The King of Noodles in Turkey “Indomie”

By Ciptadi Akbar Ahdiat

In the globalization era, the movement of states requires support from various sectors. The state will not be able to compete without others’ support. To create a country’s integrity is an effort of the government, Non-Governmental Organization, and Multinational Corporations. If we know South Korea with its music and drama, Japan and Germany with their technology, the USA  with  its  Hollywood,  we  have  to  be  proud  of  one  of  the  most  successful  Indonesian products, Indomie. It is an undeniable fact that Indomie has been very successful to reach international markets in various countries in the world.

Indomie is known as a brand of instant noodle that is produced by Indofood, Indofood is also  the  biggest  instant  noodle  factory on  earth  with  around  16  factories  in  total  in  some countries. This brand is available in 85 countries and seems to increase time by time. It is quite impossible to find a person who does not recognize Indomie in Turkey.  A pack of cheap instant noodles are available in well-known markets in Turkey such as A101, Bim, Sok and Migros.

Indomie in Turkey has a long history, starting in 2010 there was a cooperation between Turkey and Indonesia side, which established a company called “Adkoturk Gıda Sanayi”. The company was originally engaged as a distributor of Indofood products in a city in the eastern part of Turkey called Adana. In 2011 the company opened a branch office in Istanbul. Currently, Indomie has a giant factory in Tekirdağ industrial district.

Indomie is such a super star in Turkey, which has managed to beat other instant noodle products in this country. Indomie has succeeded in controlling 90 percent of the instant noodle market share in Turkey with 45 percent of its raw materials supplied directly from Indonesia with a value of around $ 20 million per year. This number seems to increase with the possibility of completion  of  Indonesia-Turkey  Comprehensive  Economic  Partnership  Agreement  (IT- CEPA) in 2021.

Behind a giant success of Indomie in Turkey, it was not easy introducing and bringing Indomie to Turkey.  Where 80% of restaurants in Turkey are local Turkish restaurants, introducing foreign goods to the country takes a long time and big efforts. Turkey is famous for its nationality and love of homeland, a lot of people prefer their local products rather than foreign products. So this is one of the challenges for producers. Indomie has been adapted to

local taste. Thus, Turkish people can accept the taste easier. There are several famous Indomie’s flavors available in the market, such as vegetable flavor, chicken flavor, beef flavor, curry flavor, and also soy sauce (stir fry noodle) flavor. Recently, they introduced its newest variant called Gurme series, which offers soy sauce, spicy flavors and green chilies. Indomie’s products that are best-selling in the Turkish market are vegetables, chicken and soy sauce flavor. A packet of Indomie is sold for 1.85 lira (Rp. 3.300) And 3.95 lira (Rp. 7000) for the Gurme series.

Indomie’s success story in this Eurasian country was also encouraged by the statement of the former Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia Enggartiasto Lukita during his visit to Turkey in 2019. He directly visited the Indomie factory in Tekirdağ and encouraged other companies to enter Turkish market. “If we already know the size of Turkish market, the Government will invite Indonesian businessmen to invest and set up factories in Turkey, such as Indofood”. Bilateral cooperation between two countries seems to have the possibility to increase if Indonesia-Turkey partnership under the name of Indonesia-Turkey Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA) negotiation is completed in 2021. It is hoped that economic cooperation between these two countries with a total population of 350 million people will increase from $ 1.5 billion to $ 10 billion as what the Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said. He also hopes that Indonesia and Turkey will enhance cooperation, particularly in trade, defense, and investment.

Recently there is also another instant noodle product from Indonesia, namely Super Mi, which we can find at Migros. With the existence of these two giant Indonesian brands, will make the competition between Noodle markets in Turkey much more interesting. The Indomie purchasing system in Turkey is growing so fast, producers also provide goods that can be purchased through the internet. Indomie has succeeded to bring and to introduce Indonesia name by their invisible sword.

Article Sources :

1. https://www.adkoturk.com.tr/?sec=0
2. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/turkey-indonesia-to-enhance-trade-defense-cooperation/2085034
3. https://www.republika.co.id/berita/puohsi328/indomie-kuasai-90-persen-pasar-mi-instan-di-turki

Photo Sources :

1.   https://www.google.com/search?q=indomie+turkiye&safe=strict&sxsrf=ALeKk03J ApRwVP- phRH5vNefYhvAwICQ0Q:1618096052116&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2 ahUKEwjl6ZfD5fTvAhXS_qQKHQH1AfwQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1707&bih=781#imgrc=I99x-SNyW5orzM
2.   https://de-de.facebook.com/pg/indomieturkey/about/

The Author

Ciptadi Akbar Ahdiat is an undergraduate student in department of International Relations in Ege University. He is focusing on European Union issues. He completed C1 Turkish language in 2019.   He joined   PPI   Turki   (Information-Communication   Department   and   Scholarship Information Department), PPI Izmir as chief of Internal and Activity division in 2018-2019, General Secretary in 2019-2020, Chairperson of PPI Izmir in 2020-2021, and Chairman of Academic Division 2021-now. He is Turkish instructor in Niti Basa Language course. Ciptadi also published 4 books with titles The Line of The Culture, Kerinduan, Perpisahan and Bimbang. He actively writes articles on his wordpress ciptaditheclimber.