Admittedly, Indonesia's culinary branding at the international level is far behind that of neighboring countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam. Realizing this, recently, six ministries agreed to work together to revive the Indonesian herbs and spices export program that took place several years ago.

The Indonesian Diaspora and culinary businesses also gave a positive response. They are optimistic that the collaboration will strengthen Indonesia's culinary image in the eyes of the world, as well as increase spice exports in the coming years.

On Thursday (28/08/2025), the Ministry of Trade in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Creative Economy, the Ministry of UMKM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of BUMN, launched the "S'RASA: Rasa Rempah Indonesia" program at the Sarinah shopping center, Jakarta.

S'RASA is an Indonesian culinary promotion program for foreign markets, by presenting a variety of Indonesian culinary specialties along with identity, stories, and cultural heritage in Indonesian restaurants in various countries. S'RASA is a continuation of the Indonesia Spice Up The World program which ends in 2024. In the pilot project stage, S'RASA will collaborate with Indonesian restaurants located in five world cities, namely Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Amsterdam, Netherlands; London, UK; and New York, USA.

Present at the launch were Minister of Trade Budi Santoso, Minister of Tourism Widianti Putri Wardana, Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya, Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir, Deputy for Medium Enterprises of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesUMKM) Bagus Rachman, along with echelon one officials from each ministry who signed the cooperation document.

According to Budi Santoso, the signing of the S'RASA memorandum of understanding (MoU) is a form of unified commitment across ministries to make Indonesian restaurants abroad not only a place to sell food, but also the spearhead of Indonesia's gastro diplomacy. The cooperation of six ministries to encourage spice exports, according to him, is a concrete form of that support.

Budi said that during January-June 2025, there was a surge in exports of Indonesian coffee, tea and spices commodities which reached US$ 1.630 billion, growing 86.5% compared to the same period last year.

"We want these spice exports to support our restaurants and food branding . So far, we export spices, but they are consumed by others. With S'RASA running for the next 4 years-5 years, we will strengthen our own culinary image in the eyes of the world," Budi explained in a Q&A with the media.

Powerful herbs

Agreeing with Budi Santoso, Arrmanatha Nasir appreciated the synergistic efforts of six ministries that are trying to make Indonesian cuisine global. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, who once served as the number one person in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations, also underlined Indonesian restaurants and shops abroad as valuable assets.

Arrmanatha said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Gastronomy Dashboard platform recorded 1,221 Indonesian restaurants abroad. On average, they serve three featured menus. Namely, satay, fried rice, and gado-gado.

"Through S'RASA, we strive to make Indonesian cuisine have the same standard of flavor for every dish served to their customers," Arrmanatha said.

In the S'RASA program, UMKM are expected to be one of the pillars that play an optimal role. According to Bagus Rachman from the Ministry of UMKM, this program will empower around 12,000 spice UMKM entrepreneurs to become suppliers of Indonesian spices and seasonings abroad.

Contacted separately, Belitung white pepper export entrepreneur Vivi Widyana assessed that Indonesian spice exports have very promising prospects. "Indonesia has one of the best quality pepper in the world. Belitung white pepper which is also known as Muntok white pepper is very popular abroad," said Vivi when contacted by SUAR, Thursday (28/08).

The need for post-pandemic spice consumption, in Vivi's assessment, is one of the supports for the growth of Indonesia's spice exports which continue to experience rapid development to date.

"After the pandemic, there has been a change in consumer behavior in Asia and Europe who are increasingly aware of the importance of natural ingredients in food, including high quality spices. One of them is Indonesian spices," concluded Vivi.

Traces of flavor in a foreign land

The experience of presenting Indonesian flavors in a foreign country is a story like no other. Tisa, a diaspora who works at an Indonesian food stall in London, says that the Indonesian community abroad is an entry point for popularizing Indonesian cuisine to the British people. In addition to working at the shop, she also opened a simple catering service that serves Indonesian dishes to order.

"Most buyers are Indonesian students studying here. They know from the Indonesian student community communication group, as well as Indonesian residents who live around the house. Because it is small, I sell only for the community, medicine miss Indonesian cuisine for friends here," Tisa said when contacted by SUAR from Jakarta, Friday (29/8/2025).

In running an Indonesian culinary business in the land of King Charles, Tisa admits that it is not too difficult to obtain Indonesian cooking spices. Some of the many oriental shops in London also sell them in packaged form and ready to cook. "The most that I have never encountered so far is bay leaves. Other than that, everything is available," she said.

From the Indonesian food stalls that she co-runs, Tisa has seen a growing interest from local people in Indonesian cuisine. "They often praise the taste of the food too," she says with a chuckle.

However, he still pays attention to the transparency of information on the content of dishes, including by listing the content of allergy-triggering ingredients for non-Indonesian consumers.

Tisa's efforts to introduce and bring Indonesian flavors to foreign tongues is one of the achievements of the Indonesian diaspora that is not easy. It's not just about gaining customers' trust, but also choosing representative dishes to represent Indonesia.

Research by Helga Yohana Simatupang and friends from UPN "Veteran" East Java, 2025, explained that one of the biggest challenges of Indonesia's gastro diplomacy is the lack of written documentation of the wealth of cuisine verified to represent the regions of Indonesia.

One of the biggest challenges of Indonesia's gastro diplomacy is the lack of written documentation of the richness of the cuisine verified to represent the regions of Indonesia.

Not only that, the diversity of types also requires Indonesian cuisine business actors abroad to maintain consistency in taste and quality, access to authentic and fresh raw materials and spices, and promote the types of cuisine from various regions in a balanced manner in an equally attractive menu catalog.

The research concluded that the key to overcoming the challenges of gastro diplomacy is none other than creating an integrated ecosystem that connects government efforts on the one hand and the experience of diaspora interaction with local communities on the other.

Not only serving cuisine, Indonesian shops and restaurants abroad can also feature music, crafts, and traditional clothing as ornaments. Thus, creating a holistic ambience and dining experience, as well as introducing Indonesian cuisine as part of a broader cultural product.