Cantika, one of the students in the KIDS Scholarship program, is currently studying Food Technology at Udayana University. She completed a six-month internship—from September 2024 to January 2025—at one of Bali’s most renowned milk pie producers, working in the Quality Control department. Throughout her internship, she gained valuable hands-on experience in every stage of production—from crafting the pies and overseeing packaging to ensuring quality in the post-production process.

After wrapping up her internship, Cantika prepared her final report. Drawing on her background in Food Technology, she chose to focus her project on enhancing the nutritional value of the factory’s signature product. She also came up with a smart, sustainable solution to minimise food waste—by creatively repurposing pies that didn’t pass quality control due to shape imperfections, turning them into entirely new, sellable products.

Milk Pie Project: Enriching the Nutrition of Balinese Favorite

Milk pie, or pie susu, is one of Bali’s most beloved snacks. Known for its crunchy crust and soft, sweet filling, this bite-sized treat is as convenient as it is delicious. Its small size means people can enjoy it mess-free—no cutting, no worrying about crumbs or spilled filling. It’s a popular choice during gatherings, perfect for casual snacking, and even featured in traditional Balinese offerings. As one of the most well-known oleh-oleh khas Bali (Balinese souvenirs), the milk pie holds a special place in both everyday life and cultural traditions.

“Pie susu is a very palatable snack. It is very popular and has many variants. Some factories create chocolate, cheese, and vanilla flavours in addition to the original milk flavour. As the new variants are also welcomed by the people, I think there is still a chance to innovate — not only the flavor, but also its nutritional value. The pie itself is quite dense with protein, carbohydrates, and fat. So, I considered making a new variant with higher protein and fat, but lower carbohydrate. I also wanted the pie to have more antioxidants in it.” Cantika explained her nutrition enhancement project.

To make her idea come true, Cantika then added some new nutritious ingredients to the pie recipe. She stirred in pumpkin seed flour to the dough for the crust. This addition will give extra calcium and fiber to the pie. For the filling, Cantika put extra antioxidant into it by whipping in some cascara powder in the filling mix.

Reducing Food Waste through Creative Innovation

During the production process, not all pies passed quality control—mainly due to imperfections in their shape. While mildly damaged pies could be repackaged, those that were severely broken were usually thrown out. With the high volume of daily production, the number of pies dumped into the bin was significant. To address this issue, Cantika proposed an innovative solution aimed at minimising waste and giving imperfect pies a second life.

“I suggested turning the rejected pies into pie susu ice cream and crumble brownies,” Cantika explained. “Both are popular treats, and by incorporating leftover pie pieces into these desserts, we can reduce food waste. Right now, Bali is facing growing concerns about food waste, and this approach could help keep the problem from getting worse.”

Cantika wrapped up her internship with an impressive final presentation showcasing her innovations. She didn’t come empty-handed either—she brought samples of her new products for the staff from the pie factory to try. Her creative ideas received a warm and enthusiastic response from the team.

“I’m glad that I was able to complete my job training and propose innovations that not only improve the product’s nutrition but also help reduce waste,” said Cantika proudly. “I received positive feedback from the production managers. Of course, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, and I hope this proposal can be explored further through more research and development. One day, I’d love to see these new products being mass-produced.”

We are incredibly proud of Cantika’s achievements. She has now returned to campus and is currently preparing for her research and final paper. We wish her the very best in this next chapter of her academic journey.