Thank you for the opportunity to present our company, Kopi Asli. Please reach out to talk.
Deborah Elam owner and founder 323.545.4880 delam@kopiasli.com
kopi asli coffee 1725 Naud St Los Angeles, CA 90012
Table of Contents I. Our Vision LETTER TO INVESTOR.................................. VISION STATEMENT..................................... FAIR TRADE COMMITMENT........................ INDONESIAN CULTURE............................... INDONESIAN BATIK..................................... INDONESIAN COFFEE CULTURE............... INDONESIAN FOOD.................................... AESTHETIC....................................................
II. Our Coffee KOPI ASLI COFFEE....................................... FLORES.......................................................... TORAJA.......................................................... GAYO..............................................................
III. Our Services TARGET MARKET.......................................... OUR MENU.................................................... OUR ATMOSPHERE......................................
OUR LOCATIONS.........................................
Index..................................................
Our Vision
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This Section Includes:
Letter to the Investor Vision Statement Our Fair Trade Commitment Indonesian Culture
Our Vision
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I Dear Jacob Cotton,
f the past two years of isolation during the pandemic have taught us anything, it is the potential for global connection without ever leaving our homes. As avid travelers, 2020 hit us hard–however, it also made us think. What if we could bring the joys of travel to our everyday lives? Our company Kopi Asli is dedicated to connecting American coffee drinkers with Indonesian coffee farmers. We form relationships with fair trade family farmers in Indonesia to ensure that we make a positive impact in Indonesia as well as in the States. In addition to our bagged coffee, our two locations currently in LA bring a taste of Indonesian coffee culture to discerning coffee drinkers who appreciate both knowing their coffee habit is having a positive impact as well as learning about other cultures. We are looking to expand to three new cities in the next five years to bring this combination of taste and culture to more coffee drinkers across America.
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Coffee Culture
We appreciate the opportunity to present you with our company and business model. We approach every business partnership with the same care and dedication to the interests of all parties as we do with our Indonesian coffee farmers. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions or comments. Sincerely,
Owner and Founder
Coffee Culture
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Vision Statement A TRUE TASTE OF INDONESIA
K
opi Asli is all about connections. Giving an international tinge to the phrase “farm to table,” we buy our coffee beans directly from family farms in Indonesia. This ensures that our drinkers get the highest quality bean possible, but it also looks at the bigger picture of international commerce. The farmers and regions that grow the produce consumed in the States so often get the short
end of the stick, from ravaging their ecosystems to being taken advantage of so companies in the West could make huge profits at their expense. Kopi Asli, however, is dedicated to a more fair and mutually beneficial partnership with our farmers. We ensure that they are paid a fair rate for their beans, which in turn ensures that our beans are of the highest quality.
Furthermore, our close relationship with the coffee farmers allows us to see first hand the environmental impact our beans have and respect the culture they come from. Just as our coffee beans are delicious, our coffee shops are a fragrant taste of Indonesian coffee culture. Indulge your travel bug without the price of a plane ticket and learn about the delights of Indonesian coffee.
Kopi Asli brings the taste and heritage of indonesia to a coffee shop near you.
Our Vision
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Our Fair Trade Commitment
F
air trade is a global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, consumers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first. Based on the simple idea that the products bought and sold every day are connected to the livelihoods of others, fair trade is a way to make a conscious choice for a better world. A choice for Fair Trade Certified™ goods is a choice to support responsible
companies, empower farmers, workers, and fishermen, and protect the environment. In other words, it’s a world-changing way of doing business. That is why Kopi Asli has made a commitment to serve only 100% Fair Trade Certified coffee beans in our coffee shops, as well as only selling Fair Trade beans in our signature bagged coffee beans.
Want to make sure the products you busy are fair trade? Look for the Fair Trade icon.
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Our Vision
Our Vision
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Our Vision
Indonesian Culture
Our Vision
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Indonesian Batik
B
atik is an ancient art form of Indonesia made with wax resistant dye on fabrics. The techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik.
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Our Vision
Indonesia Want to learn more about the tradition of batik? Scan the QR code and become immersed in indonesia’s cultural heritage.
Fun Fact
Batik is an Indonesian art and tradition that has been passed down for hundreds of years.
Our Vision
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We don’t know when batik was first made there, but the traditional skills were particularly well developed over hundreds of years in Central Java around the Kraton (or Court) cities of Yogyakarta and Solo under the patronage of the Sultan and his family.Batik designs were imbued with meaning and powerful symbolism, and some designs were restricted to certain people only – specifically The Sultan himself, or his wider family, or the Court servants and retainers.
Our Vision
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It is common practice in Indonesian work culture to wear batik on Fridays to celebrate their heritage with this traditional art form.
Indonesian Coffee Culture
I
n Indonesia, coffee is not only a way of life, it has become an important commodity. Indonesia is one of the biggest coffee producers in the world along with heavyweights Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia. Not only is it consumed by Indonesians, it has also become a source of livelihood for many of its people. Coffee is grown all across the archipelago and you will find simple coffee shops that sell instant coffee or traditional coffee drinks on almost every street corner.
Indonesians often enjoy their coffee at roadside stalls on the way to work.
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Our Vision
Indonesia
Want to learn more about traditional Indonesian coffee recipes? Scan the QR code and become immersed in indonesia’s rich and tasty cultural heritage.
Fun Fact
Street vendors sell coffee candies to instant coffee for those who missed out on their morning coffee routines. Almost in every street corner, roadside “stalls” or warung kopi are often packed with visitors. They serve unstrained brewed coffee in a glass. Most Indonesians prefer to drink black coffee with sugar. Besides this plain coffee, people also serve coffee with herbs and spices.
Our Vision
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Indonesian Food
I
n a country so rich in history and tradition like Indonesia, a meal is never just a meal. Traditions, stories and culture are cooked into every recipe, creating a unique cuisine loved by many. Indonesian food is the product of the nation’s own ancient recipes, refined
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Our Vision
by the influences from other cultures seen throughout India, China, the Middle East and more. Rice is a staple food in the Indonesian diet. The goddess of rice, Dewi Sri, is highly revered in Java and Bali and because of this divine inspiration almost everything comes with rice on the side.
Our Vision
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Indonesian cuisine is so heavy on rice that if a meal does not contain rice it is often just considered a light snack.
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Our Vision
Our Vision
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Aesthetic Colors We modeled Kopi Asli’s brand colors after the traditional colors of Indonesia’s batik. Since we value emohasizing the culture and traditions of Indonesia, it was a no-brainer to make a connection between this art form and our brand. Yellow, red, brown, and blue are all traditional colors of batik. You might see slightly more muted colors in traditiona batik, but we wanted a little more brightness to appeal to our more Western audience.
Patterns Just like our brand colors, we designed our patterns based on patterns found in batik. More specifically, our pattern is a variation on the tradition kawung batik pattern. This was considered a favorite among the royal families in the 18th century in Indonesia during the Yogyakarta Sultanate. Its geometrical patterns represent the fruit of an areca palm tree, a delicacy most often enjoyed during the month of Ramadan.
Our Coffee
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This Section Includes:
Kopi Asli Coffee Flores Toraja Gayo
Our Coffee
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Kopi Asli Coffee
K
opi Asli offers a choice of three different coffee beans: Toraja, Flores, and Gayo. These coffees are named from the region where they are grown. All three regions are known for their ideal coffee-growing conditions. The regional names also indicate to our consumers that all of our coffee is single-origin, or grown in one region, which allows the taste of the coffee to highlight the nuances of each region’s coffee beans.
Flores BEAUTIFUL FLORES BOASTS SOME OF INDONESIA’S MOST SCENIC VIEWS.
