Malang, en.SERU.co.id – The Covid-19 pandemic became a turning point for Suliati in building her traditional herbal drink business, Jamu Sugih Waras. What began as a routine of sharing free jamu with local residents has grown into an enterprise that now generates millions of rupiah in monthly turnover.
Owner of Jamu Sugih Waras, Suliati, revealed that she previously worked as a bridal makeup artist. The pandemic brought that work to a halt because almost no wedding events were held.
“In the middle of that situation, I started making drinks from spices. Even before the pandemic I already loved spice drinks and often prepared jamu for the Islamic boarding school near my house,” said the resident of Kalisongo on Saturday, 15 August 2026.
Suliati then received guidance from a kyai at the pesantren to make jamu and distribute it to people living around her. This was because many residents easily fell ill when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Indonesia.
“I was instructed by the kyai at the boarding school near my house to make jamu and give it to the villagers around me. Don’t think about whether it is paid or not,” she said.
Every day she prepared about two pots of jamu. The mixture was then shared with residents and was enough to meet the needs of around two neighborhood units (RT).
“At first I made jamu not for business. If residents gave money, I accepted it. But if no one paid, I still distributed the jamu according to the mandate from my kyai,” she explained.
After the Covid-19 pandemic ended and community activities began to recover, demand for Suliati’s jamu actually increased. A number of people who had tasted it gave positive responses and found the drink suitable for them.
“From there the desire arose to deepen my knowledge about the herbal world. I even took several herbal classes in Yogyakarta, Jember and Kediri,” she continued.
According to her, learning about herbs is not only about mixing various ingredients into jamu. She also studied their functions, benefits, characteristics and the correct processing methods so that the recipes she made would be accurate.
“I took herbal classes not only to learn how to mix ingredients, but also to understand the herbs themselves. What their functions are, what their benefits are, and how to process them correctly so that there is no contradiction when mixing,” she said.
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The Jamu Sugih Waras business then operated from her home kitchen. Orders began coming in for various activities and events in Malang. Suliati provided fresh jamu recipes that were prepared directly in pitchers according to each order.
Even though she had to divide her time with her work as a makeup artist, she continued to pursue the business. Orders could even reach several pitchers for a single event.
Suliati’s jamu was also served at a number of activities at the pesantren attended by several public figures. She mentioned some of the people who had consumed her recipes, including Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Emil Dardak, the family of President Joko Widodo, and local government leaders in Malang.
“As the business developed, I thought about how the Jamu Sugih Waras product could be taken outside the city. Especially since until then my jamu was still in the form of fresh mixtures prepared for immediate drinking,” she said.
From that need she then developed herbal tea products. One of the first products created was a tea blend intended to help maintain cholesterol levels.
The product development involved about six months of experimentation together with her family. Suliati tested various aspects, from the drying process of the ingredients and texture to the choice of tea bags and the correct dosage or gramage.
“Now Jamu Sugih Waras already has four herbal tea variants. There is a tea for immunity, a tea for stomach acid, a cholesterol tea and Teh Anjani specially for women,” she explained.
Suliati’s journey in building the business also received support after Jamu Sugih Waras was included in the curation of MSMEs assisted by Bank Indonesia (BI). According to her, that opportunity further opened space for her products to become known to the public.
“From what was initially distributed for free, now alhamdulillah it has become a business. At present the minimum turnover is around Rp2 million per month,” she concluded. (bas/mzm)
Indonesian Version:
Kisah Suliati Bangun Jamu Sugih Waras: Dari Sedekah Jamu Tembus Omzet Jutaan Rupiah
