An international dairy development project bringing Danish agricultural expertise with Indonesian partners has successfully launched Indonesia’s first locally-produced organic cheese.
The cheese is produced by local artisanal manufacturer, Mazaraat Artisan Cheese, aided by a Danida (Danish International Development Agency)-funded project aiming to unlock the potential of organic production in Indonesia and increase local dairy farming efficiency.
Mazaraat Artisan Cheese was established in 2015 with the vision of fulfilling domestic needs for organic cheese and become one of the strongest cheese providers in South East Asia.
The production line of the organic cheese is located in Malang and is supported by partners, including Arla Foods which has committed to supporting sustainable dairy production around the world. The first step in the project was capacity building and support for the local farmers in the dairy cooperative KPSP as they transitioned from conventional to organic farming. This was carried out by Danish innovation company SEGES Innovation and ICOEL with valuable support from the Indonesian organic certification body LeSOS, and other partners.
The certified organic milk from the KPSP cooperative is processed by Mazaraat Artisan Cheese at the newly established manufacturing plant in Malang and turned into the first organic cheese produced in the country.
In this project, Arla Foods, the world’s largest organic dairy producer, contributes advanced processing expertise and go-to-market support from its experience working with both the organic category and artisanal cheese.
The organic cheese will be sold locally in the local HoReCa segment, while the first export agreement to Singapore has already been finalised.
In summary, Indolakto, Arla Foods and Mazaraat Artisan Cheese are the commercial partners in the project with Indolakto contributing processing capabilities and Mazaraat Artisan Cheese producing the final product. Arla Foods helps with its wide expertise and marketing knowhow.
In Indonesia, dairy demand is set to increase by 6% in 2023 and currently, it is satisfied mainly by imported products (80%). The Indonesian government aims to increase local organic food production from 2% to 20% by 2024.
