Holiday Ayo - The Food and Beverage (F&B) business in Indonesia has great opportunities to grow. This is what local Korean toast entrepreneur from Indonesia, Genta Blueuardi, is ogling. Genta's attempt at korean toast is not without calculation. He started this business in 2020 when the Korean fever was infecting Indonesian youth. At that time, Korean snacks were in great demand by Indonesians, including Korean toast.

"Korean toast is currently a trend in itself among Indonesian food lovers, and can even compete with burgers in Indonesia," said Genta, recently. Genta explained that he first started a business with the product Papanala Toast & Shake.

Initially, Genta drained his savings, which was only IDR 2 million, which was used for capital to make raw materials and buy makeshift equipment. Papanala's first office and production site is located at his home in Bekasi. While the idea of the name Papanala was taken from the first child named Nala. This is in accordance with the business adage which states that a good and blessed business is to use the child's name.

Genta's struggle to develop Papanala has not always been smooth. When he first opened a business, no one bought anything at all. Next, many have ordered through online motorcycle taxi applications. With marketing techniques on social media and optimization in online motorcycle taxi sales, Genta admits that orders and sales are increasing.

This good sales can not be separated from a solid production and sales team. In one month, Genta admitted that sales could penetrate 1000 portions with a turnover of IDR 100 million with most of the sales coming from online motorcycle taxis using digital marketing strategies. Genta continues to innovate to serve this Korean-style burger in a simple, cheap but filling way. Most of the sales come apart from the application also from several outlets.

Currently, Papanala has 7 branches in Bekasi and Jakarta. Genta targets this year to open several branches so that in the next few years it can have 20 outlets in Jabodetabek. Some of the advantages of Papanala are taste, and lower prices than competitors. In terms of taste, Genta deliberately chose gilgeori toast so that it has a more savory taste. In addition, the value and portion are also more complete.

This year, Papanala released a new product, Hinala Chicken, which is Korean fried chicken with Garlic Glaze flavor and Gangjeong Sauce. Genta hopes that Papanala can grow into one of the local Korean foods that can become a trend setter and top of mind for its products. Genta also opens partnerships and investors to develop its business.