screw tree,
cloves
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...
, and honey, with a claimed secret recipe. It is typically sold in sachets, priced at less than $0.25 each in 2014. Generally, it is consumed in Indonesia by people experiencing "masuk angin" or common cold – a general description for common ailments resulting in weakened immune systems. Several variants are manufactured, including sugar-free and child-oriented variants, and separate products such as Tolak Angin branded candies and
ointment
A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...
.
Brand
In Indonesia, Tolak Angin is ubiquitously used and is one of the most popular consumer brands, with the product being sold in millions of small vendors. The product is well-recognized by its yellow
sachet packaging, which has been copied by similar products of competitors.
The brand's slogan is "Orang pintar minum Tolak Angin" ("Smart people takes Tolak Angin").
Outside of Indonesia, Tolak Angin is also sold in, for example,
Philippines,
Malaysia,
Nigeria,
Hong Kong,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
Netherlands, and the
United States. Exports outside Indonesia comprised around 5 percent of the product's sales in 2014. In 2016, it was reported that the annual production of the product was at 780 million sachets.
History
The mixture was reportedly first developed by Rahmat Sulistyo in 1930, as a family recipe. It was first sold to the public at
Yogyakarta in 1940 as a premixed
jamu, though due to the
Indonesian National Revolution
The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...
the family moved to
Semarang
Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...
and there in 1951 the company
Sido Muncul was founded. It was sold as a regular
jamu until 1992, when it adopted 15 ml sachets as packaging instead. The product is also sold in powder sachets.
In 2015, Tolak Angin sachets sold in
California were given
Prop 65 warnings which indicated that they contained lead. The distributor later clarified that the warnings were due to "abundance of caution".
Sido Muncul opened a new production facility for Tolak Angin at
Ungaran, Semarang in 2018 with a production capacity of 200 million sachets per month, compared to 80 million in its prior facility.
References
{{reflist
Products introduced in 1940
Patent medicines
Indonesian brands
Herbalism