consumption was increasing. As people rarely made trips to the supermarket, they were now craving a wider variety of prepared food.
“It provides an opportunity for those who have yet to work in the culinary industry,” he said.
