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The culinary business does not die. Even though we are still at risk of being hit by ups and downs and various challenges, we are so close to our daily food needs also keeps the food business afloat. With continuous innovation, finally, various contemporary food businesses have emerged in Indonesia. The food business also has its place in the culinary industry as a whole. This is because this business can be run by various levels of society, regardless of economic class.
This time, our team has summarized several menu options that you can use as a reference for contemporary food for you to sell. It is not only delicious, but the manufacturing process is also relatively easy.
You can do it at home without the need for kitchen utensils or ingredients that are difficult to find. It is also easy to find recipes from the various recommendations presented below, from the virtual world, family-derived recipes, to your creations. So, are you ready for business?
1. Dessert Box
Various dessert boxes are indeed loved in the community. In addition to the sweet taste that sweet tooth likes, dessert boxes tend not to be boring because they can be created in various variants. You can make a combination of layers of soft cakes, whipped cream (whipped cream), to layers of other flavours, such as cream cheese, chocolate, and even green tea flavours. In addition, the dessert box also comes with a beautiful and diverse packaging display.
Finally, of course, this is also a new way for those who are at home to run a contemporary food business to still send snacks or birthday gifts to other family members and friends.
2. Soft-baked Cookies
In the past, cookies were more synonymous with crunchy textures, and recently the trend has changed quite a bit. Now, cookies with a gooey texture seem to have their market. Soft-baked cookies are processed with various toppings, such as Lotus caramel biscuits, marshmallows, and red velvet milling about in cyberspace.
Not a few also make it into a healthy version using fibre-rich grains and cereals. Soft-baked cookies are popular because they are deliciously eaten with a cup of tea or iced coffee at home.
3. Brownies
This year, the production tends to be less complicated, making brownies in demand in the contemporary food business. Soft and tender brownies and brownie variants with a crispy top layer and slightly melted inner chocolate are also in demand.
Uniquely, brownie creations are no longer served plain but with variations of Lotus caramel biscuit topping, Kit Kat, almonds, cheese, and pretzels. This is what brings this culinary business to never die.
4. Cinnamon Rolls
If you usually eat cinnamon rolls in cafes, now various variants of cinnamon rolls have become one of the processed products that have been developed into a home business. You can also find various sellers of this culinary business in cyberspace. This sweet bread is indeed often addictive because the cinnamon taste is quite distinctive.
Especially when added with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cream, almonds, or matcha which can enrich the taste. Usually, cinnamon rolls are sold individually. However, they are mostly found in the size of a baking sheet consisting of several cinnamon rolls to be eaten together with family or relatives.
5. Silky Pudding
This sweet dessert that is usually enjoyed when cold is indeed perfect for dessert. With a capital of 100 thousand, you can make silky pudding with the flavours you want. How to make it is quite easy.
You can use some basic ingredients for making silk pudding or directly buy premix flour specifically for making silky pudding which you can find on various e-commerce platforms. This contemporary food business can also be packaged creatively because of the way it is drunk.
6. Pasta
Pasta creations are indeed endless. Although not typical Indonesian food, the pasta menu is one of the comfort foods in great demand. In addition to delicious taste, the manufacturing process also tends to be less complicated. You can aim for the culinary pasta business by making spaghetti creations with creamy carbonara sauce, delicious fettuccine Aglio e olio, and penne with tasty pesto sauce.
Recently, the brulee menu, namely spaghetti bolognese with cream cheese topping, is also increasingly in demand. Although many well-known brands have sprung up, a home-based business with a choice of pasta menus still has its place for its devotees.
7. Mac n Cheese
Still a family with pasta, mac n cheese is also not left behind as a contemporary food business idea. If mac n cheese in Indonesia used to be made more similar to macaroni schotel, now mac n cheese with abundant melted cheese dominates the market. To balance the creamy texture of the mac n cheese from the melted cheese, this dish is complemented by crumbs of breadcrumbs to add texture on top.
Interestingly, it is served in the form of mac n cheese in general, but some make mac n cheese balls creations, namely fried balls made of macaroni and cheese, as another variant. The mac n cheese creations don’t end there either. This contemporary food business entrepreneur also dares to put a market for babies and children by using safe ingredients for consumption by their age.
8. Bitterballen
This snack with the basic ingredients of potatoes and meat is also one of the contemporary food business ideas. Bitterballen is sold at an average under $5, so it has a fairly broad buyer market. Not only that, but you can also sell bitterballen in cooked dishes and frozen form. So, whenever the buyer wants to enjoy it, they can immediately fry it at home. The taste of bitterballen is often similar to croquettes, only they are smaller and are enjoyed with mustard sauce.
9. Indomie Ball
Who doesn’t like Indomie? Then, what about snacks made from Indomie? Well, you can create instant noodle fried balls as a contemporary food business idea that is no less interesting. The innovations and creative actions of these Indomie ball lovers play with various offerings that attract the attention of potential buyers.
