Dery Isna Prasetia
IPMI International Business School
Amelia Naim Indrajaya
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Substore is a small music store that turned a traditional wet market called Pasar Santa, into one of the biggest movements of creative industry community. Substore has proved that a simple business with limited funds can make a big change through sustainable communities and empower people to set up businesses.
Sama Food provides healthy food catering that everyone could afford with "pay as you like" payment and tries to change the mindset of expensive healthy food. At the same time, they provide free healthy food for those who needed and always buy the organic product from local traditional market to contribute to the society.
Substore has made what seems impossible into a successful business by creating a sustainable creative industry community. No one would have imagined that an underdeveloped wet traditional market could be a space for creative music communities to exchange ideas and hang out. At first they struggled to launch regular music events for free with very limited resources, while lucky for them social media had helped them to escalate their promotion. After months, their efforts finally showed results and several Indonesia music artists joined their events. Lots of people would like to see Indonesian artists to perform in a unique traditional market and even some of them launched their Vinyl record album at their stores.
Through this movement, lots of people are setting up many creative businesses in that traditional market and inspire people to create business even with minimum fund. After 7 years underdeveloped, Pasar Santa has been one of the most talk about traditional markets in Jakarta. Pasar Santa also once visited by one of Indonesia ministers because of this movement, since this movement has created a sustainable creative industry community in Jakarta.
Substore is trying to spread their business to other locations. Currently they have opened in Bandung (Pasar Cikapundung), Bali, and Tokyo.
Substore Tokyo has provided a free live music space which offer music artist to perform at their store. They have invited many talented artists there and create a new movement of community who has passion in music. One of Indonesian artists has also visited Substore Tokyo for their performance. Substore has not only create a sustainable movement in Indonesia, but also in other countries.
Along the success of Substore, the founders also have healthy food principle. After getting their business running, they are also starting a new healthy food catering called Sama Food. Sama Food offers a new concept of healthy diet with affordable price (“pay as you like”). With this concept, people would realize that healthy people is not always expensive. Even with concept of “pay as you like”, they are still providing free healthy food for people in needed as they always make additional package for them. Basically it’s a cross subsidy from people who pay bigger than the cost to whom pay less, and still they always add several free healthy package for the poor. Every Monday, they even provide the motorcycle drivers who deliver the food.
Substore was established by Aria & Intan (Married couple), and Andhika (Aria's brother who lives in Tokyo). At first Aria & Intan were thinking on how to create a business with very limited capital. They finally brainstormed with Andhika and he agreed to provide second hand products related on music (Vinyl record, cassette, books, etc) from Japan's flea market to Jakarta.
In Tokyo itself, Andhika found that music people who do not have much money find it difficult to express their music since everything is very expensive there. To perform live music, any live space requires some expensive fees. Looking at the successful substore in Jakarta, they opened a substore in Tokyo, which offers free space for people to perform music. This store has invited talented artists to express their music and create movement in the community.
For Sama Food, since they like to cook their own healthy food, one of their friends asked them whether he could pay them some money to create a healthy food since he was diagnosed for a health problem. One day, he stopped ordering as he does not have enough money at that moment. Finally they got inspiration to create a healthy food catering services to help them who are not always have enough money but still want have healthy food. They want to support people who wants healthy food but having cash difficulty and hoping that in the future once they have more money, they could give more so other people could benefit the way before.
Substore
Sama Food
With profitable business from selling second hand music products, they have spread their business to several locations including overseas (Tokyo) while at the same time the community initiated other creative businesses to join the wave for start-up business. Not only in music, but other food business was also made through this movement. Several Indonesian artists also got the benefit from joining this community with their promotion.
Sama Food can do cross subsidy and still got profit to give free healthy food package for others, while at the same time contributing the traditional market for their business.
A new music community has risen up and helps other business like Vinyl to live again. Even in digital era, several Indonesian artists have launched Vinyl record album because of this movement. As they are selling second hand product, all of those products will not be waste.
Sama Food has started to initiate some people mindset that healthy food is actually affordable. They are also sharing their food recipe through Cooking Community (Dapur Bareng) so everyone could actually cook their own healthy food. By buying all their products through traditional market, they encourage people to do the same to understand organic food is not always expensive. At the same time, they are also contributing free good food for healthy life for those who needed.
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Aria Angga Dwipa, Founder
