The Inspirational Story of J.CO
Let me tell you about a donut. I mean a company that sells donuts. This company is iconic in Indonesia. It mainly sells donuts and coffee. When I came to the store and saw the product, I thought it was classy but affordable.
The company name is J.Co. The name is simple and easy to remember. When someone says J.Co, my mind will associate it with delicious donuts because I like the taste so much. I also like the texture and the flavor variants.
Now, let me tell you about the story of J.Co. The founder of this company is Johnny Andrean. His background is as a hairstylist. I know it seems irrelevant to the FnB company.
However, there is a reason why he chose to sell donuts. It started when he used to go to America. He always eats American donuts. He likes it. Then, he thought it would be saleable in Indonesia. Therefore, he tried to deal with an American donut company to supply the product in Indonesia. But, there was a problem in the quality control process, so he stopped it.
In 2005, he decided to build his own donut company: J.Co. He imports some materials from other countries. That’s why the taste is different from other donuts in Indonesia. The chocolate is from Belgia, the milk is from New Zealand, and the coffee is from Costa Rica.
Then, the company logo contains a peacock as a symbol of tenderness and beauty. I guessed it was not from Indonesia when I saw the logo for the first time.
The company grows fast. It expanded to 16 stores one year after opening the first store in Karawaci, Tangerang. I am proud of him. But, the thing is that he opened it after three years of surveys and research about a donut and buyers in Indonesia. So, his success is not a coincidence.
Three things that differentiate between J.Co and other donut companies are the taste, the packaging of the product, and the concept of an open kitchen, where the buyer can see the making process.
There are two main lessons you can take from the story of J.Co. What is that?
The lessons are about selling something you like and doing serious research before you open a company.
Sometimes, the path of our business is not always relevant to what we were before, like Johnny Andrean, a hairstylist and salon owner who decided to build a successful donut company in Indonesia. But he did it because he liked it.
