History of Djarum

Djarum first ever kretek workshop was established on April 21, 1951 by company founder Oei Wie Gwan in Kudus, Central Java. Just nine months prior, Oei Wie Gwan had purchased the brand and license to the name. Kudus happens to be the birthplace of kretek, upon which one of Indonesia’s most prominent industries would be built.

Djarum small cottage industry would flourish into an internationaly known brand. Named after the needle of a gramaphone, Djarum began as small 10 person operation on no. 28 Bitingan Baru Street (now no. 28 A. Yani Street), Kudus.

The blending of clove and tobacco ingredients was a simple manual process using minimal equipment. Oei himself could be found rollingkretek on the workshop floor when not promoting and selling Djarum Kretek on the street of Kudus.

Djarum’s blend of hand rolled kretek nonetheless differentiated itself by it’s consistent quality and tase and attracted a growing following. The company began producing machine-rolled kretek in the early 1970 but also continues to produce hand-rolled kretek made by manual labourers.

Djarum Super was launched in 1981, followed by the introduction of Djarum Special in 1983.

While the domestic market for kretek was large, in 1972 the company began exporting hand-rolled kretek to tobacco retailers around the world.[8] Budi and Bambang Hartono diversified the company’s activities outside cigarette manufacturing.

Today Djarum has become a familiar icon in Indonesia thanks to our popular clove-and-tobacco cigarette products, which are familiar all over the archipelago. We are one of the largest cigarette manufacturers in Indonesia and have also established a strong international presence, providing satisfaction to customers daily.