Approaching two decades, Indofood Riset Nugraha continues to prepare the future generation of researchers for Indonesia's food security.

Jakarta, October 16, 2025 – A total of 96 student research proposals received funding assistance from the Indofood Riset Nugraha (IRN) Program for 2025-2026, with the theme “Functional Foods Research Based on Local Potential and Wisdom”. The IRN recipients are students conducting research as part of their undergraduate studies and come from various universities in Indonesia. The funding assistance was symbolically handed over, marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Jakarta.

By the closing date of August 31 2025 for IRN 2025-2026 proposal submissions, Indofood had received a total of 735 research proposals from 135 state universities (PTN) and private universities (PTS) in various regions of Indonesia. All proposals submitted underwent administrative selection and were followed by substantive selection, involving nine interdisciplinary teams of experts, ranging from experts in the fields of Food Technology, Agricultural Socio-Economics, Agricultural Cultivation, Animal Husbandry, Nutrition and Health, Fisheries and Marine Sciences, to Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology, as well as practitioners in the industrial sector.

Head of Corporate Communications at PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk, Indrayana, said, "This year, we received 735 proposals and approved 96 research proposals. This figure represents an increase of approximately 20% from the previous year. This indicates a growing enthusiasm among students to conduct research, particularly in the field of functional food from various scientific perspectives. We hope that the IRN program will empower young researchers to innovate and contribute to the development of local food, which will ultimately strengthen national food security."

Since its launch in 2006, the IRN Program has received more than 8,300 proposals and funded around 1,200 student research projects. Approaching its two-decade anniversary, IRN consistently carries out its mission to encourage student interest in research in the fields of food, food innovation, and the utilization of local resources. This is in line with one of the focuses of efforts to improve food security, namely by exploring the potential use of local commodities for sustainable socio-economic impact.

In general, functional food is defined as a food source that not only serves as a source of energy and nutrition, but also has certain properties that can contribute to improving public health. IRN Expert Team Chair Prof. Dr. Ir. Purwiyatno Hariyadi, M.Sc, explained, "This year, IRN returns with the theme ‘Functional Food Research Based on Local Potential and Wisdom’. This theme is highly relevant to the current situation, considering the abundance of highly nutritious functional food sources in Indonesia that remain underutilized. Moreover, when discussing local food, its utilization also has implications for community economic development."

In addition to research funding, IRN recipients will be accompanied by the IRN Expert Team to receive guidance in facing challenges and obstacles during the research process through two stages of audit. Furthermore, the IRN program also provides soft skill training, particularly in building the character of resilient young researchers.

Best IRN Researchers 2024-2025
On the same occasion, IRN also awarded four students as the Best and Selected Researchers of the IRN Program for the 2024/2025 period. The assessment was based on five research criteria, namely process, quality, presentation technique, mastery of material, and researcher attitude. They are:

1. Hamzah Akram Maulana – Tanjungpura University
   Research Title: Dairy-Free Imitation Cream Cheese with Fat Replacer at Various Concentrations of Gluconic Acid-Δ-Lactone Coagulant as Plant-Based Food Based on Local Potential in West Kalimantan.
2. Kalisha Nirmala Chandra – Gadjah Mada University
   Research Title: Designing Functional Eggs: Improving Egg Quality and Antioxidant Gene Expression in Laying Hens Through Innovation in Organic Selenium-Based Feed Supplements.
3. Rosdiana Anjelina – Bandung Institute of Technology
   Research title: Analysis of Plant Growth and Productivity, Biomass Quality, and Nitrogen Content Dynamics in the Three Sisters System Using Vermicompost Fertilizer.
4. Zhafa Nesya Salsabila – Veteran National Development University of East Java
   Research Title: Isolation, Selection, and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Fermented Anchovies (Rusip) as Candidate Starter Cultures and Bacteriocin Producers.

“Congratulations to the 4 Best Researchers from the 2024/2025 IRN program. We hope that all recipients of the Indofood Research Award can inspire the younger generation of Indonesia on the issue of food sustainability and ultimately benefit society and the nation,” concluded Indrayana.

About the Indofood Riset Nugraha (IRN)
IRN is a research grant program for undergraduate students who are completing their final projects/research in the field of food diversity. The IRN program began in 2006 as a continuation of the Bogasari Nugraha Program, which was initiated in 1998 by Bogasari Flour Mills, one of the strategic business groups of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk, whose main business activities are the production of wheat flour and pasta.

The program is a form of corporate social responsibility under the Building Human Capital pillar. The IRN program has been recognized and received several prestigious national and international awards, namely the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2010 for the Investment in People Award category from Enterprise Asia, the 2011 Education Care Award from the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud), Indonesia's Best Philanthropy Awards 2020 from Swa, the Business Incubation Awards from Gatra in 2022, the CSR Award 2023 from IDX Channel, and Anthoni Salim, CEO of Indofood, recognized as The Best CEO Outstanding Support for Student Academic Research Through IRN in 2024.

The Expert Panel consists of nine experts from various fields such as Food Technology, Agricultural Socio-Economics, Agricultural Cultivation, Animal Husbandry, Nutrition and Health, Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology, and from Indofood – representing the industrial sector.

About PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk

Indofood is a Total Food Solutions company with operations in all stages of food manufacturing, from the production of raw materials and their processing to consumer products in the market. It is renowned as a well-established company and a leading player in each business category in which it operates. In its business operations, Indofood capitalizes on economies of scale and a resilient business model with four complementary Strategic Business Groups (“Group”), namely: