Indonesia’s Jamu Queen: Journey of a princess turned entrepreneur

Photo: Dr Mooryati Soedibyo's private collection

The garage has long been the birthplace of many great companies — Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. Even Walt Disney got his start producing his first animated series, “The Alice Comedies” in his uncle’s garage before forming his own studio.

Closer to home, the humble garage also witnessed the birth of PT Mustika Ratu, Indonesia’s famed herbal medicine (or jamu) brand, in the early seventies.

The business caused many to raise their eyebrows, because not only was the person behind it a woman, she was also a direct descendant of the royal Javanese family, one who was actually raised within the walls of a kraton (Javanese palace).

It was unheard of for someone of her status to work, let alone start a business and as Dr BRA. [1] Mooryati Soedibyo readily admits, the reaction from her family was far from encouraging. “Initially, my family did not support my decision to become a business woman as it was against our ancient traditions,” she recalls.

“Only through my own determination and hard work was I able to persevere and overcome this challenge, which actually helped motivate me to become successful on my own.”

Despite not having a background in business, she drew on what she had been taught during her formative years in the palace, and started making jamu, a traditional Indonesian herbal medicine that has a long-standing place in royal Javanese history. She bottled beras kencur, an Indonesian herbal drink, at home with the help of two maids.

Later, she expanded her range of products to include herbal pills, shampoo and cosmetics, and founded her company PT Mustika Ratu proper in 1978.

Today, PT Mustika Ratu is a brand with a domestic and international presence which products can be found in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America as well as several countries in the Southeast Asian region. In addition, Dr Soedibyo’s business empire also includes a spa business, Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa, which has operations in nine countries including Canada, Japan, Bulgaria, and Malaysia.

Like any entrepreneur, Dr Soedibyo has experienced her fair share of challenges, stiff market competition being just one of them. However rather than compete on price, she has always been adamant about letting the quality and heritage of her company’s products do the talking.

“[Though] there were other products similar to mine that [were] priced five times cheaper, I didn’t compete on price. I have preserved the traditions of indigenous ingredients derived from local experience,” she says, adding that the company works closely with local farmers to ensure that its raw materials are derived from sustainable sources.

Given her background, one would be forgiven for assuming that it has helped given her an edge over the competition. She is quick to point out that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“When conducting business, the foundation of the company should not be based on the image of the founder’s family background,” she says.

“When running the family business, a good businessman or woman must be able to meet the requirements and criteria of good manufacturing practices, have a basic entrepreneurial competence and attitude, and be innovative, creative and [attuned] to future competition.”