Starting from the choice of filling noodle balls to dishes that can be customized according to the event’s needs. You can directly offer buyers a wide selection of fillings, such as meat, spicy meatballs, vegetables, mushrooms, and many more. The servings are for individuals and can be in the form of birthday cakes or even bouquet creations.
10. Fried Tofu
Who says fried tofu is outdated? Lately, fried tofu has become an attractive option to be used in a business field, from the hollow tofu without the filling, which is processed with super crispy skin, to the contemporary fried stuffed tofu with various fillings, such as mushrooms, chicken, sausage, beef, to meatballs appearing on the market.
In addition to the capital that is not too large, fried tofu is also a popular snack. As a snack, fried tofu never goes out of style and is suitable for all occasions.
11. Shirataki Salmon Mentai
The combination of Japanese-style sauce, mental, is now not only found in the form of sushi. The development of processed with mental sauce has also penetrated a contemporary food business idea.
Shirataki became the choice because the basic ingredient, konyaku, has low-calorie content, only 20 calories/gram. Without compromising the enjoyment of grilled salmon with a delicate mental sauce, the combination with noodles or shirataki rice is still fun to eat as a main dish.
12. Dimsum Mentai
Still discussing the processed mentai sauce, this warm snack similar to dumplings is also often made with mentai sauce. Dimsum feels even more melted on the tongue when it is met with mentai sauce. This contemporary food business has entered the tongue of many Chinese food lovers.
To start this business, you can find a guide to making dim sum from the internet and try it at home. In addition, now there are also many dim sum suppliers circulating to make it easier for you to start a mentai dim sum business.
13. Geprek Chicken
Who doesn’t love this dish? This dish, which has become comfort food from various walks of life, is still included in the category of the contemporary culinary business. In addition to affordable selling prices, geprek chicken dishes are often loved by lovers of spicy dishes. Starting a geprek chicken culinary business at home does not require special skills in cooking.
You can find the concoction of geprek chicken and chilli sauce through internet search engines. To add character, you can complement it with side dishes, such as tofu and tempeh, fried cabbage, skin satay and chicken liver, to the spicy level that can be adjusted to the buyer’s taste. Of course, the higher the level, the more chillies you will use. The spicier it is for those who like it, the more challenging it will be to eat.
14. Rice Bowl
As the name implies, rice bowls are packaged in a bowl-like container. From a variety of rice choices, side dishes that are comfortable on the tongue, vegetables that complement the dish, to various crackers as a side dish, rice bowl dishes will be more creative and innovative.
You can package this contemporary food business by beautifying the packaging; it can be simple, so it is easy to hold until it is made of environmentally friendly materials. The more unique the rice bowl creations, the more this business will attract the attention of buyers.
15. Homemade Organic Ice Cream
Who doesn’t love to eat ice cream? Of course, various ages still consider ice cream to be the favourite dessert of a million people. Therefore, this is a business idea with such a large market. In contrast to ice cream in general, organic ice cream is made from organically harvested fruits and vegetables without additives. It also uses organic milk or plant-based milk, such as almond milk, to substitute cow’s milk.
Culinary lovers can enjoy this contemporary food business with special diets, such as dairy, salt and sugar, to even the keto diet. Therefore, marketing that puts forward the details of the ingredients to the calories contained in it becomes a strong attraction for seekers of healthy food types.
16. Homemade Sambal
Starting from the basic ingredients of chilli and onions crushed in a mortar at home, the enjoyment of chilli sauce in your home can now also be a modern business idea in 2024. Because enjoying food at home will indeed be more complete with the presence of chilli sauce.
Sambal connoisseurs also often explore various kinds of chilli sauce. Whatever the side dish, if the sauce changes, then the meal will feel like a class. Starting from pirated chilli sauce, matah chilli sauce, anchovy sauce, squid sauce, onion sauce, green chilli sauce, roa chilli sauce, tempeh chilli sauce, and various bottled water chilli innovations can become a fast-selling contemporary food business.
However, you must pay attention to the market price of the basic ingredients for making chilli sauce because changes in market prices will certainly have a big effect on sales profit.
17. Various Diet Food Menu
Different from previous years, 2024 is a great opportunity for people to try something new. This includes looking for contemporary food business ideas but changing society’s stigma with its innovation, namely diet food. On social media, milling about various types of food menus with controlled calories according to dietary needs.
The main key of the diet food business is good nutrition and proper calorie calculation. Even though it comes with diet food branding, the dishes offered are tempting, including foods with plant-based ingredients, gluten and dairy-free, the keto diet, and many more.
The uniqueness offered by various diet menus is also one of the main attractions, such as mushroom rendang, tempeh satay, to processed nuts used as snacks in the form of crackers.
