Heritage Value as Strength Selling Point in Cokelat Ndalem Products

Heritage Value as Strength Selling Point in Cokelat Ndalem Products
Kharisma Creativani
National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan
Prof. Jui-Che Tu
National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan
ABSTRACT: In 2014, the office for trade, corporation and small- medium industry of Yogyakarta targeting the export for creative industry sector up to U$ 242 millions, in mid 2014, the number has already at U$
226,6 millions..Cokelat Ndalem one of culinary home industry combines local value and creativity in its
products. Chocolate as its main products able to accommodate the local farmers commodities for the demand
of raw ingredients since Cokelat Ndalem innovates the taste of its chocolate products with local herbs. In addition, the packaging of the products presents various images from bregada keraton (Yogyakarta palace soldiers) to batik motives including the story behind it. The Cokelat Ndalem itself called this packaging innovation as “so pop redesigned Javanese culture”. This paper will discuss the use of Javanese culture images and
local taste in Cokelat Ndalem related to the appearance among the consumers.
Keywords: heritage, culture, chocolate, packaging, selling point, Cokelat Ndalem, Yogyakarta
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Cokelat Ndalem
1.2 Cokelat Ndalem Products
Initiated by a couple, Meika Hazim and Wednes
Aria Yuda, Cokelat Ndalem created as their feedback to Yogyakarta, the city where they live in.
March 2013, Cokelat Ndalem officially launched as
a brand under management of CV. nDalem Mulya
Mandiri. As a brand, Cokelat Ndalem accentuate on
uniqueness and local value coined by Yogyakarta
wisdom and culture. The strong cultural background
has substantial influence in its products.
As a special region in Indonesia, Yogyakarta preserves Javanese culture firmly. Keraton Kasultanan
Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat or Yogyakarta palace is
the center of most Javanese tradition and culture.
King and his family live in the palace and nurturing
the tradition toward its society. Many custom keep
exist nowadays, such as traditional dances, clothing,
and traditional ceremonies.
Cokelat Ndalem as a homemade chocolate able to
combining these potential, local culture and chocolate into valuable products. In addition, this brand
empowers the local farmers for its herbs as raw material. This home industry in its development penetrated its market to nationwide and exploring some
possibilities for another Indonesia’s herb.
By 2014, Cokelat Ndalem has 5 different chocolate
lineup, classic, hot chocolate, herbs chocolate, herbal drink, and coffee. Each category has different variant. Classic chocolate has dark chocolate and less
sugar dark chocolate; for hot chocolate, there are hot
chili chocolate, hot ginger and hot mint chocolate.
Herbs chocolate line up, Cokelat Ndalem add native herbs from Indonesia. In personal interview
March 12, 2015, Surya Sheina as marketing said,
“as our goal to introduce Indonesian culture to the
world through chocolate, we add Indonesia’s native
spices. In fact, Indonesia is the third largest cacao
producer in the world, intead, most of people know
and prefer Belgium chocolate as benchmark.”
Cokelat Ndalem herbs category consists of lemon
grass (Cymbopogon citratus) chocolate, clove
(Syzygium aromaticum) chocolate, and cinnamon
(Cinnamomum) chocolate.
Others Indonesian refinement in Cokelat
Ndalem products appear on indigenous refreshment
lineup; wedang ronde, wedang bajigur and wedang
uwuh are authentic beverage from Yogyakarta combining with chocolate and creating uniqueness. The
commitment towards Indonesia culture and raw materials showed on its latest product lines, coffee.
Cokelat Ndalem collaborates with local farmer to
supply its demand of coffee from all over country.
Start from the western part, Cokelat Ndalem
launched their Aceh Gayo coffee chocolate, followed by Jogja Merapi coffee, Bali Kintamani coffee, Flores Bajawa coffee, Toraja Kalosi, and Papua
Wamena coffee into their chocolate products.
2 METODHOLOGY
This part will describe two main features in Cokelat
Ndalem which being studied; Cokelat Ndalem packaging design and seles rate on 2014. In addition, interview conducted to costumers in order to know
their purchasing decision on Cokelat Ndalem products and their point of view of the packaging appearance. Respondents randomly taken from Cokelat
Ndalem facebook likers, considering that the likers
already know or at least have heard about Cokelat
Ndalem. H. Assael mentioned (1987) mentioned, the
success of positioning strategies depends on how the
target segments react to the marketing strategies directed to them (Evans et al. 1996: 179).
2.1 Cokelat Ndalem Packaging
Packaging design is a creative business that connects
form, structure, materials, color, imagery, typography,
and ancillary design elements with product information to make a product suitable for marketing.
