Creativity in the Midst of a Pandemic, Young Entrepreneurs Turn Brown Sugar into Packaged Herbal Medicine

Kapanlagi.com - Unimaginable before, the year 2020 has brought various extraordinary problems that have affected people's lives. This is because people have faced the hardships of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only has it become a terrifying specter worldwide, but this pandemic has also caused numerous deaths and economic difficulties due to its significant impact.

If we look back far before the pandemic, life was spent on doing and achieving something that ended in happiness and satisfaction. Although the coronavirus temporarily paralyzed the economy, people now have no choice but to rise and continue their struggle for life, seeking business opportunities and blessings.

Like the story of Fattah Sugiarto, a young entrepreneur. This 25-year-old man had to survive running his business that he started in early 2019. Initially, before the coronavirus pandemic, Fattah, who is familiarly known as Fattah, ran a business selling brown sugar. However, Fattah's creativity led him to seek new opportunities by selling packaged herbal medicine. Instead of causing losses, the coronavirus has become a business opportunity and a blessing for Fattah.

1. Starting from Anxiety

(credit: bypawon.id)

Counting almost 10 months, the 'Gula Pawon' brand established by Fattah is forced to be sluggish due to the red sugar business that has been affected by the pandemic. This is because a series of loyal customers such as restaurants, stores, and coffee shop outlets have stalled operations, causing Fattah to brainstorm to continue his business. Meanwhile, the 'Gula Pawon' business, which has been running for a year, has seen an increasing demand. Instead of growing, it actually faces a test.

To Kapanlagi.com, this Kebumen-born man admitted that he is in a difficult period because at the beginning of 2020 he had to accumulate hundreds of kilograms of unsold red sugar. "I never expected it before, at the beginning of the year when there was covid-19, the clients I usually supply red sugar to had to close. Even hundreds of kilograms of sugar melted and certainly incurred a lot of losses."

From there, Fattah said he found the idea to try switching to the empon-empon business, which is packaged as herbal medicine that he started from scratch. "Well, from the loss of sugar, I started thinking about what other business to pursue. From the large stock of sugar, I came up with the idea of crystallizing red ginger and crystallizing empon-empon. Actually, that idea was inspired by my mother who used to make crystallized red ginger," he continued.

Apparently, Fattah's hard work has not been in vain. Even the business of traditional herbal medicine has started to sell well in the market due to high demand from outside the region. The attractive packaging of the herbal medicine is priced affordably.

"We sell packaged herbal medicine at prices that correspond to their quality. For example, a 200ml bottled herbal medicine is priced at Rp.15,000, while our powdered herbal medicine starts from Rp.35,000/pcs," said Fattah.

It is also mentioned that packaged herbal medicine such as red ginger and turmeric are selling well due to the spread of the coronavirus.

"Initially, I only packaged five kilograms of herbal medicine neatly. As time goes by, more and more people are looking for herbal medicine, especially red ginger and turmeric, which have many health benefits and are helpful for maintaining body health and stamina, especially during the pandemic," Fattah explained.

Due to the increasing demand for herbal medicine, Fattah is now determined to continue developing his herbal medicine business, which started from his concern.

2. Opening Job Opportunities for Friends

(credit: bypawon.id)

Seeing the increasing interest in the empon-empon business pioneered by Fattah, Fattah now also opens up business opportunities with his friends. Together with his two colleagues, Rifan and Cindy, they continue to innovate and develop the empon-empon business.

"Basically, I always adhere to one quote that says, if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. That's why I and my colleagues continue to innovate and develop this business, hoping for long-term success," said Fattah.

Fattah and his friends also utilize social media as a platform to promote their business. Through the Instagram account @bypawon.id, Fattah and his friends try to expand the reach of their empon-empon sales to a wider audience.

In the future, it is possible that Fattah will open up job opportunities for skilled individuals who have unique advantages that they do not yet possess.

3. Make Business Permanent

(credit: bypawon.id)

Although the empon-empon business was started during the pandemic, Fattah is confident that his business will continue to grow and become bigger. Even when the pandemic is over, Fattah remains optimistic that this empon-empon business will be able to survive. Therefore, Fattah will continue to expand his wings to make this empon-empon business a permanent business.

"As time goes by, I see that packaged herbal medicine is not only needed during the pandemic as a way to protect oneself from corona, but many people have made this packaged herbal medicine their favorite drink," he said.

Fattah also mentioned that as time goes by, there are more and more loyal customers who always look for his products. He also revealed that the target market he found the most is mothers.

Kapanlagi.com also had the opportunity to contact Dian Rahayu, one of Fattah's loyal customers who always order his packaged herbal medicine.

"At first, I bought it because they said that these empon-empon can ward off corona. But as time goes by, not only because of corona, but I also love the taste. So, almost every week I order this packaged herbal medicine," said Dian.

It is not surprising that thanks to Fattah's perseverance in starting the packaged herbal medicine business, he can generate a monthly turnover of up to five million rupiah.

4. Expand Wings Open Kiosk

(credit: bypawon.id)

Not satisfied with its current achievements, the packaged herbal medicine business, which is already well-known for its natural production process without preservatives, continues to strive to expand its wings.

Now, together with his team, they are focusing on opening a herbal medicine kiosk that will certainly have a touch of creativity, which he refers to as dine-in herbal drinks.

"Yes, so now it's still in the development process because there will be dine-in herbal drinks. Anyway, we will continue to modify herbal drinks that are packaged in a modern way and cooked in a modern process. For example, coffee can be made into espresso, and we will also make herbal drinks in espresso and create latte art with herbs. We are currently focusing on and building that," concluded Fattah.

In the future, Fattah always follows the principle of not only taking advantage of the situation that led him to find brilliant ideas, but also how to ensure that the business remains sustainable and liked by many people.

(kpl/dtm)