How I built a billion dollar coffee company called Kopi Kenangan

Edward Tirtanata, 35, is the co-founder and CEO of Indonesian unicorn coffee chain Kopi Kenangan.
He started the business in 2017 with his good friend James Prananto after realizing that major coffee chains in the country were too expensive for the average Indonesian.
Today, there are over 800 outlets of Kopi Kenangan across Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
#CNBC #CNBCMakeIt #KopiKenangan #foundereffect
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[@Dita_Utomo]

Proud to see a home-grown Indonesian company featured in CNBC! Congratulations on all your successes thus far, Edward and team! Maju terus!

[@LLcreates]

Kenangan recently expanded in Singapore, and as a Singaporean, I must admit I was really surprised by the quality of coffee! It is now my favourite place to grab a daily cup. Congratulations Indonesia!

[@Dita_Utomo]

@@LLcreates Glad you like it!

[@EcomCarl]

Kopi Kenangan's strategy of embracing local tastes over a uniform approach is a masterstroke in building brand loyalty and understanding market nuances. 🌍 It's impressive to see how aligning product offerings with cultural preferences can propel growth and set a brand apart in a competitive industry.

[@ravitejasikhakolli]

This guy is genius.. Mind blowing strategies and thinking. It's complete opposite of starbucks

[@NilesFish]

A fraudulent company, with deceptive production practices, engages in land grabbing and deceives local coffee farmers into debt traps. It is also one of the players monopolizing palm production (yes, they use palm oil in their coffee), and it is backed by elite politicians. This company is a bootleg version of Bakrie and Djarum. It's not surprising, as everyone needs to be dirty to grow up in a sick economic environment.

[@user-fs4rx5og3n]

Kopi Kenangan is really a life-saver for middle class in Indonesia with their affordable price and great quality coffee 👍🏻

[@mellenix]

"This coffee tastes exactly like my ex-girlfriend. It was sweet in the beginning and bitter at the end." LOL

[@shi3286]

Im laughing too at this part. Cute 😄

[@bluecat6902]

As an indonesian i am proud of this man and his team.

[@TGStamfordPark]

Great story - super bold to scale up and buy locations during Covid shutdown

[@hadiwijaya8809]

Amazing speech, smart & to the point.. really answer how big the Kopi kenangan today coz of him..

[@_rebecca_jean]

With such a humble heart, smart mind and sweet personality surely his continued success is assured 💯 All the power to you!!!! Thank you for the inspiring story ❤

[@ninatambunan5743]

Kopi kenangan enak.. aq suka 👍❤.. maju terus ya.. hebat owner nya pekerja keras 👍💪 .. terus maju menantang badai bisnis yg selalu ada.. 👍👍🙏

[@MrRickzi]

Here in KL, the pricing is similar to Starbucks… not cheaper than any other brand.

[@corgansow6173]

Thats quite an exaggeration. Starbucks average msian price is RM 20 per beverage and more while kenangan is below that. Speaking of the chain, compared with local chain ZUS, kenangan is pricier and honestly not impressed with the taste of drinks. Last drink i ordered its obvious their beans were burnt and tasted horrible. For midpriced coffee ZUS is better

[@cholidid1464]

In indo its less half price of starbucks

[@MrRickzi]

Avocado iced latte. Almost RM15. Starbucks is RM 16.

[@muazmohd7457]

Amazing episode. More pls! Always great to learn from these entrepreneurs

[@wawanmuldiantoro7159]

My wife worked at the same building which Kopi Kenangan's first shop opened at Menara Standard Chartered. She drinks kopi Mantan then up until now almost every day. OMG.

[@Cordycep1]

Becareful....will eventually develop insomnia, eye problem.

[@RichardGolD-wz3is]

Wow Wawan are you an Indonesia, i heard Indonesia government is the most Corrupted In South East Asia

[@wawanmuldiantoro7159]

@@RichardGolD-wz3is You bet Im Indonesian. Yes it is, Im sick & tired of the corruptions & nepotism my own government from top to bottom. I really hope that death penalty law is applied here but thats just a wishful thinking.

[@justmoch8985]

as much as I like and being a loyal customer myself in my small city in java, one thing that I can have a better suggestion for them is that maybe the menu selections could turned back slimmer as it was. Now that they provide a seasonal selection, there’s no need to have a drink that has very low demand. you can cut off such that a thing. and thank you for providing us quality coffee in such an affordable price.

[@MarketingFoodOnline]

We just talked about his on our channel about launching a coffee shop business. Even selling coffee Brands online is skyrocketing.

[@CaptainVita]

Honestly, here in Malaysia, it's not much cheaper than Starbucks. And compared to local coffee shops, it's actually still expensive. And hyper-localized, there is not much either, as far as I see.

[@Lalalalalelo]

i noticed the same in singapore

[@groundsymphony]

@@Lalalalalelo As you can see from the “tall latte index”, Singapore’s Starbucks is already listed as one of the most affordable. So I think it’s tougher to compete with that. I would say the same for Malaysia

[@leonard8885]

Malaysia working class can't spend so much on this Kopi Kenangan, matter of time it will be crushed by luckin coffee

[@zumabbar]

manual brew still blows them out of the water (or the coffee)

[@RarityHub]

this guys knows what he's doing.

