Dressed in batik with a blend of three colors, blue, gold and black, Rusmini "Minie" Sudjarwo, 51, stepped confidently onto the stage of the Ministry of Trade auditorium.

That afternoon, the red-haired woman was one of the top three participants from UMKM selected by the Ministry of Trade for the Strengthening Branding and Packaging for UMKM Food Products program.

Through the MiniesQ brand, the woman who used to be a bodybuilder now stands on the stage as a healthy cookies entrepreneur. MiniesQ then began to be placed on supermarket retail shelves.

"This appreciation is not only for myself, but for all UMKM that can bring their brands upscale and trusted by the public," he told the SUAR team, met after the Branding and Packaging Strengthening Program for Food Product UMKM in Jakarta, Wednesday (20/8/2025).

This program facilitates UMKM throughbranding training and improving the quality of food product packaging.

Minister of Trade Budi Santoso said that this effort will strengthen the competitiveness of food products to increase the chances of winning domestic and global market competition.

"Our domestic market is very large, and the export market is also wide open. Through this program, UMKM food products are not only ready to enter domestic modern retailers, but also more competitive in the export market," Budi said in his speech.

Currently, he said, more than 80% of the products marketed in modern retail are local products. This indicates an increase in consumer demand that increasingly trusts local products.

"In many countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, packaging is one of the main factors in consumer decisions. Quality products must be supported by attractive packaging to be trusted by the market," he said.

From the participation of the program, since last year, several UMKM have successfully entered Hero Supermarket, souvenir shops at Soekarno Hatta Airport, and various other modern retail outlets.

Budi claims, in other Ministry programs, UMKM Can Export has recorded transactions of USD 90.04 million or equivalent to IDR 1.4 trillion in January-July 2025.

Steep road

Minie Sudjarwo's journey in creating healthy cookies was not an easy one. In line with her healthy living motto, she created healthy cookies to benefit the community.

"Getting products into Hypermart or Hero was a struggle," he recalls, noting that it was very difficult to expand the market in the retail market.

One of the reasons, he said, is because the packaging is too simple, making it unconvincing for customers.

"With the right guidance, they began to develop strong product narratives, reorganize product displays, and build closer relationships with consumers," he said.

Thanks to this program, MiniesQ is now present in 15 modern markets, souvenir centers, and 90s fitness centers. Stronger branding, according to her, has made her products more easily accepted by the market, even doubling her turnover.

At that time, the auditorium of the Ministry of Trade was filled with rows of UMKM products that appeared with a new face.

Brightly colored packaging, bold logos, and modern designs make home-cooked snacks no less than the products of large corporations. Behind the fresh look is a branding training program that embraces hundreds of small business owners from various regions.

A similar story comes from Santi Krisantina Hakim, 54, owner of the Wizz brand who also made it to the top 3. From her home kitchen, she develops various processed food products, ranging from shredded chicken to shredded fish.

Santi admits that the Ministry of Trade's program has given her greater insight into the importance of brand identity. "What is visible now is only the packaging, even though it is only one of the outputs. We were also given knowledge about brand strength, colors, and brand books," she said.

Before being known by the brand Wizz, he had tried many different brands for his products, such as Wizz Sausage, Wizz Food, and Wizz Bites. But since receiving coaching, he realized that his products only needed one word to homogenize.

Now, Wizz products appear consistently in modern markets, making them more recognizable to consumers.

"In the retail market, this brand can speak for itself. People already know, oh, this is Wizz shredded chicken, oh, this is Wizz shredded fish, without me having to explain it again," said Santi.

With consistent branding, Wizz's products have even penetrated the international market. His homemade shredded is marketed to Hong Kong and Malaysia.

"What's good about this program is its sustainability. Not just in terms of packaging, but also to the export market," he said enthusiastically.

Strengthen competitiveness

Director General of Domestic Trade, Isy Karim, explained that the branding and packaging strengthening program is the Ministry of Trade's commitment to strengthen the competitiveness of local food products.

"UMKM are not only required to produce quality products, but also to build a strong brand narrative and identity. Branding is the entry point to win both domestic and global markets," he said.

This year's program was attended by 765 UMKM from Jakarta, Tangerang, South Tangerang, Depok, and Bintaro.

After passing the curation stage, 300 UMKM received intensive training on brand proposition, brand character, brand communication, as well as packaging design and promotion techniques.

Of that number, 15 selected UMKM will receive further assistance in the form of publishing branding books, marketing strategies, as well as facilitating entry into modern retail networks and trade shows.

Isy emphasized that the success of UMKM is not only about surviving, but also about upgrading.

"We want UMKM not only to sell in traditional markets or bazaars, but to be present on the shelves of large supermarkets, and even exported," he added.

As a result, some of the fostered UMKM managed to penetrate the shelves of Hero Supermarket, Hypermart, and were found at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport gift shop.

To give a real picture, the committee presented three alumni UMKM that are now upscaling. There is Rusmini "Minie" Sudjarwo with the MiniesQ brand, whey protein-based cookies that position themselves as healthy snacks.

There is also Santi Krisantina Hakim, owner of the Wizz brand with healthy shredded chicken products. And Mimin Casmiaty, the initiator of the Peyek Den Bagus brand that promotes premium rempeyek as a "noble snack".

All three received the award directly from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade. Their stories are proof that local UMKM can compete in the premium class if packaged with the right branding strategy.

On the other hand, Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Retailers and Shopping Center Tenants (Hippindo), Budihardjo Iduansjah, also emphasized that modern retailers are ready to support local UMKM . According to him, the packaging of local food products is now much better than five years ago.

"New categories such as local snacks are increasingly in demand by consumers. This is a great opportunity for modern retailers to add product variety while strengthening domestic supply," he said.

He also mentioned that Indonesian modern retail chains have branches abroad, such as in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Korea. These branches can be an entry point for exports.

"This means that our UMKM not only have a domestic market, but can also be directly tested in foreign markets," he said.