F
lores is known for its incomparable beauty and being home to the world’s “hobbit” ancestors. Who would have guessed that this astounding region also produces some of the best coffee beans in the world? Flores is one of the larger islands in the chain running west to east between Bali and Timor. The island of Flores in Indonesia means ‘Flowers’, although this is something of a
misnomer as there are no tulips or roses to be seen here. Instead many people come to this island, which sits next to Lombok, for its underwater vistas as this is said to be one of the best places in world to go diving. As such, you can expect crystal clear waters as well as pristine sands, and a huge number of underwater creatures call Flores home, including sharks, turtles, and manta rays.
The indigenous people in the west part of Flores are known as the Manggarai people and they have a wealth of enchanting traditions and celebrations that are different to anything you are likely to see in other parts of Indonesia. One of these is the Caci dance where two men dance and try to fight by hitting each other with whips while dressed as animals.
Flores may be most famous for its reptilian inhabitant, the Komodo dragon.
OUR COFFEE
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Wae Rebo
Wae Rebo is a small, very out of the way village. Situated on around 1,100 meters above sea level and approximately 3 - 4 hour travel by foot from Denge Village. Wae Rebo’s main characteristics are their unique houses, which they call Mbaru Niang that are tall and conical in shape and are completely covered in lontar thatch from its rooftop down to the ground. It appears that at one time such kind of houses were quite common to the region. But today, it is only this village that continues to maintain the typical Manggarai traditional house, without which these unique houses would have been completely fazed out.
T Flores Coffee
he terrain of Flores is rugged, with numerous active and inactive volcanoes. Ashes from these volcanoes have created especially fertile andosols, ideal for organic coffee production. Arabica Coffee is grown at 1,200 to 1,800 meters on hillsides and plateaus. Most of the production is grown under shade trees and wet processed at farm level. Coffee from Flores is known for sweet chocolate, floral and woody flavor. The cultivation process of this Arabica type of coffee is inherited from generation to generation using traditional methods. The aroma of the coffee is characterized by the strong fragrance of flowers, chocolate, earthiness and sometimes of moist tobacco. It is made using a wet-hulled process giving it a thick body and unique flavor with a pleasing aroma found only in this region.
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Our Coffee
Coffee Culture
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Arabica beans, the favorite on Flores, is regarded worldwide as one of the best quality types of coffee beans.
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Our Coffee
Our Coffee
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Toraja TORAJA IS KNOWN FOR ITS UNIQUE CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES.
T
oraja is one of the beautiful regions in the South Sulawesi Province. From the distance, one can see the jagged edges of the hill stretching side by side along the slop of the mountains. Moreover, one can be also find beautiful valleys in which bamboo and sugar palms are growing and the traditional houses with curved roof among the paddy field, beautiful and naturally carved and colored by
the skillfull people of Toraja. The Toraja people enjoy great longevity due to the cool climate and active lifestyle from infancy to old age. They spend their lives growing rice and raising buffalo, especially the highly valued pink albino strains. Their work is interspersed with dramatic ceremonies. Harvest festivals and house warming festivals, are times for feasting and a gathering of the clan,
times to wear their best costumes and jewellery, bring out the tuak (a local brew), and party for days on end, times for singing and dancing and, of course, eating. These are also times for neighbours and clan members to pay their respects and to pay back obligations that may date back generations.
The Toraja House has a unique shape that resembles the shape of a boat.
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Our Coffee
Indonesia
Want to learn more about the cultural practices of the Torajan people? Scan the QR code and become immersed in indonesia’s cultural heritage.
Fun Fact
Torajan coffee is grown at extremely high altitudes compared with other coffees from the same region. While most Sumatran coffee is grown as low as 800 meters above sea level, Sulawesi Toraja is grown 1100-1800 meters above sea level. The Toraja area is humid and has just the right amount of rainfall needed to keep coffee trees happy. While larger plantations exist, a significant amount of the coffee is grown on small family farms.
Our Coffee
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Torajan Coffee
In terms of flavor, Torajan coffee is beautifully balanced with no single flavor taking too much prominence. When drinking Torajan coffee expect to taste notes of ripe fruit, dark chocolate, mushrooms, herbs, and sweet spices. It’s also fairly common to smell an almost cedar wood-like aroma.
