April 28, 2022
JAKARTA – One of Indonesia’s most popular boba drink brands Xing Fu Tang finally received its halal certification on Tuesday from the Indonesian Ulema Council Food and Drug Analysis Agency (LPPOM MUI) and the Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH). The certification applies to its entire menu in all branches across Indonesia.
In a press conference on Tuesday, PT Pelepas Dahaga Indonesia managing director Vancelia Wiradjaja acknowledged the importance of this seal of approval from both Muslim agencies for the leading Taiwan-originated boba drink.
“With the majority of Indonesians being Muslims, it is of the utmost importance for us to give them the comfort and assurance that what we provide to them is safe and halal,” she said to the press.
Xing Fu Tang has been hailed for its handmade boba and its identic brown sugar taste since it opened its first outlet in Indonesia in 2019.
“Hopefully, this certification can be proof of Xing Fu Tang Indonesia’s commitment [to] our consumers here,” Vancelia added.
Also speaking to the press were LPPOM MUI audit services director Muslich, who congratulated the brand for its “excellent system implementation,” and BPJPH sub-coordinator in halal verification and assessment Ali Fauzan.
“With this halal guarantee, we hope that there will be protection, justice and added-value owned by business actors so that their products can be enjoyed by everyone, especially the Muslim community in Indonesia,” Ali said. He also hoped that this would encourage other MSMEs to get their halal certification as well.
Since opening the first Indonesian outlet around three years ago, Vancelia said Xing Fu Tang had been aiming to get the halal status from the start.
“We need a lot of supporting documents for the audit, and with the raging pandemic in the previous years, the continental relations were harder to execute than ever before, so it was awfully delayed,” Vancelia said to The Jakarta Post.
The outlet did not change anything to get the certification, even still using a traditional wok to make the cassava starch balls. “There’s no change in ingredients from the start, either, it’s just that as our factories are abroad, our goods are mostly imported, so there are indeed a lot of documents that must be completed,” she added.