Mixobev is a mixology artisan laboratory that produces pre-mixed beverage powders at the request of local business clients. Its goal is to provide a support system for local producers of beverage ingredients, small cafes, and restaurants. It was founded by Firli Magribi, or Bang Ibi, an ex-barista of Starbucks which was graduated from Padjadjaran University majoring in Agriculture in 2012. Eventually, he can channel his passion and his talents of being a mixologist and develop a business from it.
For more information about Mixobev, please click here.
Hi Firli, can you tell us a bit about your background and your journey in starting the business?
My name is Firli Maghribi, an ex-barista of Starbucks Cihampelas Walk, Bandung. Some high-school graduates and aspiring barista are more familiar with my nickname, which is ‘Bang Ibi’. I graduated with an agriculture degree from Padjajaran University in 2012.
I was obsessed with latte drinks; I experimented a lot with a mix of premium beverage ingredients on the market. That was how I developed a sharp taste to recreate any flavor I want. After four years of working outside the Java islands, I got back to Jakarta and started my own business.
In February 2018, I built Tosuka Coffee with an old friend. Along with the growing business of Tosuka Coffee, small coffee shops came into trend, from small-scale coffee shops to international brands. Embracing the trend, I always stop by a small cafe every time I came across. The more I taste their latte drinks, the more I feel challenged to improve them. That was why I switched my business from a small coffee shop to a mixology laboratory because I always think every small coffee shop can have its signature taste.
Then it began after a year, MIXOBEV Beverages Craftsman was born from BEKRAF’s Food Startup Indonesia 2019.
Who was involved in this business and what inspires you?
Mainly, people that are involved are my business partners. One of my partners is an ex quality controller of Tous Les Jours Bakery and is the founder of Tal’s Gelato. My other partner is an ex-IT Engineer at Gojek Indonesia. We have the soul of a researcher! My main inspiration came from my wife which was my loyal customer when I started Little Mix Coffe before Tosuka. We were always hanging out in a cafe only to assess the drinks, and often we were disappointed because of the taste and judging from the price it was often not worth it. So because of that, I started to mix our own beverage, so we can have anything, every time we need it!
What is special about MIXOBEV as a mixology laboratory? How do you want to serve in the value chain?
The products that we made came from customers ‘ aspirations and not ours, even though we commit to a certain base of mixing. We go with the dynamics of our clients. Have you ever thought of a street food stall with their own coffee bar?
Even though it was born full of passion and idealism, we fully understand how to compromise our own idealism with the request of our clients. We are committed to helping our clients find their signature taste and reach its uniqueness. We are not only serving the market as a mixologist, but we also want to support the local beverage producer, therefore we want to build a reconception of a bar–a laboratory where our clients can be satisfied with the taste of their drinks.
What sort of challenges that you faced during the journey of your business? I am a risk-taker, without much consideration I started my business and depends on it as my main source of income. But, I realized that the universe will always support us to achieve my dreams, as long as we stay focused on what we want.
However, until today, we couldn’t produce our own base ingredients and we still depend on the producers. It has always been trouble if one of the ingredients went out of stock.
Who or what do you think has been helping you in navigating the entrepreneurial ecosystem? AEKI (Indonesian Exporters Association) opened my mind to the potential of coffee and how the coffee industry can support Indonesia. BEKRAF also helping people to go beyond negative sentiments toward the profession, I joined their barista certification program. Food Startup Indonesia is also a meeting point of the culinary entrepreneurs, buyers, funders, government, and customers.
Do you have any advice for fellow entrepreneurs in building their business? I think the problem for most SMEs is exposure. Some products have good quality but bad marketing and vice versa. Sometimes the consumers are also not yet educated, therefore they did not give enough appreciation for our business process. My advice is to get close to the ecosystem players in the industry. Community, entrepreneurs, or government. Participate in the government’s program and to be proactive in searching for information. Be positive and do what you want to do.
What is your plan for developing your business for the next two years? MIXOBEV did a collaboration with some F&B brands to create their signature drinks. For example, we made an instant drink with banana flavor in partnership with a banana chip snack brand. We will continue this business plan so we could still reach the B2B retail market.
What sort of help do you need from the government and the ecosystem? I need to meet some angel investors with the same passion in the F&B industry, specifically for more insights and knowledge in the base ingredients for the drinks industry. We would appreciate it if someone could help us build the marketing, sales, and operations team. We also need the government to keep SME players updated with events, exhibition facilities, grants, and networks to key players in the industry.
We need funds to rent a dedicated space for production and buying production tools. We want to build a small team dedicated to efficiency in MIXOBEV.
ANGIN x KUKM Spotlight is a part of “ANGIN x KUKM Training in Pitching and Access to Funding for SMEs”, a collaboration between ANGIN and the Ministry of Cooperation and SMEs. In this spotlight, we aim to share stories about the selected local Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to public and ecosystem players within ANGIN’s network (organizations, key players, investors, development agencies, government, etc). We are hoping that this spotlight can lead to potential collaboration in growing the entrepreneurship ecosystem, including SME development.