[@pooryoutubermy]

Wow.. that's cool..

[@udah2menipuorang765]

Congrats!my wife loved your coffee and I would say it is a world class standard..

[@indigodeville]

Watching this while sipping my Kopi Kenangan mantan. The moment I firstly tasted Kopi Kenangan dan Kopi Janji Jiwa, I knew it's time to say goodbye to Starbucks.

[@rachmadsuhartono]

waw masuk cnbc international euy

[@jasonsusantyo]

legend

[@Caheku590]

I love coffee Mantan from coffee kenangan ❤

[@OHANA-Beach-Suites-CDO]

Very Inspiring! Thank you! I'm taking notes!!!

[@lamboksiahaan3017]

Wow

[@Truth9048]

Best is buy your own specialty coffee, grinder and Aeropress. Guarantee cheaper and tastes better than most coffee made by cafes.

[@Clip_Gallery]

love it

[@yudhzzza]

Now, Fore is the competitor of Kopi kenangan😅

[@ariangx1929]

CNBC didnt mention.. they sell 18K rupiah coffee using lamarzoco

[@LewisAtonn]

I squirelled away cash for a rainy day, but with inflation pouring down, it feels more like a leaky bucket. Saving for retirement seems impossible if my money keeps losing value faster than I can earn it.

[@Husztiali6999]

Hopefully I’ll do the same in the future ❤

[@ariangx1929]

wow masuk cnbc

[@codelessunlimited7701]

I don't know any coffee chain that are cheap and high quality for local people. I just don't know the difference between this or Starbucks and the 3n1 ready coffee.

[@christopherlaw9184]

Have not heard of this kopi before…. In SG, I drink local kopi 😅

[@trojan0829]

it's much bigger in Indonesia, not surprised if you've never heard it in SG

[@dadade]

Cos sg branch totally CMI. Their staff pull 10 espresso shots at the same time, then leave them out in the open. Only use when got people order… How will the kopi be nice like this?

[@faust93]

It takes huge effort to pay back your shareholders. Please make some improvements on long queue at office locations in jakarta

[@arwildo]

Great story, keep it up bro

[@lionheart93]

never heard about it

[@securindo]

saya bangga ada merek Kopi Lokal mendunia..gass terus maju..okee gas, bravo lokal brand mendunia

[@hullopillow4853]

Doubt the latest valuation is anywhere near 1b now that the covid startup hype is over. When is their last funding round?

[@111thread5]

3:15 I also think the same like "too many coffee shop, so what if I sell tea." Instead of bubble tea (since bubble tea also a lot nowadays) why not sell pure and refreshing tea because my country's weather is soo hot right now, the target age is 20+ and those who want to consume healthy product. But since he also said that 3:25 "it is not profitable" so I wonder if tea business can survive this economy. Also, 3:33 I saw that he also sell pure tea because of the tea pot, just like my idea !

[@vikramganasen]

Still expensiwe in Malaysia actually.

[@gilangladisadewa8438]

omg he make it here

[@abdulazizalsubaie1942]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@hajjimubarak]

Love the name 😂😂😂

[@mr.bewerter2578]

I really don’t know what he mean that the tea market are tapped out. I mean Indonesia are once the biggest market at all. Can somebody explain the difference?

[@30dayofprogress10]

maybe he meant he had to compete against massive bubble tea chains

[@aureliuspollini6941]

it's matter of times that the price of coffee to increase like the price of cacao. So a company and costumer will depressed

[@mongmongi226]

Coming from kopi susu aren addict, i was dissapointed by every chain inconsistency lately (my fav is kopi kenangan mantan less sugar, sometimes no sugar at all which is too bland and bitter for me, so i try again buy 'normal' sugar but it ended too sweet in other chain wtf). And no more discount again for members. :( Already talk with the CS but they also did handle the problem half hearted.

[@sakurachristineito6428]

It's huuuge in Indonesia

[@Kushal978]

Better than Starbucks

[@MCorpReview]

Same name as one fund in Malaysia 🇲🇾

[@HazlinaMohdTahir]

Different name. That is Kenanga

[@ArdikaPercha]

Memories coffee ❤

[@TeodoraWidmark]

Friend, i cant manage time..please help me with this master piece to understand.

[@bubbachua]

flash in the pan

[@mrprimarch6484]

No wonder the coffee taste so goat!

[@archieizhellboye]

a Pokemon card hustle as a reference for entrepreneurship... y'all can't EVER tell nerds anything ever again for the rest of human existence... that aside now, what's he and hsi company doing to "GIVE BACK" and help with issues plaguing his country, region and actual things that we need to better ourselves as humans going forward... sincere question

[@supamrm1670]

too sweet

[@deensaid7762]

There's option if you want to reduce sugar you know 😄

[@CaptainVita]

That's what he refers to as hyper localized in the video

[@sutats]

5:15 I have a different and more intimate interpretation of that. hehe

[@CaptainPlanet007]

I don’t think the name will stick in the US or anywhere beside Indonesian. Sounds kind of wack imo.

