Forced to Diet on Milk Coffee

Enjoying a glass of iced milk coffee in between daily activities has become the latest lifestyle trend among the public. In the past, coffee enthusiasts were limited to “men” or “fathers” only, but now almost all genders and ages enjoy creatively prepared coffee through modern iced milk coffee. The blend of sweetness from syrup, creaminess from milk, and the characteristic bitterness of coffee extraction has become a companion to people’s daily activities. This is very different from the old face of coffee, which was limited to just bitter and pitch black. As the market for milk coffee enthusiasts expands, this has become the reason for the mushrooming of coffee shops in various regions of Indonesia. Of course, the scale of these coffee shops is mostly small to medium, or known as UMKM (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises). The latest issue arising from the war between the United States and Iran is the increase in plastic commodity prices. This geopolitical tension disrupts energy and crude oil supplies, which are the basic materials for plastic. Currently, most trendy coffee shops use single-use plastic cups as convenient containers that can be easily used and carried by customers. In addition, domestic issues related to the shortage of full-cream milk variants in the market, one of which is due to heavy use to support the government’s Free Nutritious Meal Programme (MBG). In fact, full-cream UHT milk is one of the main raw materials in making delicious milk coffee. This shortage has occurred in several regions in Indonesia, from Kalimantan, Sulawesi to Sumatra. Even Commission II and the Kotabaru DPRD in South Kalimantan, together with the Cooperative, Industry, and Trade Office, have conducted spot checks at several minimarkets as a follow-up to public complaints about difficulties in obtaining full-cream UHT milk in recent times. In the economic chain cycle, a shortage of a commodity will lead to price increases if demand is high but supply is limited. It crossed my mind that if the MBG programme organisers could provide more varied flavours of UHT milk to school children. These two issues make UMKM business actors rack their brains so that milk coffee remains available to its enthusiasts. As an implication, like it or not, selling prices must be adjusted so that UMKM actors still get profit margins.