Bella Bulgaria (Bella), a supplier of meat cuts, sausages, salami, mince and ham, has entered into a US$72 million halal meat joint venture in Indonesia.
Bella has signed a memorandum of ‘trade and investment cooperation’ with Indonesia’s PT Garuda Mitra Utama.
Apart from meat, Bella also produces pastry products, cheese, frozen vegetables and cooking oils.
Bella will allocate US$38 million toward setting up a meat products factory in Indonesia and US$34 million for the procurement and supply of spices and herbs, which Mitra Utama will incorporate into its own products.
Bella operates 9 European factories in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Hungary, with one being a halal facility based in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, producing rendang-padang, a popular spiced meat dish in Indonesia.
Dimitar Mitev, Bella Bulgaria’s chief operating officer said, “By actively developing the activity of the rendang-padang factory in Plovdiv, we accumulated knowledge and experience, which we want to implement on a much larger scale in Indonesia.”
Bella Bulgaria has also signed up to the ‘Indonesia: Spice Up the World’ programme launched by President Joko Widodo to promote Indonesian products around the world.
Hendro Santoso, CEO of Mitra Utama said, “This is our first cooperation with a European company and we have the opportunity to produce products based on traditional recipes with spices and herbs that are part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage.”
The halal meat joint venture has yet to determine the location of the joint-venture factory but it could be based in Jakarta or Bali.
Santoso added, “Our spices and seasonings will come from a collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises from Sumatra to preserve the authentic flavour but the meat will come from Bulgaria. In essence, we can say it’s a collaborative effort, where it’s cooked there but under the supervision of both parties.”
