Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Blue Band is one of the most popular butter brands among Indonesians. Blue Band butter has always been a complement to various types of cuisine in Indonesia.
However, not many people know the history of Blue Band before it became the ruler of the Indonesian market. It turns out that Blue Band was first started by a Jewish family and was initially only marketed to Jews.
What's the story?
The existence of the Blue Band is related to the figure of Simon van den Bergh, a Jewish man from the Netherlands. Simon sold margarine in 1886, which actually continued his late father's margarine business.
At first, Simon did not sell margarine to the general public. He simply made it and sold it to the Jewish community in the Netherlands. The reason the Jewish community likes Simon margarine products is because they are made from ingredients that according to Jews are in accordance with religious norms.
Over time, the margarine which was later given the Vitello brand was not only intended for the Jewish community. However, it has started to be consumed by the wider community. He only has competition from Stork brand margarine.
However, Vitello has the best qualities compared to Stork. Simon really supervises every step in producing margarine. As a result, Vitello quickly became a popular product in the Netherlands. This condition continued until Simon died in 1907.
Afterwards, Vitello was succeeded by Simon's children. In the hands of the heir, Vitello changed its name to Blue Band. This name change was also accompanied by market expansion. No longer only in the Netherlands, Blue Band is starting to penetrate the British market. There he met Stork again and a rivalry ensued.
“Wherever Jurgens goes with Stork Brand margarine, Van den Bergh follows with Blue Band. Wherever Blue Band goes, Stork follows with advertising, campaigns and price cuts,” wrote Ourselves as Others See Us (1948).
In England, the success of the Blue Band was increasingly unstoppable. Later, Blue Band merged with Stork to form a corporate union called Margarine Unie. Long story short, Margarine Unie invited another margarine company from England, namely Lever Brother. The unification of all these margarine companies gave birth to a large company called Unilever in 1930.
In Indonesia, Blue Band was brought in by Unilever in 1934. The existence of Blue Band in Indonesia was directly supervised by the son of the founder of Blue Band, namely Sidney van den Bergh. Siahaan mute inside Industrialization in Indonesia: From Debt of Honor to Swerving (1996) said, Sidney believed that Blue Band would dominate the Indonesian market.
The reason is that Dutch and Jewish people living in Indonesia have a great dependence on margarine. In the end, Sidney's belief was proven. In fact, Blue Band consumers are not only these two groups, but also native Indonesians. As a result, until Indonesia became independent, the Blue Band still existed.
Advertisements increasingly appear in the mass media. Indonesian people are increasingly liking margarine products. In fact, Blue Band has become a pronoun for Indonesian citizens to refer to margarine or butter. Until now, Blue Band is a top brand in the margarine and butter industry.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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