Panning Rupiah from Ciplukan Beverage Innovation
Ciplukan or cecendet in Sundanese was known as the agricultural weed. At the moment, the ciplukan fruit had begun to be sold in the market and been referred to as the golden berry. The fruit market price could reach Rp. 200 thousand per kilogram of fruit. While the market demand was high and the fruit production had not been met. Seeing this market opportunity, the students of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) through Student Creativity Program (PKM) of Entrepreneurship found the innovation of the ciplukan plant processing. They were Anisa Miranti, Wafa Nurshofa Qotrunnada, Kania Putri Utami, Maulana Malik Ibrahim, and Ega Setiawan.
The ciplukan plant in Sukabumi was used as the traditional drink which served as the health drink. The ciplukan had a high antioxidant content, but it was less favored. Anisa and the team of PKM of Entrepreneurship made the innovation beverage from the ciplukan plant favored by the community. This drink contained the essence of the plant and the ciplukan fruit plus the lime to reduce the taste of sepat. This formula made the less-popular of the ciplukan drink into a new drink of interest of all ages.
The product that was packed with this Chips Drink label had been produced as many as 441 bottles, but the team of PKM targetted its production of 1,500 bottles. Using a bottle of 330 milliliters, once production capacity was approximately 90 – 150 bottles. The flavors of the fruits on the offer were soursoup, mango, watermelon, startfruit, pineapple, and original. The most favored taste of the consumer was the taste of soursoup. The beverage processing was done at the production house in Taman Pangelaran area, Bogor.
“We have a vision to make our product as the typical souvenir of Bogor and to be packed in the souvenir package”, said Anisa. But the obstacle faced by the team of PKM was the existence of the worker who could handle to make the drink which had not been found. So that, the production process was still handled by its own team members, and the marketing was still collided with the limited production scale. Nevertheless, the production process continued to run in sustainable manner.
As a refreshing drink that had a high antioxidant content, Chips Drink was more delicious served cold. This drink could be obtained at the price of Rp. 5,000,- per bottle. The sales of Chips Drink had been done in the sports area such as Lapangan Sempur and Taman Heulang. The customer’s welcome was excellent. In addition to the sports area, Chips Drink was also marketed among the students of IPB. The consumers also loved the natural sweetness of sugar and the natural color used on Chips Drink. “We expect that the drink of Chips Drink can increase the added value for the farmers and change the status of weeds in the ciplukan plants into the useful plants and generate rupiah,” said Anisa. (EAW/ris)
