Sekar Laut to bring Indonesian crackers to US ready-to-eat snacks market

While Sekar Laut crackers have been available in uncooked form in the US for more than 20 years, the consumer base has been limited to the Asian community, according to the company’s general manager William Cung.

Speaking to BakeryandSnacks.com at the Snaxpo 2016 event in Texas this week, Cung said the business had reached out to 40 manufacturers and expected to have finalized a US production contract with a manufacturer by the end of this year.

“Crackers are considered a side dish in Indonesia but are widely treated as snacks in the US,”​ he added. “More and more American consumers are demanding a more convenient product.”​

Targeting US mainstream

“Once signing the agreement with a manufacturer, the manufacturer will help fry up Sekar Laut crackers, and the end products will be on the shelf in mainstream US channels.”​

The company name is derived from the Indonesian word sekar, which translates as ‘almost blossomed flower’, while Laut represents ocean as many of its products are made with seafood. Other ingredients in the crackers include tapioca, salt, and egg.

Tapioca-based crackers 

Cung added that he hoped consumers would come to realize tapioca-based crackers were no longer a product confined to the Asian market. 

Established in 1976, the business is based in the city of Surabaya, and manufactures its products from a factory in Sidoarjo. Its product range includes crackers, sauces, flours, spices and nuts sold primarily under the Finna brand.