We can't believe it's been a whole year since jamu went from being part of our daily ritual to the essence of Good Jamu. We started drinking jamu when we lived in Indonesia and were immediately impressed with how fresh and robust it made us feel. When we returned to the Netherlands, we instinctively continued to make jamu using the knowledge we had received from an experienced Indonesian jamu master. The people around us were intrigued. They wanted to try this jamu and see why we were so obsessed! When we made a batch for the first time, there was an immediate demand for more. That made us realize something: the western world wanted and needed the unparalleled variety of wellness benefits this unique elixir offers. From this realization, Good Jamu grew into a brand and a community.
Major milestones that shaped and strengthened Good Jamu
When we founded Good Jamu, we wanted to give the brand a unique identity that reflected not only the deliciousness and nutritiousness of jamu, but also its novelty in the West. We partnered with our Balinese friends, design studio Space Available , to create the Good Jamu brand you see today, which perfectly captures these characteristics with its modern, tropical vibrancy.
It's no secret that the wellness benefits of jamu become even more energizing when jamu becomes a regular part of life. Shortly after we launched Good Jamu, many of our customers started stocking up on jamu on a regular basis, often ordering a bottle or two every week! These customers needed an easier and faster process to order their jamu. This inspired us to set up a subscription, giving our customers the option to receive bottles of jamu every two weeks or monthly, without having to re-order a bottle every time they needed a refill. In the beginning, customers had to fill out a form to sign up, but now we have an option to choose a monthly subscription with both Tropical Turmeric and Island Ginger flavors with one click. The subscription offers jamu at a lower price per bottle, while making sure you never run out of supplies. It can be canceled at any time.
Start-ups like Good Jamu have a real opportunity to incorporate sustainable practices into their day-to-day business operations. During our time in Indonesia, we were surrounded by beautiful nature. This beauty is also highly vulnerable to human activities and because of this we have made a profound commitment to combating climate change and protecting the natural environment. To deliver on this promise, we decided to make glass bottles that can wear jamu time and time again and have set up a deposit return system, where empty bottles are collected from customers and reused. Since we made this decision, we have reused 1,000 of our bottles! But we face a huge challenge in doing so. Few logistics companies offer returns, let alone returns of glass products. There are certainly some who do offer it, but the costs are so high that we as a start-up simply cannot afford them. We have risen to this challenge by self-delivering and collecting our glass bottles across the country, but we would like to hand over our distribution to a third-party supplier as soon as the opportunity arises. This will allow us to expand our reach and bring jamu to more people in the world.
We also fulfilled our promise to promote sustainable practices by partnering with a Swedish company, Ride Cake , which enabled us to deliver jamu by electric motor. This means that we have reduced the greenhouse gas emissions we emit as a company. We strive to become more sustainable with every step we take on our journey, and we plan to deliver more of our jamu using eco-friendly means of transportation as Good Jamu grows.
But our work wouldn't matter without our Good Jamu community. We are so grateful that people from all over the country choose to drink our jamu. Some say our jamu reminds them of home, others tell us it is an essential part of their diet. We even get messages asking: I'm out of jamu, when will you deliver next time? We couldn't do what we do without all of you, and the feedback we receive gives us confidence for what's to come.
What are the next steps for Good Jamu?
Behind the scenes, we are always working to improve the Good Jamu experience for our customers and evolve as a transparent and caring company. Some of the most exciting things we're working on right now are:
- Sharing with you the personal jamu journeys of our community members
- Develop new, more efficient delivery methods that are environmentally friendly
- Trying out different types of packaging with sustainability in mind
- Making some brand new Good Jamu goodies aimed at your well-being.
- Run tests to dive deeper and discover all the benefits of jamu.
We have made so much progress in the past year, but the Good Jamu journey is far from complete. We hope you stay with us and see how the story unfolds. Our future is golden (orange) and full of goodness!
