(from left) Rabendra Yudistira Alamin ST MDs, Nurina Orta Darmawati ST MDs, Putri Dwitasari ST MDs, Didit Prasetyo ST MT, Nugrahardi Ramadhani SSn MT, Naufan Noordyanto SSn MSn, ITS Abmas lecturer team

ITS Campus, ITS News – To support the increase in the selling value of Small and Medium Industries (IKM), the Digital Creative Media Laboratory of the Visual Communication Design Department (DKV) of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS) conducted community service activities (Abmas). This time by designed a visual packaging design by bringing local wisdom to an IKM product in Jombang named Si Bonggi.

This joint activity with ASTRA Infra Toll Road Jombang-Mojokerto also involved several parties, including six lecturers, eight students, Astra employees, and the community behind the production of Si Bonggi. “This activity also supports the eighth point of the ITS Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) program,” said Putri Dwitasari ST MDs, Chair of the Abmas Team.

Putri continued, Si Bonggi is one of the IKM products in the form of packaged food by the Balongsari Mandiri Women Group, which was formed from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in community economic empowerment by ASTRA Infra Toll Road Jombang-Mojokerto. “This product has great potential, but the packaging does not yet have a differentiation with similar products,” he said.

The packaging of Si Bonggi, an IKM Jombang, is the result of collaboration between the Digital Creative Media Laboratory of the ITS Visual Communication Design (DKV) Department with ASTRA Infra Toll Road Jombang-Mojokerto.

Putri said more deeply, last year, her team had developed an official logo for Si Bonggi. The logo has been registered with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property as trademark protection. So this year, it will continue with the development of a more representative packaging.

Previously, according to this ITS Visual Communication Design lecturer, the type of packaging used by Si Bonggi was still spartan with a design that lacked selling value. “As a type of food product business, packaging design is also something that needs to be taken into account,” he explained.

The ITS student team involved in the development of Si Bonggi’s packaging

The sustainability of this packaging development is one of the stages in the integrated branding strategy development program. Sharing his point of view, this branding strategy aims to provide a positive image of a processed snack product as a regional potential, in this case, Jombang Regency.

Informing this packaging, there are steps taken: data collection through field studies or observations, interviews, and market studies. The next stage is collecting information that has been obtained as research material, mapping concepts, analyzing design concepts, and designing alternative designs.

Details of the packaging design of Si Bonggi, designed by the ITS Abmas team

Putri added, the result of this research is in the form of a representative packaging design with the theme of Jombang culture and local wisdom. This is intended so that the packaging can reflect and present the superiority of the banana hump chips product as a typical Jombang souvenir.

Through this program, the packaging developed by the team has been successfully launched and currently has its Point of Purchase (POP) at its marketing outlets. Furthermore, an integrated promotion process will be carried out. “Our team plans to teach how to promote good products, starting from photo-taking techniques, forming hashtags, writing captions, and others,” he explained.

Putri Dwitasari ST MDs (left) and Rizki Azizia (right) as representatives of CSR Astra, together with the initial packaging of Si Bonggi (pre-pandemic conditions)

Packaging has a significant influence on brand awareness that affects the image of a brand. Putri expressed her hope that more SMEs would pay attention to the critical role of packaging in product marketing. “We want to be able to help educate the urgency of this packaging in the future so that not only Si Bonggi but many other IKMs can be involved,” he concluded hopefully. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Faadhillah Syhab Azzahra