High hopes for hub: Indonesian food sector calls for a 'larger scale' food innovation centre to move sector forward
The concept of local food innovation centres is not a new one, with many other markets within the Asia Pacific region from Thailand to Australia already having their own such institutions which are generally at the centre of various public-private collaborations.
“Indonesia’s food and beverage industry has come a long way and we are very optimistic regarding the growth of the sector moving forward,” Elvira Indrawati from the Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (GAPMMI) Food Technical Regulatory Affairs Committee told the floor at the recent Fi Asia Indonesia 2024 event in Jakarta.
“We are well aware that the food industry plays a major role in ensuring the fulfilment of nutrition, consumption, availability and affordability of food products in this country, and that consumers today are more conscious than ever about making responsible food choices.
“What Indonesia has yet to establish is a local food innovation centre or network like those which exist in Singapore (e.g. the Singapore Institute of Technology’s Food Plant) or New Zealand (e.g. the Food Bowl).
“Such a centre would be important as it can provide a variety of services and expertise especially to small and medium enterprises that would normally not have access to these, including R&D support, cost efficient innovation, networking opportunities, regulatory advice, market insights and more.
“This is all key in helping domestic food firms and especially growing SMEs with innovation as their main strength to have the knowledge and equipment they require to push forward with better innovation and overall push the local food industry forward.”
Also present at the event was New Zealand Food Innovation Network (NZFIN) Chief Executive Grant Verry, who is also the current Chair of the Asia Pacific Food Innovation Network (APacFIN).
APacFIN comprises NZFIN, Singapore’s FoodPlant, Australia’s food innovation centre Sustainable Innovative Food Technology (SIFT), and the South- East Asia Food and Agricultural Science and Technology (SEAFAST) based in Indonesia.
“To bring forth a new generation of innovation, we must also reimagine and rebuild the underlying conditions and infrastructures that enable people to experiment and act in ways that are genuinely transformative,” he told the floor.
“The avenues to collaborate and innovate are vast, but some of the most important areas we need to focus on in this region are in terms of food safety and sustainable food production.
“[The importance of a food innovation centre] includes bringing people together from government, industry and academia towards innovation, and providing the opportunity to turbo-charge productivity through collaborations and shared utilisation.”
Powering commercialisation
Verry also encouraged local Indonesian authorities and food firms to look bigger with regard to the potential benefits of a food innovation centre and overall regional network.
“Beyond product innovation and piloting concepts and all of that, such a network is going to be very important when considering exports and going international moving forward as it would provide access to more international food innovation facilities, technologies and expertise,” he said.
“In terms of the commercialisation aspect, there is a lot to be said about the value here as well as there would be increased guided access to in-market ecosystems and help in overcoming regulatory constraints and compliance issues.
“So basically in the long term, there is a lot more to be gained with the establishment of such an innovation platform.”