[@caseywai]

So, what are they doing that’s really different?

[@dadade]

In Sg, they prepare the espresso shots way before hand and leave them out. Then pour into the milk after someone order. As you can probably guess, the coffee isn’t that great, with old espresso shots.

[@cholidid1464]

Its cheaper and its a tech coffee

[@HolahkuTaigiTWFormosanDiplomat]

YES INDO

[@noopyx3414]

What if I build a coffe brand selling coffee at half price of Kopi Kenangan?

[@jebablessysalomi3451]

It takes longer time to beat starbucks

[@JeffTheBackPackTraveler]

"This coffee tastes like my ex girlfriend" could have several different meanings 🤭

[@rainbowsam8542]

here in malaysia the outlets oways empty, really funny this is billion dollar company 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂 mommy daddy got money help open this coffee chain isit?

[@cholidid1464]

No lah. Its tech VCs

[@minghaoli6829]

Damn, Brother built a Billion dollar company just to dark ROAST his ex!

[@madenaraputra6887]

Kopi Kenangan is the Remembrance Coffee

[@karenng9728]

Ex in sg

[@AhmadS-nm8ky]

Fore > kenangan

[@daleycatch]

Malaysia soon?

[@trulyhojicha]

already

[@daleycatch]

@@trulyhojicha oh just realized it’s under kenangan coffee instead 😊

[@iamthekwan]

Congrats to Kopi Kenangan, but FFS it's pronounced KE-NANG-AN, the G is a soft g.

[@nicholasgoh3526]

If I want to sell beer, I will also name it after my ex because her heart is as cold as the beer.

[@tonyjong1138]

Yu could’ve add grams more to 25 per say

[@aprians2004]

But please re-branding the place, so many people like me who needs calm or chill to work, study or meeting

[@angae9319]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@sac856]

Whoops!! retract my last comment. Mistake

[@revimfadli4666]

"instead of sofa or fast wifi, we focus on high quality coffee" Implying about Starbucks coffee quality 😂

[@sutats]

In the same token implying that it's consistently bad.

[@BatakGemblung]

the same reason why i sit on starbucks instead of kopi kenangan... kecuali di sency ada kenangan signature, coba duduk disana..gak nyaman akhirnya move ke starbucks lagi :)

[@LalaPala-ml2or]

Aint happening

[@CerroZimm]

She looks funny

[@mkenobi6534]

Knowing u are so rich, ur ex GF will come back to u & her name is Starbuck, lol

[@user-ll9qk2el4d]

If I were to open a coffee shop, it will only serve take-out. I don't want customers, especially students, hanging out for HOURS and using the internet without buying drinks.

[@icetrip2417]

😂true

[@ssuwandi3240]

Coffee takeout has little brand value to coffee house

[@fnur51]

Bruh kopi kenangan mantan is better than starbucks latte

[@thelandsavior402]

😂

[@NThony1]

no

[@velvia_ae]

"It tastes just like my girlfriend sweet in the beginning and bitter at the and." Lol,....but this memories make a successfull brand. So let's call it a win

[@garudabowo]

Kopi Kenangan succeeded in opening many stores, but actually not really attracting you to make repeat order. I meant it just generic like any other franchise coffee. Just mid

[@aidil-azhar]

obviously he's operating on loss

[@tonyjong1138]

Really????? Coffee taste like water

[@sugitodjong3279]

Duit bokap/nyokap

[@user-pb2mn9ly3k]

💮😡🤬🤬😡😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡

[@SeanPan-it3jm]

Ceasefire now.

[@ceeril]

Err, where exactly?

[@SeanPan-it3jm]

@@ceeril NOW

[@masih9595]

​@@ceerilTexas

[@chan90s]

He still remembers hos ex gf😂 i feel sad for him

[@ethicseo]

Jesus can change yr life ❤

[@alistudios8820]

Bullshit

[@mulalomasindi6839]

Is the anyone in 20 , who which to start billion dollars startups with me

[@zenaxiboga1476]

not sure about the quality, it's so bad it has a very synthetic aftertaste that just taste sour ( way less fragrance due to improper roasting, and very cheap syrup mix for the sweetener part), and that is the one made by the barista, don't even get me started on the ones they sell on grocery shelves, glorified cheap coffee that is worse than the instant coffee mixes other fmcg are selling ,it literally taste like they took a shitton of coffee candy and mix it with water, maybe the branding and distribution work for now, but the product itself is an utter failure

[@cruzaderz10]

This is so misleading...

[@trulyhojicha]

how?

[@cruzaderz10]

@@trulyhojicha this is relevant 2 years ago. Not today.

[@zohanthecspro]

Kenangan Kopi is horrible coffee, bland beans with overly sweetened syrup.

[@alistudios8820]

Not nice

[@lakeshavallejo7889]

I wish that I could understand what he said. Next time, can you add subtitle when they can't speak English well. Thank you, and stay blessed! Congratulations!

[@williamwidjaja850]

Failure total, stop recommending rubbish. His task was gathering investor money, and spend it awfully.