Jiwa Group bolsters brand growth with new marketing director role

In Indonesia's fast-moving F&B scene, Jiwa Group has appointed Grace Surya as its marketing director - a timely move as the company doubles down on brand growth. The group, known for its Janji Jiwa coffee and the expanding Jiwa Toast, is entering a new phase of structured marketing leadership after years of founder-led strategy.

"This is a new role, previously handled by the CEO," Surya told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. She added that with the brands expanding at a faster pace and larger scale, it became important to have a dedicated marketing director to lead this area. Surya now reports directly to CEO Billy Kurniawan.

With a background steeped in brand development, her remit spans end-to-end marketing and brand strategy across the group's portfolio, which includes not only Janji Jiwa but also Kopi Sejuta Jiwa - the company's latest initiative offering coffee from mobile carts launched in late 2023.

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Surya's appointment marks a homecoming. She previously served as country head of marketing at Flash Coffee before taking on a role in the mobility industry. "Very excited! I can do a page on this question," she said when asked about her return to the coffee business.

She expressed her love for the coffee industry, highlighting how it "professionally challenges a brand and marketing strategist to be very agile, fast, and fun" while still driving meaningful impact, especially when engaging Millennial and Gen Z audiences. 

For Jiwa Group, which operates under Luna Boga Narayan, that demographic has always been central to its proposition. Janji Jiwa's grab-and-go coffee model has built a loyal young following, further accelerated by the company's digital innovations.

Just last year, Jiwa Group co-created a new coffee menu with Google's Gemini AI - melding local flavour preferences with algorithm-driven creativity. The brand launched a fall-inspired drink called the Golden Maple Latte, featuring the flavour of maple.

Moreover, the group's evolution from standalone shops to mobile cart networks under the Kopi Sejuta Jiwa umbrella suggests a clear strategy: closeness to the consumer, not just through taste but through proximity and platform. That customer-first agility is what Surya seems most eager to take on.

Indonesia's coffee startup landscape has seen a remarkable boom in recent years, fuelled by increasing consumer demand, investor interest, and innovations - ranging from trendy café formats and affordable coffee offerings to the adoption of technology in operations and customer experience.

After all, Indonesia is one of the world's largest coffee producers. The country's coffee industry continues to see significant growth, with production reaching 786,000 tonnes in 2023 and a projected market revenue of US$25.9 billion by 2030.

Founded in 2018, Jiwa Group set out to make quality coffee and food experiences more widely accessible to Indonesians. Through its brands - Janji Jiwa, Jiwa Toast, and Jiwa Tea - the group expanded to over 900 outlets across 33 provinces in Indonesia in just four years.

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