Indonesian F&B Industry Grows, Mixologist Creativity Continues to Develop

Polaris Mixologist Competition 2026 Season 3 event (Photo: VOI/Adelia)

JAKARTA - The food and beverage (food and beverage/F&B) industry in Indonesia continues to show positive growth. Not only in terms of business, this development can also be seen from the increasing creativity of mixologists who are increasingly daring to explore the richness of local raw materials into innovative drinks.

This trend is in line with the increasing interest of the younger generation to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. Various competitions are an important means for industry players to hone their skills while expanding their professional networks.

According to the Polaris Mixologist Competition 2026 Jury, Arey Barker, the competition has an important role in improving the quality of human resources in the F&B industry. This was revealed in the Polaris Mixologist Competition 2026 Season 3 event.

"Competition is one of the platforms and benchmarks for mixologists to develop their skills. When competing, each participant will try to show the best. This year I saw many young talents emerge with extraordinary creativity," said Arey Barker in the Karet Kuningan area, South Jakarta on Saturday, June 27, 2026.

Arey assessed that the most prominent trend this year is that more and more mixologists are utilizing natural ingredients typical of Indonesia as an identity in every concoction of their drinks.

"Now, mixologists are increasingly happy to use ingredients that grow and are produced in Indonesia. They combine various local natural ingredients into unique beverage creations," said Arey.

Arey also expressed the enthusiasm of participants continued to increase. This year the competition managed to attract around 200 participants from various regions in Indonesia, ranging from Jakarta, Bali, Makassar to Labuan Bajo.

Seeing the development of the industry, various business actors have begun to actively present programs that can encourage innovation in the beverage sector.

One of them is through the Polaris Mixologist Competition 2026 Season 3 which is again held as an annual event for professional mixologists and the general public.

Carrying the theme "Spark the Moment", this competition is a space for participants to showcase their creativity in creating a drink mix by utilizing various Polaris products.

Winny Yunitawati, Deputy Managing Director Cosmetics, Consumer & Health Care PT. Tempo Scan Pacific Tbk, said that the competition was part of the company's commitment to supporting the progress of the Indonesian beverage industry.

"We see that the food and beverage industry in Indonesia is growing quite well from year to year. Polaris wants to be an enabler of beverage creativity, namely by providing a platform for Indonesia's best talents to continue to create and innovate to create interesting drinks," said Winny.

According to him, Indonesia has an abundance of natural raw materials that can be a source of inspiration for mixologists in creating beverage creations that have local characteristics.

Unlike previous events, this year's Polaris Mixologist Competition was held more broadly through the elimination round in two cities, namely Jakarta and Bali.

Winny explained that the expansion of the competition location was carried out so that more talents from various regions could participate.

"This year we held eliminations in Jakarta and Bali, then the grand final will take place in Bali. With the support of a digital platform, anyone from various regions can participate in the competition so that the number of participants this year is much higher," said Winny.

In addition to competitions, Polaris also continues to present product innovations. This year the company launched the latest variant of Sparkling Water, complementing the product line which now consists of six variants, namely Soda Water, Coffee Cream, Sarsaparilla, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale, and Sparkling Water.

All of these variants can be used by participants as the main ingredients in designing beverage creations during the competition.

In the future, Polaris hopes that this competition can continue to be an annual agenda that brings together mixologists, industry players, and the community to jointly develop the Indonesian beverage industry.

"Our hope is that the Polaris Mixologist Competition can become a sustainable annual platform, a collaboration event for mixologists, industry players, and the community, as well as supporting the development of the food and beverage industry and Indonesian tourism," said Winny.

Through competitions like this, creativity not only produces new drink blends, but also strengthens the use of local raw materials as the identity of the Indonesian beverage industry, which is increasingly competitive in the future.