Indonesia World's Top 5 Oreo Consumer, Mondelez Expands Factory in Cikarang

TheIndonesia.id - Mondelez Internasional on Tuesday inaugurated the operation of a new production line at the Jababeka factory, Cikarang, West Java, with an investment of US$23 million or equivalent to Rp320 billion.

Director of PT Mondelez Indonesia Manufacturing Zaenal Abidin said the new production lines are developed to meet increasing export and domestic demand. "The capacity of the Mondelez factory in Cikarang is mostly for exports, while the rest is to meet the increasing demand of domestic consumers," said Zaenal as quoted by Antara during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

Referring to the State of Snacking survey, 85 percent of global consumers and 94 percent of Indonesian consumers seek pleasure by consuming at least one snack as a daily necessity.

Meanwhile, Zaenal also noted that the export volume of the Cikarang factory increased by more than 250 percent in the last 10 years. “Indonesia is the largest Oreo market in Southeast Asia and the top 5 globally. Indonesian consumer demand for Oreo biscuits will increase every year," said Zaenal.

The Cikarang factory produces a variety of Mondelez biscuit products, including Oreo, Mini Oreo, and Ritz. The new production lines will export biscuit products to more than 35 countries covering markets in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

"This latest investment will increase Oreo's current production capacity by more than 70 percent and will make it one of the largest biscuit factories at Mondelez International globally," he said.

According to Zaenal, the new production line construction is the fastest investment project from Mondelez International which began in early 2020 and was completed at the end of 2021 without incident, both in terms of safety and health, thanks to the standards applied by the company.

"This latest investment is a form of Mondelez's commitment to Indonesia to continue to deliver quality products while supporting national economic growth," he said.

Engineering Lead of PT Mondelez Indonesia Manufacturing Rosleri Yanti said the production line uses the latest technology in biscuit production, including machines that can save energy, water, and carbon to support a more sustainable production process.

"This is in line with the company's goal to create snacks sustainably, both for humans and all planets on earth," said Yanti.

Zaenal hopes that Mondelez International's investment in expanding this new production line will be a positive contribution to the country's exports and foreign exchange, job creation, development of the food and beverage industry in Indonesia, as well as boosting national economic growth.