18. Home Catering
Selling home cooking menus to the public is also now interesting to explore. Hereditary recipes or family members’ cooking expertise are the major capital for the courage to start home catering. The menu can also change every day, adjusted to market tastes or even the strategy to market the business itself.
In sales, home catering can be packaged individually or in shared portions. Interestingly, although the business is quite outstanding from home catering, none of them can be found with a similar menu that is produced the same every day. Home catering also offers a subscription system. Where consumers can pay directly for weekly and even monthly, home catering will also arrive at your house on time without having to order them one by one.
19. Iced Coffee Milk Literary
Although the crowds of es kopi susu are familiar, until now, es kopi susu brands are still popping up, new names appear on social media. For coffee connoisseurs, the innovation of es kopi susu literary attracts attention. Besides maintaining the availability of your favourite iced coffee milk in the home refrigerator, literary iced coffee can also be enjoyed with family members or relatives.
Before starting this modern food business, you need to do experiments to find the best recipes and characteristics that can attract the attention of coffee enthusiasts. If you are not a coffee boy, don’t hesitate to collaborate with colleagues in running this business.
20. Frozen Food Special for Babies and Children
The busyness of parents in raising children and working simultaneously has become a topic circulating among young couples during the pandemic. This has also sparked the idea of selling food online that can be consumed by babies and children.
Unmitigated, the businesses were exploring the realm of frozen food or frozen food that can be stored in the freezer for a certain period. This contemporary food business prioritizes ingredients for making food that is safe for consumption and flavours familiar to the taste buds of babies and children.
21. Ready-to-Cook Food
Once again, creative and innovative food was the newest contemporary food business in 2020. This time, it is a processed business made semi-finished and specially packaged to be stored in the refrigerator as food stock ready to be cooked.
The ready-to-cook culinary business opens up more lucrative business opportunities, starting from meatball aci, chicken noodles, kebuli rice to various home-cooked food menus. Ready-to-cook food is equipped with all cooking ingredients and complementary spices. How to cook it is also easy so that anyone can do it at home.
22. Burgers
If you previously enjoyed a burger at a fast-food restaurant, now you are presented with a similar choice of burgers but not the same. Burgers are one of the modern food business ideas because the basic ingredients can be mixed-n-matched with one another. Some even serve burgers with local Indonesian flavours, vegan burgers, and burgers made from instant noodles.
23. Salted Egg Chicken
Although this food menu has been found in many restaurants, chicken with salted egg sauce is still a good culinary business opportunity in 2020. The salty and savoury taste familiar to Indonesian tongues and the presentation of chicken fillet, which is quite simple, make this culinary business worth trying.
In making it, the main key to the enjoyment of this dish is to create an authentic salted egg sauce that belongs only to your creation. It can be mixed and matched with lime leaves, beef eye eggs, and other types of sauces.
24. Korean Garlic Cheese Bread
Pandemic inviting sustenance is the right term for those of you who market Korean garlic cheese bread to become a current food business trend for sale. The key to the success of this bakery business is to market it to your closest colleagues first, then ask them to give testimonials.
This aims to introduce the uniqueness of the latest innovations that have emerged in this pandemic era. Korean garlic cheese bread creations are also varied with prices that are quite varied from $1 – $3 per one piece of bread. The newcomer Korean garlic cheese bread has become a new friend for afternoon tea or coffee.
25. Sourdough Bread
The trend of a healthy lifestyle is sticking out again and the emergence of a contemporary food business idea in the form of healthy food. This fibre-rich wheat-based bread uses natural yeast. In contrast to bread in general, which uses instant yeast with probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast you develop yourself contains different strains.
Indeed, before running this business further, you need to spend time understanding the ins and outs of making a sourdough starter (natural yeast) and understanding how to feed it properly. You also need to apply a special method when you start baking bread at different times. This makes the sourdough bread business quite challenging for those of you who want to try it. Sourdough can be created with various flavours and processed products to attract bread lovers.
26. Herb
During the pandemic, the consumption of herbal drinks or herbs is now a trend in itself. In addition to its unique taste, this drink can also help keep the body healthy and avoid disease. Turmeric tamarind, kencur rice, chilli puyang, and secret herbal medicine recipes are now being marketed as a new normal trend. The packaging is already in the form of a bottle, so it can be drunk directly, either warmed first or cold.
27. Tteokbokki
Do you like Korean food? Well, try to make one of the favourite foods for Korean food lovers, namely tteokbokki. The spicy taste of gochujang covering tteok (rice flour moulded into an oval shape) and eomuk (fish cake), then covered with mozzarella cheese, will surely invite the audience to taste this trending culinary business.
Uniquely, you can make your selling dish with a ready-to-cook concept, where buyers can store it in the refrigerator and cook it easily whenever they want.
