VanFoodies.com

Vancouverites will soon have access to interesting Indonesian food products. Sourced from Indonesia by Indonesians, Archipelago Marketplace curates and delivers a wide variety of unique, high quality products to North America, offering customers an authentic Indonesian experience and a taste of the culture. Their products will be available on Amazon as well as at the pop-up store in Gastown at the Indonesia Trade Promotion Centre at 310 West Cordova Street.

I had the opportunity for a sneak preview at the pop-up store. It carries products such as tempeh chips, cassava flour, vanilla sugar, various types of coffee, butterfly pea tea and ginger powder. They also have interesting products that I’ve never heard of, including curcumin powder and the Indonesian ginseng called Tongkat ali.

Named after Indonesia’s unique geographic makeup of many islands, the concept of Archipelago was driven by the devastating economic impact from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Liza Wajong and David Gunawan, Archipelago’s Co-Founders, wanted to support the small and medium sized businesses back in their home country Indonesia, but also recognized a gap in authentic Indonesian products in Canada. Naturally, Liza and David became the bridge and the idea of a marketplace was formed.

“We curate and deliver unique and high quality products directly from Indonesia to homes in North America,” says Liza. “Each product contains a piece of the Indonesian culture that we proudly represent and we can’t wait to share with Canada.”

Archipelago will host a virtual grand opening event on December 10, 2020, to unveil the Amazon store. Members of the public are invited to register and join the live-streamed celebration. A special promotion will be revealed at the event so participants can enjoy discounted shopping at Archipelago. The Amazon store ships Canada wide.

“Our products are directly sourced from Indonesian producers and farmers, so they are all traceable and sustainable,” adds David.

Archipelago Marketplace is supported by the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia and its Directorate General of National Export Development (DGNED), Trade Attache at Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Ottawa, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Vancouver, BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia) New York and BRI (Bank Rakyat Indonesia) New York.