Food Turkey Magazine October 2017

An annual 

Anuga! 

We are making our way to Anuga, the world’s largest and 

most important trade fair for food and beverages, which will 

open its doors on 7 October 2017 in Cologne, Germany. 

Group Chairman 

Publisher 

Managing Editor 

Responsible 

Editor-in-Chief: 

Editor 

H.Ferruh ISIK 

ISTMAG Magazin Gazetecilik 

Yayıncılık İç ve Dış Ticaret Ltd. Şti. 

Mehmet SOZTUTAN 

(mehmet.soztutan@img.com.tr) 

Cüneyt AKTÜRK 

(cuneyt.akturk@ihlasfuar.com.tr) 

Ibrahim Ethem KUPELI 

There will be approximately 300 Turkish exhibitors in this 

most important trade fair of the food and beverage industry 

where 160,000 enthusiastic visitors will discover the latest and 

most innovative products from more than 7,400 exhibitors 

who will offer the world’s largest range of products. 

Only at Anuga you may find the most important key players 

of the national and international food and beverage industry. 

The 10 different special trade fairs are going to present the 

current trend themes 2017. 

The unique measuring concept of Anuga - 10 trade shows 

in one - represents the diversity of the food and beverage 

industry. Due to the special mix of big and small, both nationally 

and internationally, the Anuga has developed into the No. 

1 trading place in the world. With the various trend themes, 

Anuga also proves a consistent focus on the branch trends of 

the future. 

Turkey will be there as the strongest participation of the 

country in a foreign event. Almost 300 exporters will display a 

wide range of products. Food Turkey magazine, the most influential 

trade publication of this huge industry will be there to 

promote the Turkish potential and to cover this world event 

for the next issue. 

Next month we will be in Dubai for Gulfood Manufacturing. 

We will distribute free copies from our stand and we will 

cover that important event where there is a huge Turkish interest 

every year. We will probably be the most leading foreign 

national exhibitor as usual. I wish lucrative business for 

all involved. 

4 FOOD TURKEY October 2017 

Mehmet Söztutan 

Advertisement Manager 

Correspondent 

Communications Manager 

Art Director 

Artwork Consultant 

Graphic Designer 

Chief Accountant 

Subscription 

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CONTENTS 

6 

Positive reception of Savor 

Europe campaign during 

Food Istanbul 2017 

10 

Natural ingredients 

14 

A shining gift from 

nature… 

16 

Collected milk 

decrease whereas 

production of dairy 

products increase 

18 50 

Turkey’s sugar and 

chocolate confectionery 

industry 

32 

Taste the future at 

Anuga – worldwide, 

leading and significant… 

40 

Fora Olives meets food 

kings of the world at 

“CNR Food Istanbul” 

48 

TAT becomes leader in 

digital transformation 

with its “Pioneers of 

Tomato” project 

Anuga Frozen Food: 

This is where the 

international frozen 

food industry comes 

together 

52 

Aves targets 100 m 

dollars in exports in 

2017 Aves targets 

100 m dollars in exports 

in 2017 

60 

Aktaslar targets to 

enter markets abroad 

64 

Her Excellency Turkish 

apricots! 

72 

Gulfood 

Manufacturing to 

underline Dubai’s 

status as global food 

supply chain hub 

82 

WorldFood Istanbul 

opened its doors for 

the 25th time! 

86 

Quarter-wise increase 

in red meat, whereas 

yearly output drops 

6 FOOD TURKEY October 2017

Positive reception of Savor 

Europe campaign during 

Food Istanbul 2017 


A tasting menu, a discussion panel 

with the meat industry specialists, 

meetings with the media, a special 

business talks area – these are the 

offers that the Organizers of the 

promotional and information campaign 

- Savor Europe - presented 

during the Food Istanbul fair that 

took place from 20 to 23 of September 

2017. The positive feedback 

was immediate! During the first day, 

the Guests appreciated an exquisite 

tasting menu. After the discussion 

panel that took place on the 21st of 

September, the participants univocally 

praised the contents focused on 

the specificity of the Turkish market. 

The aim of the campaign conducted 

on the territory of Turkey until January 

2018 is the popularization of the 

European beef. 

Food Istanbul is a 4-day long celebration 

of the food industry that 

gathers over 1000 exhibitors from 

Turkey and other countries. On the 

area of 60 000 m2 in the CNR Expo 

hall in Istanbul, the visitors have a 

chance to encounter companies 

that represent all the businesses that 

cover the chain: production, storing, 

and distribution. This event is an occasion 

to conduct trade negotiations, 

diplomatic meetings, and market discussions. 

Thanks to the partnership 

of the Association of Exporters and 

the cooperation with the embassies, 

the Fair introduced a new quality 

in the realm of B2B. Savor Europe 

Campaign, apart from the information 

point, hosted a discussion panel 

focused on the European meat and 

organized a series of individual meetings 

with the media. 

Our campaign is based on the key 

exceptional qualities of the European 

beef – high quality, safe products, 

strict production norms, and honest 

cooperation. Following these standards, 

during the second day of the 

Fair we organized a discussion panel 

that was attended by the outstanding 

guests – the representatives of 

the Turkish trade organizations, the 

media, diplomats, and Turkish meat 

importers. Thanks to the honest,

factual discussion and active understanding 

of the market needs, we 

build the awareness of our product 

and we build a trade platform between 

the European producers and 

Turkish clients. This is an up-to-date 

subject as Turkey decided to open its 

market – explains Katarzyna Oponowicz, 

the Polish Meat Association office 

director, the Organizer of Savor 

Europe campaign. 

The main source of information 

during the Fair is the official stand 

of the Campaign. On the area of 80 

m2, the Organizers and producers 

with a help of hostesses welcome a 

crowd of visitors. Thanks to the faceto-face 

conversation and the information 

pack, each guest of Savor 

Europe stand has a chance to obtain 

complex information about the campaign 

and the possibilities of cooperation. 

All the guests may observe 

a culinary show of the European 

chefs – Marcin Budynek and Mariusz 

Olechno who treat the guests with 

outstanding flavors of beef kofta with 

buckwheat groats and fried zucchini 

in orient spices, mini beef burgers 

with babaganoush and Turkish sheep 

cheese, beef tartar served on emek 

with wild garlic, fried capers, and 

pickled red onion. 

Savor Europe campaign does not 

only conduct B2B activities, but it 

also puts en emphasis on the communication 

with the Turks that aims 

at presenting them with knowledge 

about the European beef. In order to 

reach the public opinion effectively, 

we cooperate with the media. We 

decided to organize a series of individual 

meetings with the key branch 

media in order to conduct in-depth 

talks and address all the questions of 

the journalists. We consider this form 

of cooperation to be the most effective 

for both parties – summarizes 

Katarzyna Oponowicz, the Polish 

Meat Association office director, the 

Organizer of Savor Europe campaign. 

The stand number of the Savor Europe 

campaign is 2-A02 and it is 

open to visitors during the Food Istanbul 

until 23 September 2017. 

To learn more about the campaign 

and to obtain all the information 

about the past and future activities, 

visit our website www.zasmakujweuropie.eu 

9

Savor Europe campaign 

Savor Europe campaign aims at informing 

and promoting fresh, refrigerated, 

and frozen beef and beef 

products. The campaign is targeted at 

the Turkish market. The main aim of 

the project is to open the market for 

the European beef and beef products. 

Moreover, the campaign builds a 

positive image of the European meat 

by providing complex information 

about the products and conducting 

educational actions. The Organizers 

are focused on the following aspects: 

high quality of the European Union 

products and the strict sanitary and 

safety standards that characterize 

meat production within the European 

Community. More about the 

campaign on the website: www.savoreurope.eu 

Polish Meat Association 

The Polish Meat Association is a Polish 

institution dedicated to the meat 

industry entities. The Organization 


has been operating for over 20 years 

and it associates sixty large and medium-sized 

meat manufacturers and 

companies operating on the meat 

market. The main goal of the Association 

is to represent economic interests 

of the entities associated therein 

and to create and popularize code 

of ethics for business activities. The 

Polish Meat Association contributes 

to creation of favorable conditions 

for the meat market in Poland to 

consolidate and develop. The Association 

supports economic initiatives 

of its members. 

The Polish Meat Association is a 

proposing organization of the Savor 

Europe campaign. 

To learn more about the Polish Meat 

Association go to http://polskie-mieso.pl 

Food Istanbul Expo 

This is the first edition of the food 

market fair dedicated to such sectors 

as: food and beverages; food 

processing, storing, and refrigeration 

technologies, food industry logistics. 

FOOD Istanbul Expo takes place in 

September 20-23, 2017 on the area 

of 60 000 m2 in CRN Expo. The Organizers 

guarantee that over 1000 

brands will be present and they will 

attract 35 000 professionals. The 

companies that confirmed their 

presence come from: Turkey, Europe, 

Middle East, North Africa, Russia, and 

Balkans, among others. 

The fair gives a chance to establish 

business relations, promote products 

and services. The strategic partner of 

the event is the Istanbul Association 

of Exporters. 

The organizer of the fair is CRN 

Holding. The company used to organize 

a popular event – CRN Gida 

Fair, which took place for the last 

time in 2012. This year, a new brand 

and a new name enter an official calendar 

of the events for the Turkish 

food industry.

Avrupa eti. Sıkı standartlar. Yüksek kalite. 

Yeşil fasulyeli biftek 

Malzemeler: 

antrikot (260-280 g), patates (300 g), zeytin yağı (20 ml), domuz 

pastırması (80 g), yeşil fasulye (200 g), tereyağı (40 g), sarımsak (1 diş), 

maydanoz (40 g), tuz, karabiber (isteğe bağlı), yağ (40 ml), zeytin 

yağ (40 ml) 

Yapılışı: 

Ete tuz ve karabiber katın. Yeşil fasulyeyi yıkayın, temizleyin ve domuz 

pastırması dilimlerine sarın. Kabuklu patatesleri yıkayın, tuzlayın ve azıcık 

zeytinyağı ekleyin. Fırın tepsisine dizin ve fırında 200 derecede 30 dakika 

boyunca pişirin. Tereyağını kase içine koyun, rendelenmiş sarımsak, kıyılmış 

maydanoz, tuz, karabiber ekleyin. Malzemeleri homojenik bir karışım 

olana dek karıştırın. Domuz pastırması ile sarılmış fasulyeyi 4 dakika boyunca 

tavada kızartın. Eti çok az yağda her iki tarafını yaklaşık 3 dakika boyunca 

kızartın. Bu şekilde hazırlanan bifteği domuz pastırması ile sarılmış 

fasulye ve fırınlanmış patates ile servis edin. Etin üzerine tereyağı koyun. 

Sadece „Avrupa’nın tadına bak”! 

Modern ve zorlu tüketiciler, et 

üreticilerden güven ve müthiş 

bir tat sağlayan sıkı standartlara 

uygun olarak üretilen kaliteli 

ürünleri beklerler. Onların 

beklentilerini göz önüne alarak, 

2015 yılında Türkiye’de AB ülkeleri 

menşei olan taze, soğutulmuş 

veya dondurulmuş dana 

eti ve onun bazında üretilen 

gıda müstahzarlarına adanmış 

„Avrupa’nın tadına bak” tanıtım-bilgilendirme 

kampanyasını 

başlattık. 

Avrupa dana eti üretiminin temeli, 

birtakım sıkı kurallar ve kalite standartlarını 

temsil eden „Tarladan çatala” 

politikasıdır. Söz konusu politika; 

tam şeffaflık, denetim, hayvan refahı 

için özen ve sürekli veteriner denetimi 

sağlama dahil olmak üzere önemli değerlere 

dayalıdır. Prosedürler; menşei, 

tanımlama sistemi, doğru besleme, 

kesim, paketleme ve nakliye gibi gıda 

zincirinin tüm unsurlarını kapsar. 

Üretim kurallarının standart hale 

getirilmesiyle, Avrupa Birliği’nden gelen 

dana eti tekrarlanabilirliği ile karakterize 

edilir. Tüketiciler için bu her 

zaman yüksek kalite, uygun yumuşaklık 

ve sululuk seviyesinin yanı sıra, 

inanılmaz lezzet ile ayırt edilen iyi bir 

ürün alacaklarından emin olabilecekleri 

anlamına gelir. Ayrıca, Avrupa 

üreticileri, Türk müşterinin ihtiyaçlarına 

ayak uydurabilirler. Benzersiz 

duyusal ve tat özellikleri Avrupa dana 

etinin mutfakta mükemmel bir seçim 

olmasını sağlar. 

Organizatörler; Avrupa dana eti 

üreticileri ve girişimcileri arasında bir 

iş platformu oluşturmayı amaçlamıştır. 

Daha fazla bekleme ve bugün Avrupa’nın 

tadına bak! 

Daha fazla bilgi edinmek için 

www.avrupanintadinabak.eu web 

sitesini ziyaret edin. 

KAMPANYA AVRUPA BIRLIĞI 

VE POLONYA CUMHURIYETI DESTEĞI 

ILE FINANSE EDILMIŞTIR 

AYRICA DANA ETI TANITIM FONU 

DESTEĞI ILE DE FINANSE EDILMIŞTIR

Natural ingredients 

Turkey’s Sunar 

Group exports to 

more than 100 

countries and aims 

to become one of the 

biggest groups in the 

Middle East, Europe 

and North Africa. 

Chairman Hüseyin 

Nuri Çomu 

outlines his vision for 

the future. 


Sunar Group holds a distinctive position 

in the agroindustrial sector. 

Founded in 1974, it is now one of 

Turkey’s leading industrial groups, 

operating in agriculture-based 

sectors that include starch and its 

derivatives, edible oil, flour, animal 

feed and fresh fruits. 

It has a fully integrated edible oil 

production plant aligned with a 

high-tech infrastructure and has 

been responsible for many innovations 

in its field. 

In its laboratories, experienced 

engineers create specialised flours 

and animal feeds for a diverse 

range of market needs. Meanwhile, 

with its fresh fruit division, the 

group is helping to transform agriculture 

into engineering in order 

to harvest high yields of certifiedfresh 

fruits. The group currently has 

the capacity to process one million 

tons a year of raw materials, with 

a turnover of $350 million, and exports 

to more than 100 countries. 

It is responsible for 60% of Turkey’s 

corn oil exports, 12% of its sunflower 

oil exports and 45% of its 

corn starch exports. The company’s 

chairman explains more. 

What makes Sunar Misir 

competitive? 

Hüseyin Nuri Çomu: Founded in 

1985, Sunar Misir has

ecome the driving force of Turkey’s starch and starch 

derivatives industry. The company provides a range 

of glucose and glucose-fructose syrups, native corn 

starch, modified starch, dextrin, sorbitol and maltitol, 

all of which is made from certified non-GMO corn. 

It plans to invest nearly €40 million over the next five 

years in strengthening its business portfolio, and expects 

significant growth as a result. 

What trends and opportunities will Sunar 

Misir use to move forward? 

The global ingredients market is in the middle of a dynamic 

period. Consumer habits are constantly changing, 

driven by increasing awareness for health and wellness, 

the rising population and a growing middle class, 

in parallel with increasing incomes and digitalisation, 

and despite the strain on natural resources. Sunar Misir 

Huseyin Nuri Comu, 

Board Chairman 

13

sees big potential for delivering healthy 

nutrition while helping the environment. 

The needs of the sugared foods and 

beverages industries can be fuelled by 

outstanding products. New regulations 

designed to reduce daily sugar consumption 

in order to address an increase in 

the number of health problems, such 

as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and 

obesity, have reshaped some traditional 

markets in developed nations. The firm 

has a dedicated research and development 

department that provides nutritional 

products with new applications, 

functions and unique characteristics. 

It is the first – and only – producer of 

sorbitol and maltitol in Turkey, and hopes 

to increase its share of the nation’s sorbitol 

market to 80%, and its share of the 

maltitol market to 60% within the next 

five years, and it willcontinue to pursue 

an export-oriented growth strategy. As 

they are manufactured by the catalytic 

hydrogenation of starch hydrolysate, 

these polyols are low-calorie, high performance 

natural sweeteners. They have 

a low glycaemic index; retain moisture 

as a humectant; make effective stabilisers; 

improve viscosity; display excellent 

temperature and pH stability; and have 

a cooling effect in the mouth with no 

aftertaste. These properties make these 

products able to help address today’s 

health and wellness challenges. 

How is the company’s progress 

towards sustainability? What 

measures have been taken 

to ensure the firm is socially 

responsible? 

As a pioneer in sustainable agriculture in 

Turkey, and the nation’s sole producer of 

sorbitol and maltitol, Sunar was nominated 

in the environmental and corporate 

sustainability category at the European 

Business Awards, and was recognised as a 

national champion. Sunar’s commitment 

to sustainability is a key part of its corporate 

DNA; in 2014, it launched its Bright 

Future programme to make lives better. 

By working hand in hand with farmers 

and manufacturing in the most traceable 

and sustainable way, and by making contributions 

to society, the company will 

continue to challenge itself to transform 

and be ready for the future. 


A shining gift 

from nature… 

Diamante Food is 

a leading supplier 

and exporter 

of various food 

products such as 

olives, olive oil, 

sunflower oil, sundried 

tomatoes, 

dried fruits and 

hazelnut. 

Located in Izmir, Turkey, Diamante 

Food is a leading supplier and exporter 

of various food products such as 

olives, olive oil, sunflower oil, sun-dried 

tomatoes, dried fruits and hazelnut, 

which are manufactured by the most 

prestigious and leading manufacturers 

of Turkey. The company has been 

bringing these specialty foods, which 

are naturally produced and packed under 

hygienic conditions, to international 

markets with Diamante Food brand or 

private label brands according to customer 

demand. 

Taste the shining quality! 

Diamante Food Shareholder and Director 

Cigdem Sarayli said, “We are 

currently exporting extra virgin olive 

oil and various food products to Uzbekistan, 

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. 

In the new harvest season, one of our 

target markets is Europe and we believe 

that Anuga Fair will provide us 

great opportunities to make new contracts 

and to expand our business in 

Germany and in the other European 

countries as well. Aegean Region of 

Turkey is the homeland of various food 

products such as olives, olive oil and 

figs. Via our long term and trustful partnership 

with our manufacturers in our 

region, our sole purpose is to provide 

our customers the best quality food 

products at the best possible prices 

within the shortest lead times.” 

Diamante Food offers the following 

products which are of only Turkish origin 

with a wide selection of package 

options: 

Olives (pitted, halves, sliced, stuffed) 

All kinds of olive oil (pure, virgin, extra 

virgin, organic, refined) packed and 

bulk “190KG DRUM or FLEXITANK” 

Sunflower oil (from 1L up to 18L tin 

can) 

Sun-dried tomatoes (glass jar or vacuum 

pack) 

Dried fruits (ORGANIC & CON- 

VENTIONAL fig, apricot, raisin) 

Çiğdem Saraylı 

Bay leaves 

Hazelnut 

Pickles & Capers 

As for private label requirements, 

Diamante Food is pleased to provide 

its customers flexibility in production 

and minimum order quantities in the 

shortest possible time like 2 or maximum 

3 weeks even in the high season. 

For more information, you can visit 

www.diamantefood.com or email to 

cigdem@diamantefood.com 


Collected milk decrease 

whereas production of 

dairy products increase 

Milk collected by integrated dairies 

was 740 thousand 751 tones. The 

amount of collected cow’s milk in 

July decreased by 3.8% compared to 

the same month of the previous year 

TURKSTAT announced. 

Drinking milk production by integrated 

dairies became 102 thousand 

621 tonnes in July and increased by 

10.8% when compared to the same 

month of the previous year. Cheese 

production from cow’s milk was 53 

thousand 675 tonnes and increased 

by 10% when compared to the same 

month of the previous year. Cheese 

production from sheep, goat, buffalo 

and mixed milk was 3 thousand 422 

tonnes increased by 26.7% when 

compared to the same month of the 

previous year according to recent statistics 

provided by TURKSTAT. 


Yoghurt production became 111 

thousand 444 tonnes in July and increased 

by 5.1% when compared 

to same month of the previous year. 

Drink made of yoghurt production 

became 71 thousand 893 tonnes and 

increased by 13.9% when compared 

to the same month of the previous 

year. In July the average fat rate 

of cow’s milk collected by integrated 

dairies was 3.4%, the average rate of 

protein was 3.2% according to TURK- 

STAT. 

Seasonal and calendar adjusted 

amount of collected cow’s milk in 

July when compared to the previous 

month increased by 1%. Calendar adjusted 

amount of collected cow’s milk 

in July when compared to the same 

month of the previous year decreased 

by 5.3%, also announced in the recent 

press release of TURKSTAT.

Turkey’s sugar and 

chocolate confectionery 

industry 

The Turkish confectionery sector has 

always been dynamic thanks to Turkey’s 

young and growing population, 

and traditional habits of consumption. 

Sugar confectionery plays a great role 

in Turkish tradition, being widely served 

as gifts during religious festivals, wedding 

ceremonies and celebrations. It is also a 

common choice of present when visiting 

family or friends. This traditional popularity 

means sugar confectionery performs 

much better in Turkey than in many other 

countries. 

However, despite their popularity, traditional 

confectionery products are 

strongly challenged by other confectionery 

products, particularly chocolate 

confectionery. Chocolate confectionery 

is one of the most dynamic product in 

Turkey thanks to several factors, such as 

the young and rapidly growing population 

and their growing demand for chocolate 

with toys, developing distribution 

channels, manufacturers’ heavy advertisements, 

new product developments 

and increasing multinational investments. 

The most popular types of chocolate 

confectionery are countlines, tablets and 

boxed assortments. Manufacturers have 

successfully diversified the number and 

type of products available. 

The gum sector is another dynamic area 

within confectionery. The Turkish gum 

market is very competitive thanks to 


The sugar and chocolate confectionery 

sector in Turkey is historically based on the 

production of traditional 

Turkish confectionery products 

such as Turkish delight 

and halva. 

presence of powerful local and multinational 

companies, which have been 

operating for a long time in the market. 

Production of sweet gum, sugar-free 

gum, functional gum and bubble gum 

has steadily increased since 2000. 

van- 

Turkey has the adtage 

of 

being 

self-sufficient in sugar which is one of 

the main confectionery ingredients. 

Turkey is also in a very advantageous 

situation thanks to its dominance in the 

world production of dried fruits (dried 

apricots, raisins, dried figs) and edible 

nuts (hazelnuts, pistachios). 

The hazelnut, 

i n particular, 

is now 

one of the 

basic ingredients 

widely 

used in the 

confectionery 

sector. Hazelnut flour, roasted and sliced 

hazelnuts are used in the production 

of sweets, cakes and biscuits. Hazelnut 

paste is used in the production of chocolate. 

The special products supplied for 

direct consumption are hazelnut puree, 

halva and hazelnut cream. 

Turkish pistachios, are also used in the 

production of Turkish delight, halva and 

chocolate, and Turkish sultanas (raisins), 

as well as used in the production of 

certain cakes, biscuits, and confectionery 

products. The advantage of being a 

producer and supplier of various agricultural 

products combined with high 

technology, has increased the product 

variety in the industry. Apricots and 

21

dried apricots have been used in the 

production of newly developed confectionery 

products such as apricot bars, 

delight and paste in recent years. 

Turkey is not only in an advantageous 

situation with respect to the ingredients 

used in the confectionery sector 

but also provides good opportunity 

for its confectionery producers and 

exporters, with its increasing potential 

in the overall size of the market, an increasing 

young population, proximity to 

import markets, and a strong potential 

for growth in tourism. 

Production trends of confectionery 

products are closely related to domestic 

and foreign demand. The production 

capacity is well over the domestic 

demand, and as a result, most middle 

and large-sized companies export their 

products. 

Production of Turkish delight and halva 

dates back to ancient times. Turkish delight, 

as the name indicates, is a product 

originating in Turkey. Sugar, glucose and 

cornstarch are the raw materials used 

in its production. Halva is consumed 


throughout the year by consumers. It is 

cheaper than many other sweets and, 

in addition, it is very delicious and nutritious. 

The ingredients used in its production 

are flour, semolina and sugar. 

Honey or grape molasses can also be 

used in some varieties of halva instead 

of sugar. 

Changing lifestyles and increasing health 

consciousness among consumers are 

notable trends affecting the sector. Consumers 

are demanding more innovative 

products. Therefore, new products are 

introduced regularly to the Turkish confectionery 

market. 

The sector has become one of the 

most important subsectors of the food 

industry using modern technology together 

with the traditional production 

methods. The Turkish sugar and chocolate 

confectionery sector has the most 

advanced technology in the Middle 

East, Balkans, North Africa, Baltics and 

Central Asia. Turkish products are more 

widely diversified and of a higher quality. 

Quality is one issue that Turkish exporters 

give priority to. As a result of 

integration with the European Union 

(EU), Turkish food laws are being harmonized 

with the relevant EU Directives, 

ensuring that all consumers have 

access to safe products. In addition, Turkey 

is actively taking part in the Food 

23

and Agriculture Organization / World 

Health Organization Codex Alimentarius 

Commission in the establishment of 

international standards. Many firms are 

applying quality systems like HACCP or 

ISO 9000 standards and trying to satisfy 

further demands of their customers. 

EXPORTS 

Turkey is a net exporter of confectionery 

products. The export value of sugar 

and chocolate confectionery reached 

at 1,7 billion US dollars in 2016, which 

constituted 1.19% of Turkey’s total export 

revenue (US$ 142 billion), nearly 

the same proportion as the previous 

year. 

Exports of sugar and chocolate confectionery 

increased steadily between 

2009 and 2016, and reached 719 thousand 

tons. This remarkably high increase 

in export quantity has undoubtedly 

been achieved thanks to the recent 

modernization and technological improvements 

realized in the sector. 

The total export value of chocolate confectionery was 402 million US dollars in 

2016. The main importer countries are Iraq, the USA and Libya. 

The Turkish confectionery producers 

and exporters are highly equipped to 

meet international standards and consumer 

preferences. 

