PANGKALPINANG -- A simple craving for cowhide crackers became the starting point of Novika’s business journey. In 2018, the CSR Foster Partner of PT TIMAH Tbk, originally from Tasikmalaya, struggled to find cowhide crackers in Bangka.
From that personal need came the idea to start a cowhide cracker business, which is now known as WanMiQ.
“I came to Bangka in 2009. One day, I wanted to eat cowhide crackers, but it turned out they were hard to find here. That’s when I thought of making them myself,” recalled Novika.
It was not only the scarcity of the product, but also her desire to support her family financially. With an unstable household economy, she was determined to create a new source of income.
“As a woman, I want to help support my family. I’m the type of person who can’t stay still; if I have nothing to do, I get uneasy. So I started the cowhide cracker business and named it WanMiQ, a combination of my two children’s names, Zahwan and Miqbar,” she said.
Seeing the promising potential of the business, she decided in 2019 to apply for a capital loan through the PT TIMAH Tbk Foster Partner Program.
“The process was easy and fast. It helped me a lot because the initial capital was used to buy the main raw material, cowhide,” she explained.
Despite running a business, Novika continues to work as an elementary school teacher in Central Bangka. With teaching activities from morning to afternoon, she enlisted her sister to help with production, especially frying and marketing, while one employee handles packaging.
“I’m at school from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. So I work together with my sister to manage production and marketing, and the packaging is handled by an employee,” she said.
With careful time management, Novika uses her time after teaching and on weekends to monitor raw materials, check production, and track marketing progress.
“After school, I can focus on monitoring the business. For me, this business is like a balance between the world of teaching and the world of entrepreneurship,” she said.
To maintain quality, Novika uses genuine cowhide without any fillers. The production process is natural: the cowhide is washed, cleaned, boiled to loosen the hair, then cut and sun-dried before frying, using a two-stove technique to achieve perfectly expanded crackers.
“The result is a hollow, crispy cracker with a natural savory taste from salt and seasoning. It has the distinct aroma of cowhide, but it’s not fishy,” she explained.
As a Foster Partner of PT TIMAH Tbk, Novika has had many opportunities to introduce her products through various MSME exhibitions. These events helped make WanMiQ crackers more widely recognized, and they are now available in markets, souvenir shops, and even fruit shops.
“PT TIMAH Tbk has been a promotional bridge for me. After joining several MSME exhibitions, my product became widely known,” she said.
Besides business capital and exhibition opportunities, Novika also received training in packaging and product marketing. For her, this support is invaluable in expanding the reach of her business.
“Thank you to PT TIMAH Tbk for always supporting MSMEs. I hope the support continues to grow, because I want this business to expand and eventually open branches,” she said.
In the future, Novika plans to add more flavor variants—currently only original and spicy—and open a branch in Belitung Island.
