When Indonesia’s coordinating minister of maritime and investment affairs Luhut Pandjaitan met the world’s wealthiest man Elon Musk in Texas last week, something sweet was offered on the table that eventually captured the whole nation’s attention.
Instead of tax incentives or the government’s guarantee of easy land procurement, the 74-year-old former general presented the co-founder of Tesla with a pack of Indonesia’s beloved coffee candy Kopiko.
“This is Indonesia’s Kopiko,” Luhut told Musk with a wide smile on his face. Musk, who met the Indonesian delegation just a few moments before he announced his takeover of social media giant Twitter, took two pieces of the candy, which he seemed to like.
“Pretty good,” Musk said, raising his two thumbs afterwards.
Mayora’s history dates back to 1948, when the Atmadjas, a Chinese-Indonesian family, started making biscuits from their house and sold them under the brand Marie. In 1976, the family sold another brand of biscuits called Roma and a year later, they established Mayora with their business partners after opening their first factory in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta.
Nowadays, Mayora’s confectionery, coffee and instant noodles can easily be found at small and large retailers nationwide, as well as in 99 other countries around the globe.
The company is currently led by Jogi Hendra Atmadja, a 76 year-old Chinese-Indonesian billionaire. Forbes listed him as Indonesia’s ninth richest person last year, with an estimated net worth of US$4.1 billion.
But even Jogi’s wealth, is half that of the empire of Anthony Salim, a Chinese-Indonesian business mogul and chief executive of Indofood, the company behind Indomie, a world-famous instant noodle and another source of pride among Indonesians.
This article was first published in Asia One . All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