Iraq was the leading importer country 

taking over 25% of total exports of 

sugar confectionery in 2016. It was followed 

by USA (6,1%) and Saudi Arabia 

(5,9%). 

The other major export items were 

chewing gum, Turkish delight, halva, toffees 

and caramels in 2016. 

Turkish confectionery products are exported to a wide range of countries in the 

world and the number of the countries importing confectionery products from 

Turkey increases every year. Turkey is now exporting various confectionery products 

to around 179 countries worldwide. SOURCE: TURKISH MINISTRY OF ECONOMY 


Çaykur at Anuga 

Caykur is the largest processor of tea in 

Turkey and its corporate memory is as 

old as tea itself in this country. Tea was 

first grown here 90 years ago. Now 

Turkey ranks number 1 in per capital 

tea consumption globally. 

Caykur has 50 factories - produce over 

130,500 tons of dried tea every year, 

cultivated from 75,000 hectares of the 

most perfect tea growing terrain in 

the world, in Northern Turkey, on the 

edge of the Black Sea. Of all the tea 

being consumed around the world at 

this very moment, 4 percent of it is 

Caykur’s. 

Caykur has 55 percent market share 

in the tea sector in Turkey, and integral 

to its success is the relationships it has 

nurtured with more than 200,000 independent 

tea growers in Northern 

Turkey. They want to trade with Caykur 

and are a cherished part of its family. 

Caykur has a vision to convert all its 

tea growing terrain to organic, which 

will increase the competitiveness of 

Turkish tea in the global market. In the 

first stage, it declared 7,500 hectares of 

tea land as “organic” and actively transformed 

3,000 hectares in the last couple 

of years. 

Using its deep-rooted knowledge of 

tea, one of the successes of Caykur was 

the launch of Didi, an iced tea product, 

in 2013. It sold more than 80 million 

cans in 6 months. To date, it’s sold 493 

million units, and reached a market 

share of 35 percent. In just three years, 

iced tea consumption in Turkey has 

quadrupled. 

Caykur is honest enough to admit that 

Mother Nature is giving a helping hand 

and its tea comes from the northernmost 

tea-growing region of the world. 

In winter, snow covers the slopes and 

the bushes in a thick, white blanket, 

eliminating the need for chemicals and 

pesticides, at the same time as feeding 

the soil with the nutrients it needs. 

Caykur has achieved its success by 

sticking to what it does best, but also 

by having the courage to diversify and 

take risks. And so far it’s working. 


Aroma 

at Anuga 

AROMA Bursa Meyve Suları ve Gıda 

Sanayi A.Ş. was established over a 

75.000 m² area in Gürsu Dsitrict of 

Bursa on the year of 1968. 

At the company being established 

as an aggregate corporation, Duruk 

Group acceded the management by 

purchasing the majority interest on 

1991. By increasing the processed 

fruit amount day by day with the investment 

thrust starting on 1991, it 

has been increased from 20.00 ton to 

125.00 ton in a year and Aroma has 

become one of the leading fruit juice 

filling facilities of the country. 

AROMA Bursa Meyve Suları ve Gıda 

Sanayi A.Ş. producing fruit juices, natural 

spring water and carbonated 

beverages has a wide product range. 

There is semi finished (concentrated 

fruit and puree) and finished product 

manufacture in the integrated facilities. 

Aroma presents its fruit juices under 

the brand of Aroma 100%, its nectars 

under the brand of Aroma and Meyöz 

nectars, lemonade under the brand of 

Aroma Limonta, fruity beverages under 

the brand of Aroma Tropical, gaseous 

beverages under the brand of 

Aroma. 

Aroma has been taking place in this 

market since 2004 under the brand of 

Aroma Ömer Duruk Natural Spring 

Water. AROMA Ömer Duruk Natural 

Spring Water Facilities constructed 

inside 50.000 m² open area as 10.000 

m² closed area in the year of 2004. 

Natural spring water comes from the 

natural spring water source in Uludağ 

being at 2020 m height. Filling is carried 

out full hygienically with automatic 

machines in accordance with the 

applicable international standards in 

the facility. Aroma Ömer Duruk Natural 

Spring Water is a healthy, delicious 

and silky water thanks to it rich mineral 

components and low sodium rate. 

Aroma made significant contributions 

to the development of fruit juice market 

by brining in so many new from 

the date it was established. Mixed 

fruit nectar with 9 vitamins including 

10 different fruit which was first manufactured 

by Aroma, 100% products 

flavored with apple can be given as a 

few examples among the innovative 

products presented to the taste of the 

consumer recently. 

Exportation volume of Aroma targeting 

being a Worldwide Brand has 

been increasing day by day. Among 

the countries that Aroma making exportation; 

fruit juices and nectars, various 

concentrated juices and purees, 

gaseous beverages and natural spring 

are exported to so many countries 

like waters Germany, France, the 

United Kingdom, the Netherlands, 

Spain, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Denmark, 

Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, 

USA, Australia, Cyprus, Turkmenistan, 

Georgia, China, Bulgaria, Malta, Canada, 

Mongolia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, 

Kenya Benin, Burkina Faso, Morocco, 

Libya, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Italy, Dubai 

and East Turkistan, etc. 

Aroma, continues giving service to the 

consumer markets not only with her 

quality policy not changed from past 

to today, but also with her safe, confident 

and delicious products, as well as 

their traditional but at the same time 

innovative approach as being a company 

growing and developing domestically 

and in abroad day by day. 


Quality by name 

crunchy in taste... 

Besler Nuts, operating in Dried Nuts 

and Fruits Industry in Turkey, has become 

one of the most important 

companies of Gaziantep within a 

short amount of time with its quality, 

mission and vision. 

With its successful business and 

uncompromising quality approach 

since its establishment, Besler Nuts 

has an important place as one of the 

most sought after companies both 

in Turkey and abroad. 

Besler Nuts has an extensive sales 

and distribution network and is 

proud to be contributing to national 

economy in terms of employment 

and commerce, especially by realizing 

the local potential of Southeastern 

Anatolia. Since the first day, 

Besler Nuts always improved its 

initiatives and increased work capacity 

and today, company provides 

services in total of 5 000 m² factory 

area with its Regional Dealers in 

Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern 

Anatolia provinces. 

Besler Nuts exceeded its national 

status and formed commercial 

collaborations with countries in 


different continents by becoming 

an international enterprise. Within 

this commercial collaboration, the 

company exports to Iraq, Syria, Iran 

and imports from Ukraine, Bulgaria, 

United States of America, Chile, 

China, Romania and Austria. The 

company’s aim is to reinforce the 

importance of these collaborations 

even further among other countries. 

Besler Nuts is aware that the path 

to success is only possible through 

uncompromising quality, reliable and 

healthy working principles, efficient 

use of advanced technology, and 

experienced and expert personnel. 

The company produces poured and 

packed dried nuts under healthy 

conditions, using modern machinery 

untouched by hands. Preserving the 

desire and excitement of the first 

day, Besler Nuts proceeds with the 

same excitement and passion.

Sabanci University 

develops clay-based 

antimicrobial packaging 

A packaging film 

coated with clay 

nanotubes developed 

by Sabanci University 

was presented at 

the 254th National 

Meeting & Exposition 

of the American 

Chemical Society 

(ACS) in Washington, 

D.C. 

A packaging film coated with clay nanotubes, 

developed as part of a TÜBİTAK 

ARDEB 1003 project by Sabancı University 

Nanotechnology Research and 

Application Center (SUNUM) Researcher 

Hayriye Ünal as implementer 

and Sabanci University Faculty of Engineering 

and Natural Sciences Dean 

Yusuf Menceloğlu, Sabanci University 

Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences 

Member Fevzi Cakmak Cebeci 

and Integrated Manufacturing Technologies 

Research and Development 

Center (TÜMER) Researcher Serkan 

Ünal as advisors was presented at the 

254th National Meeting & Exposition 

of the American Chemical Society 

(ACS) in Washington, D.C. 


Nano-clay packaging can 

prevent economic losses from 

spoilage 

Over the past two decades, scientists 

have been developing alternative ways 

to preserve food, with an extensive 

focus on packaging. Sabanci University 

Nanotechnology Research and Application 

Center (SUNUM) Researcher 

Hayriye Ünal and her team developed 

a packaging film coated with 

clay nanotubes packed with an antibacterial 

essential oil. The film prevents 

over-ripening and microbial growth, 

which could help improve the shelf life 

of perishables. Discussing the project, 

Hayriye Ünal said “Food packaging that 

is capable of interacting with food can 

contribute to safety and prevent economic 

losses from spoilage” and added 

that low-cost packaging could be custom-designed 

for specific food types. 

Effectiveness tested on 

tomatoes, bananas and 

chicken 

The team wrapped tomatoes, bananas 

and chicken in the film to test its effectiveness 

over varying amounts of time 

compared to foods wrapped in plain 

polyethylene. After 10 days, tomatoes 

wrapped with the new film were better 

preserved than the control vegetables. 

