Booming Indonesian F&B Sector Faces Biggest Challenge During Branch Expansion

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s food and beverage (F&B) industry continues to record positive growth in early 2026. However, despite strong sales growth, businesses are facing new challenges as they enter branch expansion phases. Bank Indonesia data shows retail sales grew 6.5% year-on-year in March 2026. Despite rising market demand, increased outlet numbers do not always translate to higher business profitability. SaaS firm Mekari notes many F&B businesses are losing operational control as their branch count grows. Issues include fragmented transaction records across outlets, unsynchronised stock data, and financial reports only becoming complete after month-end closure. “Stock leaks at outlet three, inconsistent pricing at outlet five, and cash that never reconciles,” the company stated. This phenomenon is termed the expansion paradox, where increased branches do not align with profit growth. To address these challenges, Mekari has launched a point-of-sale (POS) service for the F&B and retail sectors. Through multi-branch management features, business owners can monitor outlet performance, product contribution to margins, and stock levels in real-time via a centralised dashboard. Mekari describes this shift from ‘managing by report’ to ‘managing by signal’, where business decisions are made based on real-time operational data.