Asia-Pacific Power List 2021: Axton Salim, Indofood

Axton Salim

Chief marketing officer and director
Indofood
Indonesia
New member

Indofood Sukses Makmur is not just the biggest food manufacturer in Indonesia, it’s also one of the biggest suppliers of instant noodles in the world. In 2020, the company saw revenue climb 7% to a whopping Rp81.73 trillion (US$5.74 billion) as demand for processed foods increased during the pandemic. 

Salim is part of the family dynasty that built Indofood. His grandfather Sudono Salim established the brand in 1990 and his father Anthoni Salim is current CEO of the company and the fourth wealthiest person in Indonesia, with a net worth of US$5.9 billion. These are big shoes for Salim to fill as CMO and director, but he does a fine job of it anyway.

Perhaps Salim’s most talked-about marketing campaign was for a new flavour of Chitato chips inspired by mi goreng. Upon posting an inconspicuous Tweet about the new flavour on his personal account, the new flavour went viral and organically garnered plenty of earned-media coverage across mainstream platforms. The secret to the success of the campaign, according to Salim, is a no-brainer: Listen to what consumers want and understand their flavour preferences and tastes. 

Salim is also not beyond experimenting with zany creative concepts. To promote a new ice cream flavour in 2017, the brand released a hilariously camp film inspired by old legends, which has since made waves internationally and has gone down as one of the most memorable ads in Indonesian history. It doesn’t hurt that Salim is also a marvel at marketing himself in creative ways, as evidenced by his 112,000 followers on Instagram and impressive TikTok skills. 

Axton Salim can be found on Twitter at: @axtonsalim