In addition, the new film helped 

bananas stay more firm and keep their 

vibrant yellow color after six days compared 

to the control fruit. And chicken 

enveloped with the experimental film 

and refrigerated for 24 hours showed 

significantly less bacterial growth than 

chicken in plain polyethylene.

Taste the 

future at 

Anuga – 

worldwide, 

leading and 

significant… 

The world’s largest and most important trade fair for food 

and beverages will open its doors in Cologne, Germany, 

7-11 October 2017, to host around 7,200 exhibitors from 100 

countries and 160,000 visitors 

At the coming Anuga, a shopping basket 

that is full to the brim is awaiting 

the visitors from the retail trade and 

out-of-home market in fully-booked 

exhibition halls. Around 7,200 exhibitors 

from 100 countries will be 

presenting the global market offer of 

food and beverages throughout five 

days. As such Anuga 2017 has once 

again achieved its record result of 

2015. Around 160,000 trade visitors 

from over 190 countries are awaited. 

89 percent of the exhibitors and 69 

percent of the visitors come from 

abroad. Anuga is the most important 

trade, sourcing and trend platform for 

the international food industry. 


The trade fair not only reaches the 

most important decision-makers 

from the international trade with its 

comprehensive offer, it also addresses 

the leading customers from the outof-home 

market and the buyers of 

the big online platforms. 

Anuga covers the entire fair grounds 

in Cologne. It is one of the largest 

exhibition complexes in the world. 

284,000 m² of gross exhibition space 

in 11, in some cases multi-storey halls, 

four entrances, a continuous trade fair 

boulevard and a central piazza ensure 

fast connections and a high quality of 

stay. 

With its “10 trade shows under one 

roof” concept, Anuga enables a clear 

structure of the fair according to 

themes, which facilitates the orientation 

in the face of the abundance 

of the offer. There have been several 

changes to the concept again this year, 

which compress and optimize the 

structure of the offer. 

In this way, coffee, tea & co. are being 

awarded their own platform for 

the first time, indeed under the trade 

show name “Anuga Hot Beverages”. 

Until now hot drinks were covered in 

one trade show together with bread 

and bakery products.

The new trade show “Anuga Hot 

Beverages” is a reaction to the growing 

significance of this segment. The 

new trade is meeting with great interest 

and will represent a diversified 

range of exhibitors from the coffee 

and tea scene in October. 

The theme “cuisine” is also being 

re-defined at Anuga. To this end, the 

trade show “Anuga Culinary Concepts” 

is bundling cooking skills, technology, 

equipment and gastronomy 

concepts. Here, as in the previous 

years, the finals of the two established 

professional competitions, “Chef of 

the Year” and “Patissier of the Year”, 

will once again take place. Customers 

from the out-of-home market have 

numerous points of contact here, 

which offer information, entertainment 

and contact to the stars of the 

cooking scene. 

35

All of the Anuga trade shows are displaying 

an excellent alignment. A brief 

overview: 

Anuga Fine Food - the trade show 

for delicatessen, gourmet and basic 

food - the largest of the Anuga trade 

shows unites a comprehensive and diversified 

offer from all over the globe. 

Numerous nations take part here at 

joint pavilions, which present the typical 

food and beverages of their home 

country. 

Anuga Frozen Food - the 

trade show for frozen food 

The frozen food segment is one of 

the most important trendsetters 

within the trade and on the out-ofhome 

market. At Anuga, the international 

industry regularly presents its 

innovations for both channels. Here 

among others big groups from the 

European manufacturing countries 

such as Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, 

Croatia, the Netherlands and Portugal 

with the frozen foods association ALIF 

- Associação da Industria Alimentar 

pelo Frio - are participating here. But 

also groups from Argentina, Ecuador, 

Peru and the USA enrich the international 

spectrum of frozen foods. 

Last, but not least the German Frozen 

Foods Institute, dti, once again has its 

central point of contact at Anuga Frozen 

Food. 

Anuga Meat - the trade show 

for meat, sausages, game and 

poultry 

Comprising of the sub-segments 

sausages, red meat and poultry, the 

world’s largest business platform for 

the meat market offers the trade 

buyers an excellent orientation. The 

groups stands that are represented 

here include Argentina, Australia, 

Brazil, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, 

Spain, Turkey, Uruguay and 

the USA. Smaller group stands from 

Canada and South Africa as well as in- 

India is 

Partnerland, 

Turkey is the 

most leading 

foreign 

national 

pavilion with 

almost 300 

exhibitors 


dividual exhibitors from New Zealand 

round off the international spectrum 

perfectly. 

Anuga Chilled & Fresh Food 

- the trade show for fresh 

convenience foods, fresh 

delicatessen, fish, fruit & 

vegetables 

The trendsetter segment, which has a 

regular spot at Anuga, targets above 

all customers, who have little time, yet 

high demands in quality and freshness 

and thus offers the trade and the outof-home 

market attractive profiling 

opportunities. The exhibitors include 

Condelio, Kühlmann, Rügen Fisch, 

Renna, Settele, Wewalka and Wolf 

Wurstwaren. There are new group 

participations from Ecuador, Ireland 

and the USA. 

Anuga Dairy - the trade show 

for milk and dairy products 

Bundled, international competence 

for milk, cheese, yoghurt & co. The 

complete white and yellow line is 

represented in Cologne. Anuga Dairy 

37

offers the most comprehensive overview 

of the international dairy market 

worldwide. Joint participations from 

Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, 

Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, 

Austria, Poland, Switzerland, 

Spain and Cyprus demonstrate the 

large spectrum of the offer. A group 

from the Czech Republic will also be 

exhibiting at Anuga Dairy for the first 

time. 

Anuga Bread & Bakery 

Bread and bakery products in combination 

with jam, honey, chocolate-nut 

spreads, peanut butter and other 

sandwich spreads are an equally important 

assortment for the trade as 

well for the morning breakfast buffet 

of hotels. The trade show presents a 

comprehensive overview of the extensive 

international offer. As a result 

of separating the hot beverages off 

from the “Anuga Bread & Bakery” 

trade show, it was possible to restructure 

this trade show which now benefits 

from more space. The response 

to this is also excellent. 

Anuga Drinks 

Beverages for the retail and food 

service trades. Anuga offers a wide 

selection of products for both target 

groups: From alcohol to alcohol-free. 

Furthermore, the special event “Anuga 

Wine Special” presents an attractively 

designed offer of wine in combination 

with tasting sessions and 

specialized lectures. 

Anuga Organic 

“Anuga Organic” presents a wide 

range of organic products from 

Germany and abroad with a clear 

focus on export. The exhibitor offer 

is enhanced by the “Anuga Organic 

Market” special event. Exclusively 

products are represented at “Anuga 

Organic”, which carry an approved 

organic certification that is a standard 

on the market. 


Anuga Hot Beverages 

For the first time, Anuga is presenting 

coffee, tea and cocoa at their own 

trade show and is thus doing justice 

on an international level to the theme 

that is attractive for both the trade 

and the out-of-home market. 

Anuga Culinary Concepts 

The out-of-home market is growing 

further and also provides the 

trade with new impulses. The newly 

launched Anuga Culinary Concepts 

offers room for ideas, innovations 

and networking. The exhibitors here 

include AHT, CSB Systems, DIAGEO, 

Dick, Ille and Unilever. Among others, 

the top-class finals of the “Chef of the 

Year” and “Patissier of the Year” will be 

held on the integrated “Anuga Culinary 

Stage”. 

Partner country India 

With its multi-faceted food industry, 

India is the ideal casting for the role 

of the partner country of the world’s 

39

largest and most important trade fair 

for food and beverages. But also with 

its international famous and globally 

widespread cuisine, India offers many 

opportunities to convince the trade 

and the food service sector of its diversity 

and efficiency. 

As group organizers the Indian Trade 

Promotion Organization (ITPO), the 

Agricultural & Processed Food Export 

Development Authority (APEDA) 

and for the first time the Indian Oilseeds 

and Produce Export Promotion 

Council (IOPEPC) are represented at 

Anuga by numerous Indian firms. Beyond 

this, many individual exhibitors 

are participating. Hence, there is going 

to be a record number of Indian exhibitors 

at Anuga 2017. In addition to 

tea and spices, rice, cereals and pulses, 

the products exhibited also include 

ready-made meals and organic products. 

Supporting program 

Congresses with high-profile line-ups, 

lectures and award ceremonies, various 

special events as well as the show 

stage “Anuga Culinary Stage” offer information 

and entertainment at Anuga 

and enable an exchange within the 

industry. 

Initial overview: 

* Anuga Executive Summit 

* Professional Foodservice Forum 

* Anuga OliveOil Market (special 

event) 

* Anuga Wine Special with award 

ceremony (special event and seminar 

program) 

* Anuga Organic Market (special 

event) 

* Anuga Taste Innovation Show (special 

event) 

* Anuga Trend Zone (lectures and a 

special event on the theme of trends 

by Innova Market Insights) 

* Final of the professional cooking 

competition “Anuga Chef of the Year” 

* Final of the “Patisserie of the Year” 

competition 

* Anuga Power Breakfast (lecture program 

for foodservice professionals) 

* iFood 2017 - Innovation Food Conference 

- the German Institute for 

Food Technology (DIL) is organizing 

the Innovation Food Conference, iFood 

Conference for short, on 9 October. 

The motto of this year’s conference 

is “Discovering megatrends in 

food”. 

* E-GROCERY CONGRESS @Anuga 

2017 - digital strategies in the retail 

trade, one of the prevailing trends in 

the retail business will be comprehensively 

presented and discussed for the 

first time. 

* DEHOGA Food Service Marketplace 

* BVLH RETAIL FORUM 2017 

* Grips & Co. - Final of the competition 

for aspiring professionals from 

the trade. 

The trade fair is open daily from 

Saturday, 7.10.2017 to Wednesday, 

11.10.2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 

p.m. Exclusively trade visitors are 

granted access. 


Fora Olives meets food 

kings of the world at “CNR 

Food Istanbul” 

Fora Olives, well-known with its wide product range and 

high-quality olives, has participated in CNR Food Istanbul, 

organized between 20 – 23 September 2017. Fora Olives 

gets the thumbs up from visitors showing up at CNR Food 

Istanbul, considered one of the important exhibitions of 

Turkey. 


Fora Olives, among the leading olive 

manufacturers of Turkey with the 

largest olive processing facility in the 

world in Balıkesir, came together with 

national and international companies 

in CNR Food Istanbul, in which more 

than 65,000 visitors from 85 different 

countries participated. The exhibition 

is visited by 500 companies, regarded 

as “food kings” of the world from 45 

countries, to make purchases, and was 

held in Yeşilköy, Istanbul between 20 – 

23 September 2017. 

THUMBS UP FROM VISITORS 

Fora Olives participates in CNR Food 

Istanbul, which gathers professionals of 

the food industry and creates opportunities 

for potential customers, with its

high-quality and healthy products and 

presents its black olives, cracked olives, 

stretched olives, fit, low-fat olives, olive 

pastes and olive oil products for visitors 

and other participants at the exhibition. 

Fora Olives is among the stands 

receiving the most attention in the 

exhibition with its olive and olive paste 

ranges, which are the essentials of 

breakfast and are among the first steps 

of a healthy diet. Following the tasting 

session, Fora Olives made an indelible 

impression with its wide product range. 

“WE ARE READY FOR 

HARVEST SEASON” 

Efe Yazıcı, General Manager of Fora 

Olives says that they have participated 

in many national and international 

exhibitions in 2017 and continues, “We 

aim to enter into new markets both in 

our country and internationally with 

the largest olive-processing facility of 

the world that we own. We continue 

to build strategic collaborations and 

communications at the national and international 

exhibitions in which we are 

participating this year. CNR Food Istanbul 

created a considerable opportunity 

for further cooperation and national 

and international expansion. Besides, 

harvest season is approaching. We 

have completed the preparations in 

our facility to harvest the highest quality 

olives of the season and to perform 

production under the best conditions. 

We are counting days to go through a 

fruitful and productive harvest season.” 

Efe Yazıcı 

Fora Olive General Manager 

43

A Story that 

Lasts 101 Years 

Poultry legend Keskinoglu keeps making history 

thanks to second and third generations 

1900-The first year of the 20th 

century saw the birth of İsmail 

Keskinoğlu. He was born as the 

first son of Fevzi Bey and Hatice 

Hanım, who were living then in a 

village linked to the Ravika Village 

in Drama, Greece. After his sister 

Fatma was born, he began to 

work as a shepherd in the Ravika 

village in order to help his family to 

survive. Hatice Hanım passed away 

due to an incurable disease. After 

a definite period, Fevzi Bey married 

another woman and he entered into 

the army when mobilization was declared 

in 1910. Fevzi Bey left his family 

with a stepmother, who did not care 

of his children. After a while, Ismail and 

Fatma had to leave, because their 

stepmother did not want to 

live with them anymore. 

Ismail and Fatma lived 

with their neighbors 

for a long time. Ismail 

stays there until he 

gets 21 years old. This 

charitable, good intended, 

brave old man, who looked 

after Ismail and Fatma, played 


İsmail Keskinoğlu 

an 

important 

role in Ismail’s 

life and Ismail considered this man 

as a model. The Greek people 

began 

to treat Ismail badly, because the Turkish 

and Greek girls living in that village 

were fond of Ismail and called him as 

“Handsome Ismail”. By the way he was 

homesick, because he knew that he 

was from Turkey, but he had not ever 

been in Turkey. One day a group of 

Greek young people mocked at Ismail 

by taking his fez and trying to 

make him wear a Greek costume. 

This was the moment Ismail understood 

that he could no more 

bear all this mistreatment. He began 

to fight against these Greek 

people and he injured one of them 

by means of his knife. He was able to 

escape from that crowd and he sheltered 

by a group of Turkish people. The 

involved young Greek people decided 

to kill Ismail. The relatives of Ismail 

warned him against the aggressive plans 

of the Greeks. Therefore, Ismail decided 

to find a place to hide himself for seventeen 

days and then he was 

secretly brought to Dedeağaç. 

Ismail set off 

for an unknown journey 

after having bargained 

for this with a 

Greek boatman for 

250 gold liras. His destination 

for this time was 

Enez. After a journey that

lasted for twenty one days, he arrived 

at Istanbul and took the train, which 

hosted people leaving Greece to arrive 

at the Sarıdoğan Village in Adapazarı, 

which was known as an area where 

Turks migrating from Greece inhabited. 

Ismail preferred a marriage of convenience 

and married Esma Hanım, to 

whom he got acquainted with thanks 

to the efforts of his close friends. Esma 

Hanım run in a rich and wealthy family. 

Esma Hanım gave birth to Cavit, Cavide, 

Hatice, Sevim, Yıldız and Sevdiye. However, 

the Keskinoğlu family became upset 

first due to the passing away of Sevim. 

Later the 4-year old Hatice passed 

away just one day before the 6-year old 

Cavide said a last goodbye to this world. 

The 7- year of Cavit passed just 15 days 

later and hence, the Keskinoğlu family 

experienced the grief of losing a child 

for the fourth time. 

Ismail began to work in the field of 

tobacco production together with his 

father in law. Since he found out that 

one could earn a lot by manufacturing 

tobacco, he decided to launch his 

own business in Akhisar. Therefore, he 

settled in Akhisar and began to manufacture 

tobacco. It was just a short time 

thereafter, when his father in law began 

to have faith in him. Keskinoğlu began 

to plow lands in order to manufacture 

tobacco every year and it took just 4 

years for him to become a wealthy 

man possessing a tobacco land of 100 

decares. Besides manufacturing tobacco, 

he began to operate in the field of 

transportation and it was then when 

Keskinoğlu turned out to be a leading 

company in olive transportation. Once 

upon a time he decided to help one 

of his customers while collecting olives 

from olive trees and traveled with him. 

As a result of this close contact, these 

two became close friends. Whenever 

this customer arrived at Akhisar, he insisted 

on visiting “Ismail from Drama”. 

When people asked the reason laying 

behind his insistence, the customer 

replied: “It is not something that you 

can know. This man is specially gifted”. 

After a long period, Ismail recognized 

that this customer was Vehbi Koç. That 

45

year his tobaccos were adversely affected 

from blue mold and he had to sell 

his products for the half price. This led 

to the end of his tobacco production 

career. Keskinoğlu paid his debts with 

the Money he received from his last 

harvest and decided to go to Erzurum 

in order to start a new era in his life. 

When Keskinoğlu arrived at Erzurum, 

he got disappointed because he could 

not find a suitable business atmosphere 

where he could work in the way he 

wanted. Therefore, he moved to Adana. 

While he was wandering around the 

bazaar of Adana, he came across a 

master, who was bending iron 

items and he decided to help 

him. Keskinoğlu worked 

for a period of 

5 days 

with 

this master and his productions were 

such excellent that the Master Ibrahim 

and his close friend Hacı Ömer Sabancı 

began to hold his effort in high esteem. 

At the end of the fifth day Keskinoğlu 

was introduced to Hacı Ömer Sabancı. 

The fame he gained as a transporter 

in Akhisar reached until Adana and Sabancı. 

Sabancı offers him to work together. 

Keskinoğlu replied: “For better 

or for worse…But always together.” 

