Es Teler77 was named after the award winning drink "Es Teler" and lucky number, 77 (WIPO Publication WIPO-ASEAN/IP/BKK/06/DRAFT)
Background
Es Teler 77 is a family-owned Indonesian fast-food restaurant. The idea of starting a business came in 1982 when Mrs. Murniati Widjaja won the first prize in the Ice Making Competition in Indonesia. The award winning drink, named “Es Teler”, was comprised of jackfruit (a tropical mulberry fruit), young coconut and avocado enriched with condensed milk and crushed ice with a special syrup made by Mrs. Murniati Widjaja. Her husband then came up with the idea to sell the drink with a catch-phrase of “Juara Indonesia” (Indonesian Champion). Their business started from a small tent kiosk outside a shopping center in Jakarta with only five employees.
Trademarks and Branding
The name “Es Teler 77”came up during a family meeting when one suggested to add "77", which was considered a lucky number in Chinese society, to the name of the kiosk. Thus, Es Teler 77 became the brand name of the kiosk and drink.
To advertise the brand name, Mr. Sukyatno Nugroho, Mrs. Murniati Widjaja's son-in-law, sponsored unique competitions such as a Becak Race (a race with traditional tricycles) and also challenged national records such as creating the biggest Christmas tree in Indonesia. These unique activities drew significant media attention – especially through television – and increased the publicity of Es Teler 77, which resulted in attracting more and more customers.
With the growth of the business, the kiosk was turned into a family-owned company. To meet the increasing demand, Mr. Sukyatno built a large new restaurant with support from his family members. He also created a new slogan: “Drunk the world over Es Teler 77” and their family business continued to grow. Later the menu was expanded from the Es Teler drink to include various food such as meatballs, fried noodles, fried rice, fried fishballs and chicken wings.
Mr. Sukyatno realized the importance of trademark protection early on. Through trademark registration, he protected the company’s Es Teler 77 name as well as its service mark, Juara Indonesia, in many categories including restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, catering, beverages, food services, meatballs, mixed fruit ices, ice creams, crackers and syrups. Realizing the power and benefits of using trademarks, he created and registered another service mark – Mie Tek Tek – for restaurants specializing in serving many kinds of noodles cooked in the traditional manner.
Franchising
Es Teler 77 has been franchising its business since 1987. A franchisee receives the company’s business strategy and support from its team of experts. The following are the terms and other requirements for the franchise:
- Franchise Fee: Rp 75,000,000 (approximately US $8,400)
- Franchise Term: 5 years
- Estimated initial investment (excluding franchise fee): Rp 350,000,000* (approximately US $39,500)
- Royalty Fee: 4 %
- Marketing Fee: 2 %
- Staff Training Program: One week training at Es Teler 77 Training Centre and three weeks training at an Es Teler 77 outlet
- Location Requirement: preferably in a mall, shopping centre or supermarket
* This amount varies according to the condition and the surface area of the shop. This investment will cover shop fitting and decoration, kitchen equipment, dining tables and chairs etc.
Business Results
Despite strong competition from foreign and domestic fast-food rivals, the company’s customer base has grown day by day and the ES Teler 77 brand name has become widely known in Indonesia. As of 2010, the company had more than 200 outlets throughout Indonesia and five restaurants in Australia and Singapore. In addition, Mie Tek Tek has about twenty locations in Indonesia. The company commits itself to providing the best Indonesian food and beverages to its customers.
The Rise of an Indonesian Fast-Food Chain: A Champion Recipe and Unique Marketing Strategy Through Trademarks
The success factors of Es Teler 77 business are the creation and protection of attractive trademarks as well as unique marketing through catchy phrases and events to establish national records in a number of areas.