Sambal Kawani is expanding its export market overseas, especially to Taiwan. The packaged sambal from Jakarta started from a small home-cooked fried chicken business. Sambal Kawani owner Daniel Hendra said that the Covid-19 pandemic itself was a turning point for the business he manages. The reason is, before the pandemic, he had managed a fried chicken restaurant in one of the guesthouses in Kelapa Gading. "At that time, our turnover could reach IDR 3.5 million per day. However, when the pandemic began to spread, income dropped drastically," Daniel recalled. Even so, Daniel began to see new opportunities. When several customers returned to eat fried chicken, he realized that there was one element that was still sought after, namely his signature sambal. This is where the idea to produce packaged sambal emerged, presenting the authentic taste of Indonesian home cooking for anyone. The decision proved to be the right one. As a result, Sambal Kawani managed to record orders for thousands of bottles from Taiwan.
Daniel also developed his product into 18 flavor variants, from roa fish sambal, skipjack tuna, squid, oseng iga, anchovies and stink beans, to chili oil. The efforts to develop these sambal variants have proven effective in driving sales. Seeing the great opportunities in the Asian market, Daniel did not stop there. He started targeting other countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. Furthermore, he said that the success of Sambal Kawani cannot be separated from the support of BRI Jakarta's BUMN House, which he has participated in since 2022. Through this program, Daniel gained new insights into branding, digitalization strategies, and financial management. Separately, BRI Corporate Secretary Agustya Hendy Bernadi said that BRI not only provides financing support, but also empowerment that helps local businesses understand marketing strategies and expand their networks to increase their sales.
