WHY PAY LESS? Part 4
A FOOD-LOVER’S TOUR OF JAKARTA’S ELITE MARKETS
PART 4 – CONVENIENCE STORE LAYOUT: FRESTIVE HORNS IN, GRABS MARKET SHARE
The locals have fun with the English language, BOO HOO. Remember “Golden Truly” the awful supermarket from the 1980s? That ain’t English. Now it’s “Frestive” which you can probably figure out for yourself. But if not: “This is how they explain their cute made-up brand name: ‘Frestive is derived from the words “Fresh” and “Festival”. Frestive means a joyful place that provides unforgettable experiences in shopping, with a reasonable price.” No, dears, “…AT a reasonable price.” You will receive an invoice for my correction in the email. (Prepositions are a killer for English learners.)
Another high-end market opens in Kemang!
Obviously somebody’s doing something right, to satisfy a growing demand for fresh & healthy domestic & imported foods – otherwise the competition would not be popping up. It’s only been around six months since Frestive opened their compact ‘convenience-store layout’ elite market at the corner of Jl. Kemang Raya and Jl. Kemang Selatan I (across from the weird three-story all-glass building – the street that heads down to Kemang Club Village and Hero Supermarket).
Here is the friendly and compact interior of Frestive:
So far so good – prices are certainly reasonable – at least for a high-end market in pricey Kemang.
‘Frestive was started on 13 Agustus 2012 by the company PT Sumber Agri Sehat. With a retail space of about 400-600 m2, Frestive presents a small but comfortable place that focuses on the customer and the shopping experience which makes it simple and effortless for customers to find their daily needs.
‘Our vision is to grow and to learn to be the best grocery store. We commit to give an excellent service, high-quality meats, the freshest seafood, and amazing local, organic produce. You will see what a difference fresh makes. We are also supported by local suppliers, so that “when you are shopping here, your would be saving money in your pockets”.
Hmm, need a bit of professional English copywriting help there – but the message comes through.
‘As we strive to make every one of our customers’ visits truly exceptional, to give excellent service and satisfaction – we welcome all comments and suggestions. Just contact our customer care and we will make every effort to respond to all enquiries.
‘We guarantee that the products we offer are fresh. **FRESH or FREE**‘
A bit of spot-checking showed the prices of imported goods (like that deliriously-delicious NZ Airborne Brand honey) are 5-10% cheaper than at Ranch Market across the street or Kem Chicks. They also have a very smart selection, as you can see here: a ‘United Nations’ variety of honeys from the USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany and New Zealand. Honey is not only desirable to satisfy your sweet tooth, by the way: it contains many vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are healthful for adults (but not for infants apparently).
A selection of fresh flower arrangements and garden plants is also a pleasant feature – one not commonly found in markets here…
…and Frestive even offers a few whole-grain breads for sale – something notably absent from Total Buah Segar (the blog from two weeks ago) All Fresh (featured in last week’s YaUdah Bistro blog) or Ranch Market (in line next week); those joints only sell the local low-rent horrible gooey sugary white-flour products like Sari Roti – which do not even deserve to be called ‘breads’. How come those high-priced outlets haven’t figured out that today’s health-conscious shoppers want real bread? [End of sermon.]
If you check out the statistics for colorectal cancer among young people – particularly Millennials – it is “awesome” as they like to put it.
Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract: it is truly appalling to see how the numbers go skyrocketing. Much of that can be attributed to junk food / fast food and slimy soft baked goods.
Hero Supermarket (first blog in this series) actually has a pretty good selection of whole-grain breads and other pastries as well, for a right price – but wait until you see the ‘Grand Slam’ of bakery products at Kem Chicks, the final entry in our parade of elite markets. Just you wait.
A cooler in the front of the outlet has freshly-blended juices and cut fruit – handy for the quick shopper or office worker looking to take something back – and a unique feature of the markets we cover. They initially had a salad bar but shut it down.
It’s always interesting to cruise through these elite markets and spot items that are not sold anywhere else (distributors are always jostling for shelf space in crowded sections).
Frestive is particularly handy for those who live nearby, in Kemang, as a variety of daily Indonesian staples, such as tofu, tempe and other local foods are available at competitive prices. (Hero Supermarket is running scared, tee hee.)
The compact size of the outlet evidently makes it easier to maintain small inventories and guarantee freshness. The selection of local and imported vegetables is quite satisfactory. Hey kids, remember:
Interesting to note [hic] the full shelection of [BURP] alcoholic beverudge – filler ‘up honey! You won’t find these in All Fresh or Total, nosiree. Now I want a cold Ya Udah Bistro Euro-beer.
‘WAITRESS!!’
Hey for the adventuresome shopper, ready to take a plunge into inscrutable oriental mysteries, Frestive recently hosted a DURIAN FESTIVAL, with imported prickly fruits at a suitably prickly price (NOT CHEAP – be warned).
Hey take care: the aromatic, flavorful durian is addictive, and once you start to eat them you’ll soon become a devotee. Stay away from durian-haters, however (yes, sadly they exist), as well as hospitals, prisons, hotels, elevators and where else have I forgotten to mention?
Are you a ‘Bargain Betty’?
Ready to leap in the old Duesenberg and roar off to the market when a gala sale is on? Then keep an eye out for Frestive’s frequent discounts and sales on popular name-brand items.
A one-time purchase of Rp. 500,000 or more will entitle you to a ‘Member’s Card’ and ensure future discounts on the ‘Fresh or Free’ products. ‘One Hundred Percent Discount’ I chirrup to the patient Cashier, and she inevitably laughs at my corny joke.
It’s really a quick experience to do your shopping, and the parking is very handy as well, for you rich sons-of-bitches who have big arrogant automobiles and are polluting the air for all of us saintly bicyclists.
Fresh or frozen, flesh for the carnivores. Full selection at Frestive. Halal? Haram? Up to you!
Now speaking of PORK for you piggy-lovers (and piggy-faced lovers as well) the place to go for the very very very best pork dishes in Jakarta is Ya Udah Bistro, in Serpong and Menteng.