H e 

lived in Adana and 

İskenderun for a long period and gained 

both Money and experience. Thereafter, 

he decided to return to Akhisar 

and took his sawing machine he bought 

from French people in Iskenderun. At 

first he arrived at Izmir by means of a 

boat and he left his wife in Akhisar. After 

a definite period, Sevdiye and Yıldız got 

married on after another. 

Although Ismail devoted his whole time 

to his work, he desired to have a new 

life and a new family. After a short time 

he married Zeliha Hanım, whom he 

believed brought luck to him. Zeliha 

Hanım gave birth to Fevzi, Ferihan 

and Mehmet. Time passes without 

halting. Ismail was working 

very hard and his sons provided 

support for 

him. It was 

just after 


a short while that Ismail and his sons 

turned out to be very successful in the 

fields they got involved to. After having 

dealt with lumbering and carpentry, 

Keskinoğlu laid the foundations of 

Keskinoğlu Group one day when he 

brought a rooster and chicken from 

Denizli. Keskinoğlu began to operate in 

the field of egg trade and as his son 

Fevzi insisted on enlarging the business, 

this three established miniature poultry 

in 1963. The two chickens they bought 

at the beginning were fruitful and after 

a short time they had 30 chickens. 

Keskinoğlu sold the excessive eggs to 

markets and then decided to get deeply 

involved in the commercial egg sector. 

Fevzi Keskinoğlu saw a hatchery in a 

public poultry during one of his visits. 

He was so astonished by what he had 

seen that he tried to construct his own 

hatchery with wooden planks. As a result 

of all these progresses, Keskinoğlu 

began to work in the field of chicken 

rearing for eggs. Only 3 broods came 

out of 700 eggs by means of this hatchery. 

However, Ismail did not give up the 

fight. A research was conducted and 

the Keskinoğlu family found out that 

none of the eggs placed in the hatchery 

were fertilized. When they discovered 

this unsatisfactory result, they collected 

fertilized eggs from villages and placed 

them into the hatchery in order to ob- 

47

tain numerous broods. This attempt resulted 

in a successful way and Keskinoğlu 

commenced to rear chickens for eggs 

thanks to this wooden hatchery. After a 

while, the three decided to take another 

new step by entering into the field 

of cage poultry. To this end, they manufactured 

cages in their workshops. Keskinoğlu 

became once more a leading 

firm, because they worked very hard 

with great enthusiasm. They made great 

progress in cage production. Therefore, 

Keskinoğlu decided to enlarge its borders 

and bought a land of 60 decares 

in the Kayalıoğlu Village, which was quite 

close to Akhisar. This new land was acquired 

for cage poultry and each house 

would have a capacity of 10.000. Later, 

they decided to establish an integrated 

structure in the poultry sector. 

The facilities that were put into service 

thereafter are; Keskinoğlu Feed Factory 

with a capacity of 8 tons per hour, 

Broiler Production Facilities each having 

a capacity of 35.000 broilers, a Viol 

Factory that manufactures 100 million 

units of egg package, a closed poultry 

in order to rear chickens for meat, The 

Keskinoğlu Integrated Chicken Processing 

and Evaluation Center with 

a production volume of 30.000 tons. 

What is more, the capacity of the feed 

production unit reached 30 tons per 

hour within this timeframe along with 

10-storeyed automatic poultry houses. 

Apart from all these developments, 

Ismail Keskinoğlu decided to construct 

the Ismail Keskinoğlu Primary School, 

which was granted to the Ministry of 

National Education in 1995. 

Ismail Keskinoğlu entered into the poultry 

sector in 2001 together with his 

sons Fevzi and Mehmet Keskinoğlu. After 

a while, Keskinoğlu Group became 

the first and single integrated poultry 

facility in Turkey. It was just then on 

April 18th, 2001, when Ismail Keskinoğlu 

passed away. 

After the passing away of Ismail Keskinoğlu, 

his sons and grandchildren followed 

the path he had shaped for them. 


TAT becomes leader in 

digital transformation with its 

“Pioneers of Tomato” project 

Hakan Turan: “We have 

taken the first step of our 

digital transformation 

vision with the mobile 

applications we have 

developed in order to 

add value to life by 

offering healthy, reliable 

and innovative products 

to the consumers 

everywhere by making 

use of our accumulated 

knowledge in the food 

sector.” 

TAT Gıda was established in 1967 in 

Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa and it currently 

engages in activities related to paste, 

ketchup, mayonnaise, tomato products 

and canned vegetables at Mustafakemalpaşa-Bursa, 

Karacabey-Bursa and 

Torbalı-Izmir plants. 

Hakan Turan Deputy General Manager 

of TAT Gıda who underlined 

the importance of digitalization in 

agriculture, said: “In our country 

we are a pioneer in the development 

of industrial tomato cultivation. 

One of the most important 

stages of our project is the digitization 

in agriculture. We are digitizing mobile 

applications that we develop, such as 

tracking of fields, online training for farmers, 

monitoring of plant development, 

online consultancy for farmers. We can 

also forecast the weather on a local 

basis through climate monitoring stations 

and 

analyze the risk of diseases that affect 

tomato growth. To sum up, using digital 

technologies, we are producing solutions 

for the establishment of a tracking 

and registration system for linking 

field data with product performance, 

increasing communication with farmers 

and supporting the development 

of farmers. “ 

He added, “The mission of TAT is 

to add value to life by offering 

healthy, reliable and innovative 

products to the consumers everywhere 

by making use of our 

accumulated knowledge in the 


food sector.” “With Tat Tomato Products 

which make cooking enjoyable, 

you can readily find the taste of summer 

tomato in the middle of winter. Besides 

the numerous health benefits of 

lycopene in Tat Tomato products, you 

can save both time and labor thanks to 

the practicality of Tat Tomato Products.” 

TAT Gıda organized a Tomato Festival 

participated by the citizens of the 

region. During the festival, 648 people 

applied tomato paste to 1500 slices 

of bread in 30 seconds in order to 

be qualified for the Guinness Book of 

World Records. 

The Company has brought the technology 

to produce diced tomato into Turkey 

in 1989, and it started to produce 

canned diced tomatoes and peeled 

whole tomatoes on the same line. In 

1997-98, Jar, Ketchup and Mayonnaise 

filling lines were established. In 2003, on 

the other hand, Magnum Diced Tomato 

Line, the welded lid technology, which 

is found in very distinguished plants in 

USA and only in TAT, Turkey in Europe, 

and which reduces the risk of aseptically 

diced tomatoes to one in a billion. 

vPlants have TS EN ISO 9001: 2008 

Quality Certificate issued by Turkish 

Standards Institute. In July 2003, Tat, 

SEK, Maret and Pastavilla merged under 

the name Tat Konserve Sanayi A.Ş. for 

the purposes of synergy between the 

trademarks, decreasing costs and more 

efficient use of resources and Tat Konserve 

has become one of the largest 

food companies in Turkey. Tat Konserve 

Sanayi A.Ş. the trade name be changed 

Tat Gıda Sanayi A.Ş. since November 

15, 2013. 

51

Anuga Frozen Food: This is 

where the international frozen 

food industry comes together 

Anuga Frozen Food is once again the 

central platform for the international 

frozen food industry. Over 560 will 

be presenting the broad spectrum of 

products, fields of application and services 

on gross exhibition space spanning 

28,000 m². The offer ranges from 

fish and meat, through to fruit and 

vegetables, from ready-made meals 

for single households, through to bulk 

packs for buyers from the communal 

catering and food service sectors. At 

Anuga, the industry regularly presents 

its innovations. The companies exhibiting 

at Anuga Frozen Food include 11er 

Nahrungsmittel, Agrarfrost, Ardo, Aviko, 

Erlenbacher, Gunnar Dafgard, Neuhauser, 

Pfalzgraf, Roncadin, Salomon Foodworld 

and Surgital. Furthermore, CPF, 

Délifrance and McCain are also exhibiting 

at Anuga Frozen Food. There are 

big group participations from Belgium, 

France, Greece, Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands 

and Portugal with the frozen 

foods association ALIF - Associação da 

Industria Alimentar pelo Frio - Serbia 

and Spain. Furthermore, groups from 

Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and the USA 


are also participating. The German Frozen 

Food Institute, dti, which has been 

the exclusive partner of Anuga Frozen 

Food since 2013, will also be represented 

again with contact partners 

and information at its centrally located 

exhibition stand. In total, over 7,400 

companies from 107 countries will be 

exhibiting at Anuga from 7 to 11 October 

2017. Anuga is the largest trade 

fair for food and beverages worldwide. 

The frozen food segment is one of 

the most important innovation drivers 

both for the retail trade and the 

out-of-home market. The supermarket 

freezers contain numerous product innovations, 

for example in the sections 

desserts, smoothies, vegetarian snacks 

and burgers as well as new hybrid 

product variations. Convenience is and 

remains to be an important theme, as 

are small and portionable product sizes. 

