Multi Bintang Indonesia continues to be relevant to continue history

ukms.or.id – Multi Bintang Indonesia , When you hear the Bintang brand, what comes to your mind? Surely not a few remember this one soft drink or beer brand. Bintang is one of the flagship products of PT Multi Bintang Indonesia.

Comes with a long history in the country, Multi Bintang continues to grow. Not only producing and marketing alcoholic beverages.

Along the way, the company is then transformed by bringing innovation. Multi Stars start their transformation by changing their mission. From a well-known brewer to a complete beverage company.

This new mission was then attempted to be realized through the addition of an innovative product portfolio in terms of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in 2014.

Currently, Multi Bintang produces and markets Heineken as their premium beer, 0.0% alcohol categories such as Bintang Zero and Bintang Radler 0.0%, as well as various innovations in the beer product category with a combination of lemon juice and orange juice.

Meanwhile, from the non-alcoholic line, Multi Bintang offers soft drinks such as Fayrouz, Green Sands and Strongbow cider.

In this transformation, Jessica Setiawan who now serves as Marketing Director of PT Multi Bintang Indonesia is in it. This woman who has a passion as a marketer is responsible for building brands under the auspices of Multi Bintang to have slick business performance.

Together with Clara Ermaningtiastuti from Marketeers , Jessica shared about how Multi Bintang survived and continued the company’s history in Indonesia.

How do you see the beverage industry in Indonesia today?

This industry is very attractive, especially in Indonesia. Consumers here have a unique characteristic that is constantly growing. If we look at the world of alcoholic beverages such as beer, we see many parameters.

Because every consumer has different needs. For example, some enjoy their drink considering the taste or even the emotional connection.

It is no less important to note that a number of players in this industry are very competitive. However, that factor also keeps us motivated to innovate. To present the right product, we always try to listen to feedback from consumers.

In your opinion, what are the challenges and opportunities that companies must face today?

We have two big brands. First we have Bintang then Heineken. From here, we can already see the challenges we have to face, which is to ensure that quality is maintained. In addition, we also have to read consumers.

For me, we did quite well with Bintang. This brand has been around for a long time and is known to consumers. Very iconic and timeless. Time may change but the star is still there and is in demand by consumers.

What are we doing to keep Bintang relevant to the changes? The answer lies in innovation. For example, we launched Bintang Crystal for young people who want to enjoy beer but with a non-bitter after taste.

Then there is the 0.0% Star for those who want to enjoy beer without fear of interrupting their activities. For example, for those who are working. Then, there is also the choice of Green Sands as a non-alcoholic brand.

Not only presenting products that are relevant to consumers. We as a company that produces and markets alcoholic beverages also do not stop to provide education to consumers. Through our campaign about drinking wisely.

Indonesia is a country that can be said to be a difficult place to market alcoholic beverage products. How do you see this?

This is indeed a very important topic within the company. We have to pay attention to the regulations in Indonesia and obey them. On the one hand, we also have our parent company, Heineken. There is a similarity in the regulations there, namely do not invite or teach underage consumers to drink alcohol.

Then, what do we do? We continue to campaign and educate consumers about the importance of drinking responsibly. This is the core of the company to inform the wider community.

Is there a strategy that you have prepared to continue to be able to carry out marketing of alcoholic products?

Talking about marketing, actually the methods are basically the same, namely trying to win the hearts of consumers. However, we are here emphasizing a different concept than non-alcoholic products. We continue to emphasize that drinking alcoholic beverages must be responsible.

To spread the message, we partner with influencers. And, not just any influencer. We really choose those who are responsible. We feel this is the right communication when advertising as well as conveying our message. Especially if you look at our brand. A brand that exists from generation to generation.

What about other non-alcoholic soft drink products? Did you apply a different strategy?

We have a clear positioning for each brand. We find out the differences in each market. We usually differentiate the consumption time. For alcoholic beverages, we classify them as products for socializing after five o’clock in the afternoon.

As for non-alcoholic drinks, we want to promote them as soft drinks that accompany various activities. This is what makes these two product categories so different.

In addition, from the consumer side, we also see a clear difference. For alcoholic products, consumers who are legally allowed are those who are over 21 years of age. We also saw a difference in terms of the momentum of enjoying non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.

As I explained earlier, we classify beer as a product for socializing after five in the afternoon. Therefore, we package it with a different approach and storytelling.

In preparing various marketing strategies for the company, what kind of leadership approach did you apply?

I realized that one thing that needs to be considered within the company is culture. Multi Bintang as part of Heineken is unique because there is a mix of cultures. We’re practically not very formal here. So, we can connect with each other easily. And that’s where everyone in the company can feel that in every challenge we have to face, we are not alone.

I think it’s important for leaders to be more sensitive. In addition, leaders must also have good resilience. Whatever a company or organization faces, a leader must believe that when we fall all we have to do is get up.

When it comes to leadership style, I see that the philosophy from Indonesia is very interesting to apply. Back in school, you are certainly no stranger to ‘Tut Wuri Handayani’ which means from behind to give encouragement.

I want to make that the purpose of my leadership. Because I believe we can all make the world a better place by working together. When a company is successful, of course it is not thanks to one person alone or not for one person alone but success together.

How do I apply it in the company? I each have a different character. Regardless of generation, there are characters who do have to be approached in a different way. For example, there are team members who need direction, sparring, or even need to have their aspirations heard. I tried to accommodate it.

I believe the results will be very good if the company can provide a place for those who have ideas, accommodate them to be able to discuss, brainstorm. This can motivate team members to take on various challenges.