28. Dorokdok
This dry snack still attracts a lot of attention, especially for those who like to snack while working or watching their favourite movie. The sale of dorokdok is uniquely packaged in large plastic to resemble a bolster. Various flavours are also offered, such as salty, not spicy, spicy, cheese, to the smell of lime leaves that makes you addicted.
29. Typical Mining side dish
Like a home catering business, this contemporary food business specifically sells Mining side dishes usually found in Padang restaurants. Usually, side dishes such as chicken Balado, petai Balado shrimp, green chilli tongue, to beef jerky batokok are sold in gram units. Interestingly, this side dish that can be enjoyed with the family can be eaten for several mealtimes. Therefore, not infrequently who buy it as a stock of food ready to eat when hungry.
30. Cheese Tea
This type of drink is already circulating in the market, especially in shopping centers. However, the culinary business of drinking cheese tea has also penetrated a home-based business packaged in bottles.
The variety of unique flavours and a sufficient portion for individuals is one of the choices for refreshing beverage creations that can be marketed. Furthermore, the combination of fresh tea and savoury cheese is an innovation for the development of the culinary industry.
31. Risol Mayo
Rosol snacks may sound familiar and can be found everywhere. However, recently, risol mayonnaise has become a culinary business with business opportunities worth trying in 2020. The filling is so dense in the form of eggs, smoked meat, and mayonnaise sauce, making the sale of risol mayo a best seller when breakfast or afternoon snacking has arrived.
But, it doesn’t stop there. The creation of risol mayo continues to grow by presenting a choice of delicious fillings, such as mushroom chicken, bolognese sauce, lasagna, to burger meat.
32. Wet Cake
In addition to risole mayo, various choices of wet cakes are also a food business idea that can be sold online. Attention-grabbing creations are, of course, necessary to distinguish one seller from another, especially those found on the roadside.
Some of the creations that can be used include a variety of choices of wet cakes, affordable prices, and packaging that can be tailored to buyers’ needs. Not infrequently, consumers want special presentations, ranging from cake boxes equipped with greeting cards to treats in the style of yellow rice cone but containing a variety of wet cakes.
33. Singkawang Srikaya Bread
The variety of bread as a food business is endless. This time, Singkawang’s signature srikaya bread is also one of the foods in great demand by young people. With toasted, fried, and steamed bread, this srikaya jam bread dish is also unique because it is still rarely found in a big city like Jakarta.
Producing srikaya jam itself is not as difficult as imagined because the ingredients are commonly used in making cakes, such as eggs, coconut milk, wheat flour, cornstarch, granulated sugar, pandan leaves, vanilla, and don’t forget green food colouring.
34. Mercon
The name alone is a firecracker. Of course, this food can only be enjoyed by spicy food lovers. Firecracker pentol is one of the contemporary food businesses that is widely imitated because the price is affordable by various levels of society, including students. This is also a reason for students to start a contemporary food business.
With basic ingredients similar to meatballs and several chillies, the key to the enjoyment of the firecracker pentol is in the processed firecracker chilli sauce that is made. To make it more exciting, you can run this business with some of your friends, you know!
35. Mother’s Special Pempek
Various kinds of mothers’ cooking at home are now used as culinary business opportunities in 2020. One of the most common in cyberspace is pempek. This typical Palembang food is often enjoyed by cooking it yourself by people native to South Sumatra. This is where the idea of selling food online started with mother’s typical branding.
Some of the unique pempek emerging are the special pempek split with its cuko Ebi, the rainbow pempek with colourful dishes, and the black pepper processed with black squid ink pempek, which is poured with various choices of sauces other than cuko.
36. Assorted Fresh Drinks
The choice of fresh drinks is still an innovation that continues to grow as one of the existing business ideas. You can try a variety of choices, including thai tea, boba, frozen yogurt (froyo), fruit and vegetable juices, to traditional drinks such as cendol and beer pletok.
As a companion to heavy meals or thirst quenchers, these various fresh drinks become more attractive with flavours that make it difficult for buyers to choose.
37. Ready-to-use Liquid Broth
Cooking at home is one of the most time-consuming activities. This is the forerunner of the emergence of a ready-to-use liquid broth business that has sprung up in cyberspace, such as meat, chicken, bone, fish and vegetable broths. There are two kinds of ready-to-use broth currently being marketed, namely stock and broth.
Stock is made from bone and thicker because of the collagen protein that leaks out during cooking. Meanwhile, the broth is made more liquid with only meat and vegetables. Even though they are different, they still add a natural savoury taste to the dishes in your home. This contemporary food business is a market for lovers of processed healthy foods.
Those are various contemporary food business ideas that are trending in Indonesia, especially in the capital city. Come on, don’t hesitate to start your own business. What is important, you must be good at projecting a business plan to do careful financial planning. To keep your financial condition safe, make sure you also have insurance to protect you from all risks that may occur in the future.
