RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Creative Economy supports efforts to make tumpeng and other Indonesian gastronomic creations an intellectual property (IP) to boost the regional creative economy.

Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya said this when receiving representatives of the Indonesia Gastronomy Community (IGC) at Autograph Tower, Jakarta, Thursday, February 19, 2026.

"Thank you for your efforts to explore our culture. At the Ministry of Creative Economy, we encourage cultural wealth to become IP that can be commercialized and provide broad benefits to the community," said the Minister, as quoted by the ministry official website.

He expressed his belief that Indonesian gastronomy has the potential to become a new engine of growth because it draws on regional cultural diversity. Tumpeng, which is popular throughout Indonesia, is an example of a dish with the potential to become a form of national culinary intellectual property.

Tumpeng, with its in-depth storytelling, may also serve as a tool for Indonesian soft diplomacy on the international stage.

On the occasion, the Indonesian Food and Beverage Cooperative (IGC) showcased several initiatives it has carried out since its inception in June 2020. The IGC is a non-profit organization established with the mission of protecting Indonesian food and drinks, as well as their associated cultural values and philosophies.

IGC fosters the Indonesian gastronomy ecosystem through research, curation, and IP management. This community aims to make gastronomy a national asset, develop Indonesian culinary IP, and enhance Indonesian gastronomy's branding and MSMEs' value.

Ria Musiawan, Chairperson of IGC, emphasized that the nearly six years of IGC's existence provide momentum to expand strategic collaborations, particularly with the government, in order to fortify the national gastronomy system.

"IGC is a community that loves food, beverages, culture, and gastronomic philosophy. We want tumpeng to be increasingly recognized and understood for its meaning as a symbol of unity. Today is a good start to building more concrete collaborations," said Ria.

She also said that it is important to reinforce national gastronomic IP by creating the Indonesian Tumpeng Book as a National Gastronomy IP.

The IGC further suggested integrating gastronomy into national and international creative economy promotion agendas, developing a social impact-based gastronomy model through local food education, creating a gastronomy creative hub and an experience economy-based exhibition model, and improving culinary MSME curation and storytelling.

Yuke Sri Rahayu, the Deputy for Cultural Creativity and Design at the Ministry of Creative Economy, praised the IGC's consistency in emphasizing the richness of culinary history and culture. To ensure that Indonesian cuisine can compete globally, Yuke emphasized the importance of improving narrative and curation.

She claims that many Indonesian culinary delights have the potential to be vegan, gluten-free, halal, and nutritious, which could increase economic value and business turnover if properly narrated.

"The tumpeng tradition can serve as a pilot project to demonstrate the significant additional value potential of our cultural wealth for the commercialization of national gastronomic IP," she said.

The meeting underscores the importance of Indonesian cuisine as a cultural identity and driver of the national creative economy while highlighting the growing synergy between the community and the government in creating an IP-based gastronomic ecosystem. ***