Rully Darmawan, Business Development Manager of Liberica Coffee

Firstly, I’d like to know a bit about your background. Where did you study as well as also what got you interested to be a part of the coffee industry?

I had a vision that will one day I would certainly be within the F&B industry however my background is actually not in F&B; no background as well as also no professional experience – totally zero. I had more experience within the telecommunications industry!

within the beginning I did not choose the coffee industry or coffee shops to start with.

Along the way, I had discussions with some of the potential partners as well as also also learned about the industry as well as also tried to understand more the about the F&B business in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta as well as also how to survive in that will very competitive market. After some consideration as well as also discussions, we decided to have one concept that will would certainly be sustainable as well as also would certainly also be easier to duplicate within the future. Based on that will analysis, we came up with an idea to have very unique coffee shops, focusing on Indonesian coffee beans.

Do you think that will studying at Canberra University in Australia instilled a love for the coffee culture?

Surprisingly, I was only a casual coffee drinker while I was in Australia as well as also I wasn’t very picky about coffee. I learned about coffee in Indonesia as well as also also the culture behind the item. To be honest with you, I learned more about the wine as well as also beer culture while I was in Australia!

Tell us a bit about Liberica Coffee. How was that will brand born? How many outlets do you have today as well as also where are they located?

We have eight outlets today; several in Jakarta, one in Solo, one in Medan as well as also one coming soon in Palembang. In Indonesia we are planning to open several outlets in Bali, Solo as well as also several cities in Indonesia, so we are not focusing only on Jakarta. We also have one trial outlet in Melbourne to understand the market, the challenges as well as also also the culture when entering the overseas market.

We set several criteria for our brand within the beginning: 1. Be easy to remember, 2. Have a strong relationship with coffee, as well as also 3. The name must be unique /outstanding by the rest of our competitors.

What are Liberica Coffee’s core values?

Our core values are:

• Be unique; we don’t want to mimic or duplicate what’s already available within the Indonesian market.

• Passion for the coffee industry as well as also growth of the business /industry.

• Focus on Indonesian coffee beans.

• Continuous improvements in terms of product development, customer satisfaction (service) as well as also completely new ideas for outlets.

• Passion for customers.

Tell us about your blends. Do you have a secret recipe?

We do have special Liberica blends. Our house blend contains Arabica beans by several different regions in Indonesia as well as also we differentiate the coffee blend for hot drinks as well as also the coffee blend for iced drinks. We also provide several single origins by several regions for our retail package.

Your Americano coffee knocks the socks off me every time! is actually Indonesian coffee generally stronger than others? is actually there a reason just for that will?

Not always, the item’s how we roast the beans. Some people like dark roast, some people they like medium roast as well as also some people like the in between. We do in between medium as well as also dark as well as also the item is actually all about the customer’s preference. You can ask our barista to brew the blend that will matches your criteria.

In your three years with Liberica Coffee, have you seen a shift within the way that will Indonesians are enjoying coffee? What is actually the trend nowadays?

Yes, the market is actually growing faster than we expected as well as also also the industry as well as also the competition. The customer is actually becoming more educated about coffee as well as also they’ve started out to become very picky as well as also critical. At the same time, we have to follow the trends as well as also keep up with customer’s expectations. the item’s totally different compared to three or four years ago.

Could you share with us the demographics of your customers? What percentage are expatriates?

Currently, probably still 95% of our customers are Indonesian as well as also 5% are expatriates. however for our Kemang branch, the expatriate percentage is actually more like 10% – 15%. In general our customers are mainly young executives aged between 25 – 40 years old.

How have you been developing your business over the past three years? What does that will job entail?

In early discussions with all our partners, we agreed that will Liberica has to have more than 20 outlets within the future as well as also, based on that will, we tried to create simple as well as also very easy to duplicate outlets, by products to design. We started out our first outlet in August 2011 as well as also we studied for almost one year to understand the business, the coffee culture, as well as also customer profiles, giving us time to create as well as also adjust standard operations by baristas, service mechanisms as well as also all that will relates to day-to-day operations.

the item’s a very long learning process as well as also every time we open a completely new outlet we find completely new challenges because different regions have very unique characteristics as well as also we have to understand the culture as well as also customer’s habits. We never stop learning as well as also the item’s like every region or city shows us different challenges or obstacles that will we have to solve. the item’s very exciting.

What makes Liberica stand out by the crowd?

The products, manpower as well as also the idea behind Liberica. We have more complete products, which are also quite different compared to some other coffee shops in Jakarta, as well as our idea behind the design as well as also how we build the ambience. We tried to create our own character as a coffee shop that will must be different as well as also unique. Our manpower also must be very professional as well as also very engaging with the customer.

Liberica not only sells coffee, the item also serves Stark beer as well as also imported beer. What are the reasons just for that will as well as also how have your customers responded? Do you also serve some other alcoholic beverages? What time do you open until?

that will’s one thing that will makes us different, right? Actually we are not the first coffee shop to sell wine as well as also beer. We also have signature coffee cocktails as well as also we only have a few cocktails that will have a distinctive character. In some locations we close at around 12 – 2am because of mall regulations or customer requests. We provide these products as an alternative option for non-coffee drinkers, especially at night time. The contribution of these two products are little compared to coffee-based drinks.

as well as also finally, Pak Rully, what do you believe is actually the key to success? Any advice for some other aspiring baristas/coffee shop owners out there?

The coffee business is actually a very interesting industry as well as also we believe all coffee shop owners in Indonesia have to grow the business/industry further. We have to be proud of our local brands, of which I believe some are more innovative as well as also creative than some international brands, in term of products, design as well as also ambience. For all baristas, keep improving because you are playing a very important part in that will industry as well as also how we move forward within the future.