Why Food Diversity Matters and What Kenari Can Teach Us
Indonesia has more food diversity than most of us realize
When people talk about Indonesia's natural wealth, they often think about rainforests, coral reefs, wildlife and extraordinary ecosystems. But biodiversity is also connected to something much closer to everyday life: food.
Across Indonesia, communities have developed knowledge around an enormous range of plants, fruits, seeds, nuts and other food resources. Some are familiar around the country. Others remain highly local. And some remain almost completely unknown to the wider world. Kenari is one of them.
INDONESIA'S EXTRAORDINARY BIODIVERSITY
Indonesia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries. Its thousands of islands and wide range of ecosystems support extraordinary biological diversity.
But biodiversity is not only something we observe in forests or protect in conservation areas. It can also influence what people eat, what communities know how to prepare, what ingredients are available locally and which foods become part of a region's food culture.
This gives biodiversity another dimension: food diversity.
BIODIVERSITY DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN FOOD DIVERSITY
A country can be biologically diverse while the food available to modern consumers becomes increasingly narrow. Supermarkets, global supply chains and modern food production have made familiar ingredients available almost everywhere.
That has many benefits. But it can also mean that a relatively small number of crops and ingredients dominate what people see, buy and eat. Meanwhile, many locally important foods remain outside the mainstream food system.
Some may be difficult to process at scale.
Some may lack market infrastructure.
Some may be unfamiliar to younger generations.
Others simply have never had the opportunity to be introduced to consumers beyond their place of origin.
WHY DIETARY DIVERSITY MATTERS
Nutrition is often discussed in terms of individual nutrients. Protein. Fibre. Minerals. Vitamins. These are important, but nutrition also happens within a broader food environment.
The variety of foods available and consumed can influence the range of nutrients and other food components people obtain through their diets.
Research in Indonesia and other regions has explored the relationship between dietary diversity and nutritional adequacy.
This does not mean that one particular food can solve nutritional problems. It means something more fundamental: having access to a wider diversity of nutritious foods creates more possibilities.
THE FOODS WE MAY BE FORGETTING
Indonesia provides an interesting example. Research into wild food plants in West Sumatra documented 106 wild food plants representing 85 species. The research also highlighted that consumption of some wild foods has declined and that changes in lifestyles, markets and food environments can influence the continued use of these foods.
This creates an interesting tension:
Indonesia has extraordinary biological diversity. It also has extraordinary food diversity.
Yet many of these foods remain largely invisible to modern consumers.
So perhaps the question is not simply:
What new food should we invent?
Perhaps we should also ask:
What foods already exist that we have not yet rediscovered?
FOREST FOODS AND THE FUTURE OF FOOD
Forests are often discussed in terms of timber, carbon, biodiversity or conservation. But forests can also be sources of food.
Forest foods can connect ecosystems with local knowledge, food culture, nutrition and livelihoods. When managed responsibly, developing the value of forest-origin foods can create another way of appreciating the ecosystems in which they originate.
The challenge is balance. The goal should not simply be to extract more from forests. It is to understand how food systems can create value while respecting ecological limits, local communities, traditional knowledge and long-term sustainability. This is where under-discovered forest foods become particularly interesting.
MEET KENARI
Kenari is a forest nut from Eastern Indonesia. It has a naturally creamy and buttery character and a distinctive journey from fruit to edible kernel.
For generations, Kenari has been known and consumed in parts of Eastern Indonesia. Yet outside its traditional markets, relatively few people have encountered it. That makes Kenari more than an ingredient opportunity. It is also an example of the food diversity that already exists within Indonesia.
WHAT MAKES KENARI INTERESTING?
Kenari brings together several dimensions of food discovery.
ORIGIN
It comes from the forests of Eastern Indonesia.
TASTE
Its naturally creamy and buttery character gives it a distinctive sensory identity.
NUTRITION
Kenari contributes a range of nutrients as part of a varied diet.
CULTURE
Its story is connected to the people, places and food traditions where it has long been known.
POSSIBILITY
Its characteristics create opportunities for new products, applications and markets.
These dimensions are what make Kenari interesting. Not because it needs to replace another nut.
But because it offers something different.
FROM UNDER-DISCOVERED FOOD TO GLOBAL INGREDIENT
Introducing an under-discovered food to the wider world is not simply a matter of putting it into a package.
It requires understanding the ingredient.
Its identity.
Its origin.
Its processing.
Its sensory character.
Its nutritional profile.
Its applications.
Its regulatory requirements.
And the people and ecosystems connected to it.
That is the work we are doing with Kenari. The objective is not simply to make another product. It is to build understanding and create a pathway for Kenari to become a recognized ingredient and product category.
CAN DEVELOPING UNDER-DISCOVERED FOODS CREATE VALUE?
We believe they can, when development is approached responsibly. A successful food ingredient can create opportunities at multiple levels:
For consumers:
new tastes, new food experiences and more choice.
For food companies:
new ingredients, applications and product opportunities.
For communities:
new pathways for local economic value.
For food culture:
greater recognition of ingredients and knowledge that might otherwise remain overlooked.
For biodiversity:
greater appreciation of the biological resources and ecosystems connected to food.
This does not mean that every under-discovered food automatically creates positive impact. It means that how we develop these foods matters.
WHAT CAN KENARI TEACH US?
Kenari reminds us that innovation does not always begin in a laboratory. Sometimes it begins by looking more closely at what already exists.
A food can be:
old in origin,
new to the world.
It can be deeply local and still have global potential. It can come from a forest and become part of a modern food experience through East Forest. And it can create a conversation that goes beyond the ingredient itself.
THE FUTURE MAY BE MORE DIVERSE THAN WE THINK
The future of food is often presented as something entirely new: new proteins, new technologies, new formulations and new production systems.
These innovations matter. But there is another opportunity sitting alongside them: Rediscovering the diversity that already exists.
Indonesia's forests, farms and food cultures contain ingredients that many consumers around the world have never encountered. Kenari is one of them.
And perhaps the most interesting question is not:
"Why haven't people heard of Kenari?"
It is:
"What other foods are still waiting to be discovered?"
KAWANASI'S ROLE
At Kawanasi, we are working to make Kenari more known, more accessible and more valuable internationally. That means working across the Kenari value chain, from origin and sourcing to processing, product development, certification, market development and international commercialization.
We believe that introducing an under-discovered ingredient to the world requires more than selling it. It requires building understanding. Creating trust. Developing applications. And showing people why the ingredient is worth discovering in the first place.
Kenari is one food. But the bigger story is food diversity. And the bigger opportunity is what becomes possible when we start looking beyond the ingredients we already know.
DISCOVER KENARI
Discover the forest nut from Eastern Indonesia.
Discover our award-winning East Forest brand.