Innovation and creativity continue to be the driving force for the academic community in improving the efficiency and productivity of the natural resources sector. As demonstrated by Mohamad Endy Yulianto, a lecturer from the Industrial Chemical Engineering Technology (TRKI) program at Diponegoro University (UNDIP), along with his team, who developed the Natural Sweet Vanillin (NaS-Va) product prototype thru the Millennial Startup Program. Endy stated that vanillin extracted from the pods of Vanilla planifolia Andrews provides a delicious and pleasant taste and aroma that cannot be replicated by any synthetic product resulting from process modification. The traditional production process for vanilla extract has various drawbacks, such as low vanilla yield, high energy consumption, a lengthy production process, and high production costs. One effort that can be made to reduce production costs is by developing a process for extracting glucovanillin and hydrolyzing glucovanillin into vanillin in a single step, namely thru hydrothermal extraction. Considering the extraordinary high cost of natural vanillin products and the fact that these products have been proven to be efficiently produced thru hydrothermal extraction, activities aimed at establishing a startup company that produces and commercializes natural sweet vanillin (NaS-Va) based on hydrothermal extraction technology have been carried out thru the CPPBT program, explained Endy.
Endy revealed that specifically, the CPPBT program aims to: (i) establish PT. Berkah Java Aroma, (ii) refine and prepare natural sweet vanillin products into commercial industrial products (solid and liquid natural sweet vanillin formulations, process supporting lines, product packaging and brand development), (iii) conduct market research (entry & exit barriers, supplier power, customer power, competitor power, and substitute products), (iv) develop segmentation (market segmentation, area, potential number of customers, and product demand potential), (v) conduct promotion and marketing. The final results of developing innovations in liquid vanillin (sweet vanillin liquid) and vanillin powder (sweet vanillin powder) production technology thru the application of hydrothermal extraction techniques, in collaboration with the CPPBT-RISTEKDIKTI activity team, namely: Dr.Eng Vita Paramita, ST, MM, M.Eng, Dr. Indah Hartati. ST, MT, Prof. Dr. Ir. Eflita Yohana, ST, MT, Anggun Puspitarini Siswanto, ST, PhD, and marketing consultant Ir. Dwi Noviany Palupi, resulted in the following outputs: (i) establishment of PT Berkah Java Aroma, (ii) improvement of the Natural Sweet Vanillin product prototype, (iii) market research documents, (iv) market segmentation documents, and (v) promotion and marketing activities, Endy said.