The earth and plants give Toraja coffee a distinct full-bodied caramel flavor, which is widely sought after by coffee connoisseurs.
Gayo Coffee
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Our Coffee
Our Coffee
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E Gayo Coffee
very Indonesian knows Aceh’s Gayo coffee, grown in the Central Aceh Gayo highlands in the north-most part of the island of Sumatra. Other than it being fun to say “gayo”, this is one of the most consumed types of coffee in the nation. Although both Arabica and Robusta beans are produced as Gayo coffee, the most popularly consumed and exported type is Arabica Gayo. The flavor profile of a cup of Gayo Arabica is strong and complex. It has a strong aroma and extremely mild bitter taste making it a perfect blend of gourmet coffee. The Gayo live in the isolated central mountains of Aceh province on the island of Sumatra. Their homeland lies in the Bukit Barisan Range (“Parade of Mountains”). They are over 12,000 feet high and extend more than one thousand miles. Most Gayo live in the Central Aceh and Southeast Aceh regencies.
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Our Coffee
Coffee farming is the main source of income for the Gayo. Other sources of income include fishing and gathering forest products. They also have developed skills in ceramics, weaving mats and weaving cloth. Another well-known handicraft, called Kerawang Gayo, is gold embroidery with many other colors. Gayo houses are made of thatch and wood. Typically, several related families live together in the same house. Each village also contains a building called a meunasah, where older boys, bachelors, widowers and male visitors sleep at night and study or hold religious activities during the day.
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Our Coffee
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Our Services
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This Section Includes:
Target Market Our Menu Our Atmosphere Our Locations
Our Services
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Target Market Our target market for Kopi Asli is people who yearn for travel and value experiencing other cultures. We are marketing our brand and our coffee shops mainly towards Gen Z and millennials, because they are interested in travel but have the fewest funds to do it.
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Our Services
Gen Z’s digital lifestyles mean they are exposed to other cultures all the time, but have not had the opportunity to experience them in person.
Our Services
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Millennials have been shown to make travel a bigger priority than any prior generation.
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Our Services
Reflecting the culture of Indonesian street stalls, Kopi Asli’s prices are relatively low. This helps increase our appeal to coffee drinkers who value both quality taste and cultural experience without limiting our clientele to those of higher incomes.
Our Services
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Our Menu
Kopi Asli’s menu creates a blend of Indonesian traditional foods and drinks and Western tastes. For example, we offer Indonesian twists on coffee drinks Americans are familiar with, like the Americano or latte. Our food options similarly combine Indonesian tradition with American expectations, from toast to fried rice. However, the Indonesian tweaks on these familiar dishes will still give our patrons an exotic experience.
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Our Services
Indonesia
Want to learn more about the Indonesian recipes we serve at our coffee shops? Scan the QR code and become immersed in indonesia’s cultural heritage.
Fun Fact
Kopi Asli uses Indonesian names for our coffee drinks to give our clientele a cultural experience.
Our Services
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Our Atmosphere
K
opi Asli aims for a friendly atmosphere with a touch of sophistication. Americans who generalize southeast Asia may not be aware about the high quality of goods and services available there, so it is a goal of Kopi Asli to provide this experience.
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Current Location LOS ANGELES, CA
Our Locations
Upcoming Locations SALT LAKE CITY, UT DALLAS, TX NASHVILLE, TN
Our current location is in Los Angeles, CA, a hotbed of cultural diversity. Therefore, we are looking forward to opening our new locations in cities that are expanding in both growth and our target audience, Gen Z and millennials.
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Our Services
Our Services
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Index A
F
Aesthetic.....................................
Fair Trade....................................
Atmosphere................................
Flores........................................... Food............................................
B Batik.............................................
G Gayo............................................ Gen Z...........................................
C Coffee.......................................... Coffee Culture............................ Color............................................ Culture.........................................
M
T
Menu...........................................
Target Market.............................
Millennials...................................
Toraja...........................................
P
V Pattern.........................................
Vision Statement........................ Toraja...........................................
L letter to investor......................... Locations.....................................
W Wae Rebo...................................