Prof. Dr. Rahmawati, M.Si., Ak., Dr. Rita Noviani, S.Si., M.Sc., Prof. Ir. Ubaidillah, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., and a group of students from Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) have conducted a community service program supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Boyolali District.

The team is assisting two local MSMEs engaged in corn processing in Boyolali: “Snack Kupu“ and “Keripik Jagung Bu Parni“. The support began in May 2024 and is ongoing.

“Snack Kupu” specializes in a corn snack called “Marning” with their flagship product, “Marning Cornerz“, under the tagline “Marning Enak Gak Bikin Gigi Retak” (t/n Delicious Marning that Won’t Break Your Teeth). Founded by Siti Nurhasanah in 2019, the business offers two initial flavors, savory (original) and sweet-spicy, and has since expanded its range to five flavors: chocolate, cappuccino, vanilla, lemon, and strawberry.

One of the business owner’s planned innovations includes offering a 20g sachet size to make the product more affordable for middle- and lower-income communities. However, due to a lack of sachet packaging equipment, this innovation has yet to be realized.

“Keripik Jagung Bu Parni,” also founded in 2019, specializes in corn chips. Unlike “Snack Kupu,” Bu Parni’s chips remain less modern and more conventional, including in the production process, business management, financial systems, packaging, and marketing.

The primary focus of the community service for these two businesses is to enhance the marketing of Marning as a flagship product for Boyolali, using a triple helix method encouraging collaboration between universities, business owners, and the Regional Government of Boyolali to create competitive, sustainable, and high-quality MSMEs.

The overall approach to these activities includes technology provision, education, hands-on support, and direct engagement with the business partners. The planning phase of this initiative began with problem identification, conducting surveys of the partners’ conditions, discussions, followed by the signing of cooperation agreements, which will serve as the foundation foundation for proposal development.