Packaging design serves to contain, protect, transport,
dispense, store, identify, and distinguish a product in
the marketplace (Klimchuk & Krasovec, 2006: 33).
…the brand and its values should penetrate every aspect of company behavior if it is to succeed and, to
embrace corporate responsibility, the brand must also
embrace the ethic and values for which is stands
(Stewart, 2007: 188).
in wedding ceremony, Tumaruntum pattern as a
symbol of flourishing love which worn by the groom
parents, and illustration of Sido Asih pattern represents unconditional love and future happiness for
groom and bride.
Picture 1. Cokelat Ndalem Dark Chocolate lineup packaging.
Source:http://www.cokelatndalem.co.id/varian-linirasa/cokelatklasik/.
Then, wayang (Javanesse puppet) character
placed on hot chocolate variants. The wayang characters illustrated in such a cute way more likely cartoon style. The brand wrapped the hot chili chocolate with Bima or known as Verkudara the member
of Pandawa and mentions the figure characteristic.
So do the hot ginger chocolate and hot mint chocolate are equipped with Wissanggeni the son of Arjuna and Gatotkaca the son of Bima pictures and stories.
In order to reach company’s aim, to introducing
Indonesian culture through its products, Cokelat
Ndalem designs the packaging to accommodate the
information in such a way. In its company profile,
Cokelat Ndalem cites their passionate brand message,
“our main concern is not only make the good chocolate, but also how we could re-educate and tell story
about Indonesian culture to you and all our customers.
By providing the story in bi-lingual, we hope we can
tell story about Indonesia culture into much larger part
of the world, including you. Is a collaboration of
chocolate and culture.”
As their slogan, storytelling chocolate; chocolate
that has story behind it, Cokelat Ndalem puts different illustration on every single packaging. Illustration varied from Yogyakarta traditional batik motif
to Javanese traditional ceremonies. The brand puts a
story and information about the illustration in every
package.
From the dark chocolate lineup, Cokelat Ndalem
places Yogyakarta wedding batik motif pictures; Sido Mukti pattern as a symbol of prosperity and worn
Picture 2. Cokelat Ndalem Hot Chocolate lineup packaging.
Source:http://www.cokelatndalem.co.id/varian-linirasa/cokelatpedas/.
Another Yogyakarta heritage brought by
Cokelat Ndalem is the use of bregada keraton (Yogyakarta palace’s soldiers) images on the local herbs
chocolate, rempahnesia lineup. On the lemongrass
flavor, Cokelat Ndalem puts a figure of Mantrijero
soldier, the soldier of minister of internal affair of
keraton. Meanwhile picture of bregada Wirabraja,
the soldier with bright red color uniform charged as
the top-level vanguard palace soldier wrapped clove
chocolate flavor. On cinnamon chocolate packaging
there is an illustration of the elite soldier of Sultan
called Nyutra means as smooth as silk who has a duty as a guard and could dance for Sultan as well.
Picture 3. Cokelat Ndalem Herbs Chocolate lineup packaging.
Source:http://www.cokelatndalem.co.id/varian-linirasa/cokelatrempahnesia/.
dance, a traditional dance from Aceh created by Syech Saman. Jogja Merapi coffee wrapped with a picture of dancer figure dances bedhaya manten, the
dance which only shown on palace wedding ceremonial. Bali Kintamani coffee, which came from the
most famous tourism place in Indonesia shows the
picture of Legong dancers in its packaging. The figure of men portrayed Caci, one of dances from Flores symbolizes harvest period and so welcome
dance. From another parts of Indonesia, Cokelat
Ndalem picks Toraja Kalosi coffee and adds
Pa’Pangngan dance picture and story. As same as
Caci dance, Pa’Pangngan dance is welcome dance
from Toraja. From eastern part of Indonesia, the
brand promotes Papua Wamena coffee complete
with the picture of war dance of Wamena.
On the herbal drink lineup or called Cokelat
Wedangan, the brand shows the landmark as well as
tourism spots in Yogyakarta. Start from the most
momentous place, Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, the palace where the sultan and family live in,
the center for all most city tradition comes from.
This landmark put on wedang ronde flavor as
wedang ronde is the Sultan favorite drink. As the
city with strength heritage influence, Yogyakarta has
hundreds cultural spot. In palace area, there is an
alun-alun kidul or southern square with two banyan
trees called ringin kurung. The food stall selling
wedang bajigur would be easily found in this place.
Cokelat Ndalem raised this story into its wedang
ronde chocolate flavor packaging. Last, in herbal
drink lineup, the image of Imogiri, the cemetery of
Mataram palace family members displayed on
wedang uwuh chocolate packaging. In addition, the
story about the Sultan Agung, king of Mataram palace who found the recipe of the herbal drink when
he meditated under the clove tree is written on the
packaging as well.
Picture 5. Cokelat Ndalem Coffee Chocolate lineup packaging.
Source:http://www.cokelatndalem.co.id/varian-linirasa/cokelatkopinesia/.
2.2 Cokelat Ndalem Sales 2014
During 2014, after a year has been established,
Cokelat Ndalem experience fluctuate increase.
Picture 4. Cokelat Ndalem Herbs Chocolate lineup packaging.
Source:http://www.cokelatndalem.co.id/varian-linirasa/cokelatwedangan/.
In the latest flavor innovation, Cokelat Ndalem
combines Indonesia native coffee with chocolate,
called kopinesia. The packaging illustration differs,
depends on which origin the coffee from. Aceh
Gayo coffee flavor shows the picture of saman
Figure 1. Cokelat Ndalem sales on 2014. Source: Cokelat
Ndalem sales subdivision.
Recorded on Januari 2014, based on sales data, is
about 3427 bars chocolate sold. It came from all var-
iant and various size, 85gr, 50gr and 7gr. Eventhoug
the sales declined on February to 2952 bars, the
trend remained steady from March to July around
4000 bars each month. It reached a peak in August,
5349 pieces chocolate sold during this month.
Company reported, during 2014, dark chocolate
leads sale as much as 4385 bars a year. Followed by
extra dark chocolate 3197 pieces and 2950 bars mint
chocolate. Meanwhile the lowest sale rate is
lemongrass chocolate, only 755 bars sold on 2014.
3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Culture as a vivid point
Based on interview, 62% responses that Cokelat
Ndalem, from the name of the brand representing
Yogyakarta very well. 8% specifically said that the
name of Cokelat Ndalem refers to kraton, Yogyakarta palace. Wulan (24) stated that the first time she
heard about Cokelat Ndalem, she tough that the
product came from the palace, “the choice of words,
cokelat and ndalem are remind me to kraton.” The
word ‘ndalem’ itself means a house for Javanese.
Most of people live in Yogyakarta associate ndalem
with kraton.
Most of the interviewee (98%) agree that Cokelat
Ndalem packaging able to communicate the Yogyakarta culture and Indonesia as well. Most of them
are interested on the illustration and will read the
story behind the images before eat the chocolate. Rato (24), “I notice Cokelat Ndalem from the very beginning because of the cute illustration style.” Laras
(27) cited that the simple packaging with colorful
images is good match and the information about the
heritage matters makes it one step a head from the
competitors. Meanwhile the 2% said that the images
are interesting but they prefer to put it aside and enjoy the chocolate.
Packaging design is at its most effective as a selling vehicle if that message is endorsed consistently
through its advertising, a highly visible medium
(Milton, 1991:8). As the packaging design becomes
the image of the brand, consumer comes to recognize and visually identify with the values, qualities,
features and attributes of the brand (Klimchuk &
Krasovec, 2006: 42). Packaging now became the only communication between shopper and product
(Stewart, 2007: 28). Considering packaging design
as a vehicle and medium for the company to transfers their messages, Cokelat Ndalem Packaging design and illustration style, the company itself called
“so pop redesigned Javanese culture” able to communicate the company message to raise awareness
of Indonesian culture among its consumers.
This company maintains its innovation regularly.
It releases new variants every six months. The taste
lineup also has an influence on costumer retention.
As company reported, dark chocolate lead the sales
on 2014. If this refers to the dark chocolate taste as
the original and common taste, only 4% comments
that the other variants like herb and local drink are
not to pleasurable. The rest percentage shows that
the sensation of local taste in the products is unique
and remarkable. However, the company could consider the consumer insight as its innovation base. As
Kristina Blackwell and Roger Blackwell sited on
‘Consumer Insight’ September 1999, consumer insight can be defined as an understanding of consumers’ expressed and unspoken needs and realities that
affect how they make life, brand, and product choices (Blackwell et al. 2001: 57). …different consumers
posses different levels of innovativeness, which affect which advertising and positioning strategies will
be most effective (Blackwell et al. 2001: 57).
4 CONCLUSION
Reminding product position is important for the
company and the sales rate indeed. Evans et al
(1996) described how important such a company to
have a brand positioning; and Cokelat Ndalem able
to convey that it has superior product and consistent
to the company goal, to combine culture and chocolate.
The culture value on packaging and development
on new products either on variant taste or packaging
design, shows that Cokelat Ndalem has strength and
identity which competitors are not offering. To be
noted, most of consumers read and agree that culture
information and illustration on the packaging is interesting as well as educating.
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Stewart, Bill, 2007. Packaging Design. London: Laurence
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Cokelat Ndalem Company Profile.
Cokelat Ndalem Sales 2014.