Susilaningsih, Surabaya ‘Sambal’ on World Stage

Indonesia’s wealth in spices should be preserved through various means. Among these efforts is to popularize diverse spice and seasoning products, such as the different sambal varieties for Indonesian dishes.

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

Susilaningsih

“Though it is just sambal (chili sauce), I want this product to jolt the world, not be famous only in Nusantara (Indonesia) or be a mere local champion,” said Susilaningsih, 67, explaining her persistence in producing sambal, which has now whet the appetite of consumers in the United States and Australia.

The founder of the Surabaya sambal business branded Dede Satoe, or DD1, has kept learning and striving since 2011 towards marketing sambal around the globe as a condiment to stimulate the appetite.

The idea to market sambal on a par with other products at stores and supermarkets in other countries came to Susilaningsih, who goes by Susi, when she traveled overseas several times but could never find sambal.

“Meals without sambal are tasteless. There is indeed sambal abroad in paste form, but it has an unpleasant taste and blunts my appetite,” Susi said on Friday (11/3/2022) at her Surabaya home, which doubles as a production center for 15 sambal variants and five Indonesian bumbu, or spice blends.

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Penetrating the export food market with sambal is not a simple process. Obtaining the various food licenses and certificates require passing through long and winding procedures.

Even the licenses and certificates issued by institutions in export destination countries do not guarantee the local distribution of the product. Thousands of bottles of Dede Satoe sambal were once rejected on inspection at an airport in South Korea because it contained ingredients made from fish. In fact, the sambal had passed the country’s required tests for import food items.

Failing to enter the South Korean market, the mother of three refused to lose hope. She even intensified her efforts to seek information about the food safety and certification requirements for sambal so she could enter foreign markets.

Her perseverance in producing sambal since 2011, when she retired as a civil servant, has now enabled her to overcome these strict rules, including those in the United States cities of New York, Los Angeles and the state of Virginia, as well as in Vancouver, Canada.

Even when the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in Indonesia in March 2020, the sambal demand in several US states continued to increase, especially for the extra hot variety. During that time, sambal sales was nose-diving in the domestic market and production had slumped to just 30 percent.

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

Several types of sambal produced by Susilaningsih

Despite the plunge in demand from stores and supermarkets during the pandemic, with some halting their orders altogether, Susi continued to produce sambal, along with 20 housewives and eight administrative staffers.

Her steadfastness enabled Susi to increase production without laying off her workers. Orders came in almost every day from stores and supermarkets, even overseas buyers, so that production was climbing on entering the year 2021.

From January to December 2021, Susi, who likes to cook and started out with a cheese stick business, exported 7,160 bottles of sambal to several US states and to Australia.

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She continued to create new varieties of sambal. Fifteen sambal varieties and seasonings have been produced under the DD1 brand. The different sambal varieties use garfish, anchovy fry, brined fish, jambal roti (sea catfish), lemongrass, dried fish, rujak manis (sweet-spicy sauce for fruit salad), pecel (peanut sauce for steamed vegetable salad) and korek (garlic and shallot sambal).

Today, she processes at least 50 kilograms of chilies and 50 kilograms of shallots every day. When the pandemic subsides, the quantities could be even larger.

DD1 sambal, which does not use chemical flavorings, comes in 135-gram bottles as well as individual sachets, which makes it easier to distribute overseas.

Word-of-mouth

In the early days of her sambal business, Susi placed small bottles of her sambal on consignment at neighborhood kiosks and a supermarket near her house in Tenggilis Mejoyo, Surabaya. Word-of-mouth promotion developed her business, which had once processed 150 kilograms of chilies and shallots per day to produce 2,100 bottles of sambal.

DD1 sambal was able to appear on the shelves of supermarkets in other countries because it had earned the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certificate.

“The HACCP certificate is proof of quality guarantee that is issued by an independent certification institute and guarantees food safety, so our product has gained export permission to several countries,” said Susi.

Apart from exporting, DD1-branded sambal varieties are now also sold at supermarkets, gift shops and a number of restaurants in Surabaya, Jakarta, Bandung, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Manado, Banjarmasin, Makassar, Jayapura, Sorong and Timika, as well as at several airports in the country.

At her age, the woman with eight grandchildren is fervently seeking to enter more markets, especially overseas. However, she is gradually transferring the management of her business to her second child, who lives with her.

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

Susilaningsih

Indonesian spices

Susi started her business in 2011 with capital of just Rp 50,000. She used the money to buy 1 kg each of chilies and shallots to produce 10 bottles of sambal.

When her product started becoming more widely known, Susi hired two local residents to help her produce sambal. Over time, her business grew to 20 employees, all housewives from her neighborhood.

Her sambal sales did not go smoothly in the beginning, as several gift shops in Surabaya rejected her sambal because she did not have a distribution license.

The rejection did not deter her, and she became even more determined to meet the various sales and distribution requirements so her sambal could appear on retail shelves alongside other food products.

Every month, I also export to America and New Zealand. I ship around 800-1,000 bottles each month.

By 2012, Susi had obtained all the necessary permits for her sambal, including those for distribution, branding and halal labels. A year later, her business even won the best MSME award from the Surabaya municipal administration.

In order to deal with the current decline in sales, Susi is exploring e-commerce options. During the pandemic, products sold through online marketplaces saw an increase.

“Every month, I also export to America and New Zealand. I ship around 800-1,000 bottles each month,” Susi said.

Through the DD1 brand, Susi hopes to gain wide international recognition for authentic Indonesian sambal. From the start, Susi had dreamed of marketing sambal around the globe. Later, she started producing various packaged seasonings for Indonesian dishes like rawon (stewed beef with kluwak nuts), soto (soup) and rendang (beef stewed in spices and coconut milk), as well as a variety of snack foods.

According to Susi, Indonesia’s wealth in spices should be preserved through various means. Among these efforts is to popularize diverse spice and seasoning products, such as the different sambal varieties and seasonings for Indonesian dishes.

Susilaningsih

Born: Kroya, 5 Feb. 1955

Husband: R.P. Fathol Arifin Suryonegoro

Children:

- Rusdy Pramana S, 43

- Siti Fatimah, 41

- Wara Agustina R., 40

Education:

- Elementary school, 1967

- Science and Mathematics School, 1970

- Pharmaceutical Senior High School, 1975

- Bachelor in trade administration, 1992

- Master in management 2004

Achievements:

- Best Economic Champion 1 of Surabaya, 2013

- ISO 9001:2008 Registration, 2016

- Export Officer Competence Certificate, 2017

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.