ANALYSIS ON INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF MORINGA TEA PRODUCTS BY THE RIHLAH (WASILAH) CREATIVE TOURISM COOPERATIVE IN MAKASSAR, INDONESIA
The condition of MSME Small and Medium Enterprises in South Sulawesi experienced an impact on the decrease in turnover obtained during the Covid-19 pandemic. Several MSMEs, including cooperatives, have begun to revive by trying to re-create products based on the people's economy, one of which is making tea bags made from Moringa leaves often found in the yards of residents' houses. However, there are still obstacles to developing these products, and they have yet to be able to compete widely. Information from Partners that this difficulty is caused by the inability to compete with similar products that have existed before and with a well-known brand. In this new average period, many MSMEs find it difficult to return to improve their products as before the outbreak of the Covid 19 virus, especially with small businesses because not all business fields have comparable work patterns and financial capabilities, including one of the creative economy products, namely Moringa tea whose production began in 2019 but was also affected by the co-19 pandemic so that it is now starting to revive to compete with existing products. Thus, this study aims to analyze the factors that can increase the competitiveness of moringa tea products after the Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis was carried out with a quantitative approach using descriptive analysis, namely multiple regression analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to 110 people who had consumed moringa tea in the Makassar area. The analysis results show that the three variables studied, namely product innovation, human resources, and product uniqueness, simultaneously have a positive and significant effect on increasing the competitiveness of moringa tea products from a consumer perspective. Thus, these three variables can become a strategy to increase the competitiveness of MSME products in Makassar, namely Moringa tea. Thus, the contribution of this study is to provide input to MSME actors to be able to market their products by taking into account these three variables in developing strategies to increase product competitiveness and. still need to innovate on the packaging because from the results of preliminary interviews consumers argue that there is still a lack of information on packaging regarding the product.
Strategy, Competitiveness, Creative Economy, MSMEs, Products, Moringa tea