When you think of Indonesia, bread is probably the last thing that comes to mind.

For decades, rice, noodles, and local street snacks filled the markets.

Bread was expensive, hardened within a day, and never quite fit into the daily routine of most Indonesians.

But in 1995, Indonesian Wendy Yap saw an opportunity no one else did.

She believed that bread could be a staple item that every Indonesian family could afford.

So how did a bold idea turn into Indonesia’s largest bread company?

This is the story of Sari Roti, the bread that's available in over 88,000 stores across Indonesia and is a public company listed on Indonesia’s stock exchange.

‍

💡 A bold idea

In 1995, a young woman named Wendy Yap wanted to bring soft, fluffy bread to Indonesia—something people could enjoy every day.

She saw that urbanization was growing and young people wanted food that was quick and convenient.

Wendy’s family was already a big name in Indonesia’s food industry.

Her father had co-founded Bogasari, the country’s largest flour mill, which had expanded into noodles and pasta. Bread seemed like the next big opportunity.

But she didn’t want to make just any bread. She wanted to introduce Japanese-style bread—soft, fluffy, and able to stay fresh for days.

At the time, most Indonesians thought of bread as something hard and dry that came from small bakeries and went stale overnight.

If Wendy was going to change that, her bread had to be affordable, delicious, and long-lasting.

‍

🍞 Bready or not

To make her vision a reality, Wendy needed a great recipe and the best technology.

She decided not to follow the traditional method of small bakeries with lots of manual labor.

She partnered with Shikishima Baking Company, a famous Japanese bread maker with over four generations of expertise.

But her boldest move was investing $5M in state-of-the-art Japanese bread-making machines.

At the time, this was a huge risk—most Indonesians weren’t even looking for packaged bread yet.

But using these machines meant they would have the capacity for mass production with the same high quality every time, and that the bread would stay fresh longer. She knew they couldn’t depend on tons of human labor.

By 1997, Sari Roti’s first factory was up and running. It seemed like things were finally coming together.

But just as the company started gaining momentum, disaster struck.

‍

😱 Turning crisis into opportunity

In 1998, the Asian Financial Crisis hit Indonesia. It should have been the end of a young company like Sari Roti.

Instead, it became their biggest breakthrough.

With supermarkets struggling to keep shelves stocked, people started searching for longer-lasting, locally made food.

That’s when Sari Roti’s vacuum-sealed bread stood out. Unlike traditional bread that went stale within a day, Sari Roti stayed fresh for up to five days.

For the first time, Indonesians saw bread as a must-have pantry item. Families stocked up, demand exploded, and Sari Roti went from a new brand to a household name almost overnight.

‍

👩🏻‍🍳 One loaf at a time

Wendy made sure that Sari Roti was within reach no matter where you lived.

On one hand, mini-marts and supermarkets were growing fast, and Sari Roti made sure its bread was stocked in all of them.

But Wendy knew that millions of Indonesians still relied on small neighborhood stores and street vendors.

So instead of waiting for customers to come to them, Sari Roti brought bread directly to the people.

Vendors on bicycles and pushcarts began selling Sari Roti on busy streets, in villages, and outside schools.

In 2005, it opened its second factory, and over the next decade, it added 14 more factories across the country.

By 2010, Sari Roti went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

In 2011, Sari Roti won Forbes Asia’s Best Under a Billion award, and in 2012, it was named Forbes Best of the Best.

By 2014, Sari Roti was producing 4.2M pieces of bread every single day.

‍

📢 Facing boycott

‍

In December 2016, Sari Roti became the target of boycott.

During a massive political rally in Jakarta, vendors were seen giving away Sari Roti bread for free. Many believed the company had sponsored the protest.

To clarify, Sari Roti released a statement denying any involvement, explaining that it was a customer who had arranged the giveaway.

But the statement angered many rally supporters, leading to a nationwide boycott campaign.

Sales dropped, and for the first time, Sari Roti faced real uncertainty.

Instead of panicking, the company stayed the course.

They didn’t engage in political debates and doubled down on what it had always prioritized—trust, quality, and accessibility.

‍

👏🏻 Uplifting communities

Despite challenges, Sari Roti remained committed to investing in local communities.

Every new factory created jobs, bringing stable incomes to thousands of Indonesians who became vendors, distributors, and workers.

They provided bread for the poor, improved infrastructure, and supported health and education programs.

Wendy believed that a company should grow alongside the people it serves.

This deep connection to local communities helped restore public trust and reinforce Sari Roti’s place in Indonesian households.

‍

📈 Still rising up

Even after decades of success, Sari Roti is still evolving.

In 2022, Sari Roti expanded into cakes with Sari Kue, catering to Indonesians’ love for sweet treats. A year later, they launched Sari Choco, a chocolate-filled bread line supported by its own in-house chocolate production.

But beyond new products, Sari Roti has reshaped Indonesia’s food culture. Once seen as an afterthought, bread is now a staple in millions of households.

With Indonesia’s young, fast-growing population, the demand for convenient, affordable food continues to rise. And Sari Roti, which already dominates 90% of the packaged bread market, is well-positioned to meet that demand.

The company’s growth speaks for itself—in the first quarter of 2024, Sari Roti recorded a 79.8B IDR profit (4.8M USD), a 50.1% increase year-over-year.

Sari Roti’s rise shows that success isn’t just about making great products—it’s about meeting people’s needs at the right time and making big bets.

And what we saw happen to Sari Roti during the crisis shows that timing can be just as crucial as strategy.