Jakarta. Indonesia’s evolving coffee culture is changing how consumers use cafes, creating new opportunities for coffee, bakery, and pastry businesses to increase sales through menu innovation and product pairings.

Coffee shops are increasingly serving as places to work, meet, socialize, and eat, rather than simply drink coffee. At the same time, food and beverage businesses are facing higher ingredient and operating costs and tougher competition, making cost management and customer spending increasingly important.

Indomilk FnB Solutions, a business unit of Indolakto, a subsidiary of Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur, highlighted the trend through its Indomilk Bakepreneur Roadshow in Jakarta, held in collaboration with Jakarta Dessert Week.

The program, themed “The Art of Curated Bite-Sized Pastries x Coffee Pairing,” brought together chefs and coffee and bakery business operators to discuss menu development, consumer preferences, cost management, and margins.

“Following trends alone is not enough. The challenge is translating trends into menus that are relevant to consumers, consistent in production and still provide value for the business,” said Adryan Widodo, general manager of Cold Chain at PT Indolakto.

Chef Louis Tanuhadi, president of the Indonesia Pastry and Bakery Society, said menu value does not necessarily require more expensive ingredients. Understanding ingredients, preparation techniques, flavors, textures, portions and presentation can create a stronger customer experience.

He demonstrated the use of Indomilk products in Lemon Raspberry Madeleine, Tiramichoux, and Quiche Soto Ayam.

The bite-sized format offers flexibility in portioning and presentation and can be combined with coffee through pairing, bundling, and add-ons, potentially increasing the value of individual transactions.

Angeline Lauwrence, co-founder and head roaster at .TEMU, said cafes increasingly need to respond to consumers seeking more than coffee.

“Coffee shops today are no longer just places to enjoy coffee. Consumer needs are becoming more diverse, so businesses also need to evolve to provide a more complete experience,” she said.

Najla Farid Bisyir, founder of Bittersweet by Najla, said bakery and dessert businesses must balance innovation with costs, margins, consistency, and operational capacity.

She said efficiency should consider factors beyond ingredient prices, including product performance, consistency, availability, yield, and waste.

Prita Utami Maheswari, trade marketing food service manager at PT Indolakto, said the company aims to support food and beverage businesses through products, distribution, technical applications, menu development and collaboration.

Indomilk FnB Solutions offers seven dairy product categories and national distribution covering dry, chilled, and frozen products, according to the company.

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