Dapur Mempura is based in the Indonesia’s Siak regency, largely considered a rural area with mostly villages making up the region – but this has not stopped the firm from utilising modern food trends to innovate its products.
“The Malay-style Kemojo sponge cake or bolu Kemojo is a very traditional pastry, sold in many markets in this region,” Dapur Mempura Founder Santi Lestari said.
“We aim to revive this product with a focus on helping parents meet the needs of children who need special attention in their food, as well as bring back the nostalgic taste of bolu Kemojo that adults will remember from their childhood.
“To do this, we have focused on using natural ingredients such as mocaf (modified cassava flour) and rice bran, as well as traditional recipes – this has ensured that the cake ends up not only delicious but also healthier and gluten-free, a better alternative for Indonesian families."
The firm’s focus is also driven by the potential to upcycle rice bran, as there is an abundant supply of this in Riak due to the region’s agricultural rice planting activities.
“By using rice bran in our cakes, we have added value to this ingredient which is usually discarded or used as chicken feed after rice is harvested and processed,” she added.
“This means that the rice bran can be sold back as raw material for food, so the selling value increases and this boosts farmer income accordingly.
“Our latest data shows that rice bran is now being purchased at a price of IDR50,000 to IDR100,000 (US$2.97 to US$5.94) per kg, and at five to 10 kilogrammes per purchase, because of its value for use as a food ingredient.”
Upcycling tradition
In line with the theme of utilising upcycled ingredients to modernise traditional pastries, Dapur Mempura has partnered fellow rural Siak start-up and pineapple specialists Pinaloka to develop upcycled pineapple tarts for sale.
“Pineapple tarts are a household snack in South East Asia and commonly enjoyed during various festivities [such as] Chinese New Year,” Pinaloka spokeswoman Wulan Suci Ningrum added.
“Pinaloka focuses on processing Siak crown pineapple into various processed products, ranging from jams, syrups, to pastries.
“Siak has a lot of peatlands, and empty peatlands are often overgrown with bushes that become fire hotspots due to their fibrous roots and thin leaves - To overcome this, Siak crown pineapples are planted on the land to maintain soil moisture in addition to being a food source.
“This is our way of preventing forest and land fires, [to] keep peatlands from drying out and remain viable for cultivation, [in] addition to increasing the productivity of local farmers.”
Both Dapur Mempura and Pinaloka are start-ups under the Siak Sustainable Business Incubation Programme (KUBISA), launched under the Sentra Kreatif Lestari Siak (SKELAS) start-up platform for the Siak region.
