Beyond MSG

Sasa Inti, the largest monosodium glutamate (MSG) producer in the country, is rejuvenating its brand to cater to millennial customers.

- Ulisari Eslita

A few months ago, a video of two females fighting over rendang (slow-cooked beef in coconut milk and spices) at a wedding reception went viral on social media in Indonesia. In the video, one of the ladies called out the other one for taking too many pieces of rendang from the tray. As it turned out the video was a marketing stunt, staged by local seasoning company PT Sasa Inti to rejuvenate the brand and appeal to younger customers. Sasa Inti was established in 1968 with flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) powder brand Sasa as its main product and it currently controls 60% of the market share in the country. Most of its products are sold domestically, with Sasa exporting less than 5% of its production to markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The company has also expanded to other seasoning products as well but CEO Rudolf Tjandra wants to make sure the company continues to stay ahead by engaging new marketing strategies to reach younger consumers.

“Our brand has been on the market for 52 years now. We need to do something to make the brand look younger,” says Rudolf.

Rudolf has helmed the company since the end of 2018. Previously he had extensive experience in management positions with some of the world’s leading consumer product companies including Aqua Golden Mississippi (now Danone), Belfoods Indonesia, Kvaerner AS, Roche Indonesia, Blue Gaz (previously Camping Gaz/Royal Dutch Shell), Bentoel Prima (now British American Tobacco), HM Sampoerna, and Softex Indonesia.