The current food trends are also reflected 

in the frozen food ranges: Vegan 

alternatives, organic, free-from, halal can 

also be found in the frozen food departments 

in addition to international 

specialities. Furthermore, the consumer 

enjoys combining frozen products with 

fresh ingredients. 

Food shortages and food wastages are 

also important themes in the frozen 

food industry. Particularly here frozen 

products offer many solutions for the 

resource-saving processing and the corresponding 

implementation of goods. 

According to the dti, the German frozen 

food market is also experiencing 

further growth. Both the consumers 

and professional chefs like using frozen 

products. In 2016, a significant 2.5 percent 

growth in volume was recorded. 

The overall sales of frozen products 

in Germany increased up to 3.632 mil. 

tonnes in 2016. The turnover with frozen 

products increased up to €13.806 

billion. Pro capita the Germany consumed 

on average 45.4 kg of frozen 

products in 2016 - in the previous year 

it was 44.5 kg. Every household in Germany 

consumed on average 91.5 kg of 

frozen food last year. The frozen food 

industry can thus look back on a very 

successful fiscal year. 

For the first time ever, in terms of volume, 

more frozen food products were 

used in the out-of-home market than 

by the end consumer at home. The 

sales volume rose by 4.1 percent up to 

1.827 million tones. The out-of-home 

market turnover with frozen foods 

achieved a value of €6.236 billion last 

year, this corresponds to a growth of 

5.7 percent. This is also due to the fact 

that the food service sector and out-ofhome 

market are experiencing growth 

overall. For example the commodity 

group bakery products is profiting 

from the “to-go” trend. It increased by 

5.9 percent in 2016. 

53

Aves targets 100 m 

dollars in exports 

in 2017 

One of the 

companies in TIM 

1000 list, Aves is 

the seventh fastest 

growing company 

in export markets. 


We talked with Aves AŞ General Manager 

Onat Angı, a fast growing company 

in exports. He informed about their 

targets and said, “We aimed to put 

our Safya brand sunflower oil on the 

shelves in Turkey.” 

What are the measures you 

have taken for the health of 

consumers in your production 

process? 

All consumers demand safe and 

healthy food and the food industry has 

to meet these demands by observing 

all legal and moral rules and limitations. 

We also do not produce any food that 

we can offer to our family members to 

consume. Hygiene is the only consideration 

that we are taken into account 

during our whole production process 

from the first stage of acceptance up 

to the last stage of production ended 

in product warehouse. We have checks 

and control that are carried out either 

daily, weekly and monthly to keep our 

facilities clean and safe for infections. 

Under the framework of FSSC 22000 

and ISO 22000 quality management 

systems, periodic hygiene trainings and 

controls, including personal hygiene, 

food safety, quality control, documentations, 

product recalls, food allergens, 

health hazards and risks, etc. 

Will you mention about 

your production facilities and 

the technologies you have? 

How large is your annual 

production capacities? What is 

your proportion of domestic 

sourcing of raw materials? 

Aves, has designed Turkey’s larges and 

fully integrated oil seeds processing 

facilities on 120 acres land in Mersin 

equipped with latest technologies at 

international standards. In this facility 

1 million tons of vegetable oil and 600 

tons of refined oil is produced annually 

on crushing machinery that has 1500 

tons of daily capacity. Aves imports 35 

% of sunflower oil to the country and 

buy 20 % of sunflower seeds from domestic 

farmers.

Onat Angı 

Aves AŞ General Manager 

You have a good logistics and 

seaport facilities over your 

competition. What are the 

other advantages you have 

that makes your company so 

different and so powerful? 

We may summarize the problems of 

the sector in Turkey: lack of scale economies, 

logistics costs and lack of full 

integration. Strategic location of the 

company in Mersin, one of the important 

center for world trade, Savka open 

seas loading and discharging wharf, a 

transport fleet of 70 tanker 30 heavy 

duty trucks are our advantages over 

our competition. Besides, having a business 

history in international financial 

markets, long term agreements with its 

partners, make Aves powerful. 

Though you located in Mersin, 

you have firms in many parts 

of the world for trade and 

marketing. What is your 

volume of exports and your 

targets? 

Our export volume was 70 million dollars 

in 2016. 20 % of our sales come 

from export operations. Our sunflower 

oil is exported to more than 30 

countries. We are expanding our ex- 

55

port markets entering new countries, 

from Middle East to far east. We ranked 

among the list of prestigious companies. 

We have managed to be the 7th 

fastest growing firm in exports in the 

TIM 1000 list with our 79 % growth last 

year. Our export target for 2017 is 100 

million dollars. 

Safya brand is positioned on the purity 

of the oil. It is not blended, it is pure 

sunflower oil. Actually, Safya, means 

pure oil in Turkish. Blended oils threatens 

the health of consumers and against the rules of fair trade and competition. 

Our pure oil are healthy and safe for digestion. This products is available at the 

shelves of almost all food retailing chains. 

What is your next target? 

We want to invest more on the people and on our brand. 

Our major aim is to be a global player 

with our powerful quality. We have 

established companies in Dubai, Russia, 

Ukraine and Iraq for trade and marketing. 

Aves targeted to be the third largest 

company with its Safya brand oil. 

How is your brand positioned 

in the market? What is the 

basis of your success? 


With over 1,800 companies 

confirmed, HostMilano 2017 

outshines the 2015 edition 

The countdown to the 40th edition 

of HostMilano has now begun, the 

trade show that will be taking place 

at Fieramilano from Friday 20 to 

Tuesday 24 October and that will be 

celebrating with the leading event 

for the Ho.Re.Ca., food service, retail, 

mass-market and hôtellerie industries. 

Growing numbers compared 

to the same period in 2015 

HostMilano - International Hospitality 

Exhibition is already boasting 

sensational numbers, just before five 

months to go to the cutting of the 

ribbon, promising to further build on 

the success of the last edition: as of 

today, 1,824 companies have confirmed 

their attendance, including 

1,092 Italian (59.9%) and 732 international 

firms (40.1%), representing 

an increase of 11.4% compared to 

the same period in 2015. 

Nine new entries amongst 

the participating countries 

The progressively international nature 

of HostMilano, which will see 

55 different countries being represented 

on the opening day, is 

substantiated by eight new entries 

- Belarus, Egypt, Lichtenstein, New 

Zealand, Serbia, South Africa, Sri 

Lanka and the Ukraine - which will 

be taking to the stage for the first 


time, while Canada will be back following 

the 2011 edition. Excluding 

Italy, Europe will boast the largest 

number of companies (73.5%), with 

Germany, Spain and France topping 

the list, followed closely by the USA, 

the United Kingdom, Switzerland, 

Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal 

and Austria. 

As regards the product categories 

represented by the companies, the 

Foodservice Equipment and Bread 

Pizza Pasta macro-sector equates to 

45.7% and is also the most heavily 

represented with 729 participants. 

The other two macro-sectors are as 

follows: Coffee Tea - Bar Coffee and 

Vending Machines – Gelato - Pastry 

(36.5%) and Furniture and Tableware 

(17.8%). 

1,500 buyers from all over the 

world will be in attendance 

Selected owing to the growing investment 

in profiling and the ever 

closer collaboration with the ITA 

(Italian Trade Agency), there will be 

over 1,500 hosted buyers arriving 

from Europe (10%), the Mediterranean 

and South Africa (7%), the 

Middle East (15%) Northern America 

(23%), Central and Southern 

America (8%) Russia (18%), Asia and 

Oceania (19%). 

Hundreds of meetings and 

events in addition to business 

activities 

The 40th edition of HostMilano - International 

Hospitality Exhibition has 

not however been designed solely 

for business opportunities in all the 

various Ho.Re.Ca sectors, but is also 

a place where training and learning 

opportunities abound. In addition 

to professional meetings, there will 

in fact also be an extensive number 

of events, including workshops, training 

opportunities, round tables and 

show-cooking demonstrations. The 

visitors will be able to freely attend 

the hundreds of events overseen by 

Host and will have the opportunity 

to get the lowdown on all of today’s 

‘hot’ topics. 

EXIHS will shine a spotlight on the 

age-old tradition of Italian hospitality, 

thanks to the return of the concept-space 

by architect Dante O. 

Benini, designed this year in partnership 

with Davide Rampello: a great 

cube that recounts the history of 

hospitality through the use of surfaces 

and material. Nearby, there will 

be a lounge area that will feature a 

background wall showcasing Italian 

agricultural and cooking staples. 

As regards catering, the APCI (Association 

of Italian Professional Chefs), 

through the Obiettivo Apprendistato 

(Apprenticeship Objective) training 

project, will see the most talented 

newly-qualified young chefs attend 

the fair after having been selected 

following a lengthy process. For its 

part, the Identità Future space, organised 

in collaboration with Identità 

Golose, will see chefs take part 

in compelling show-cooking demonstrations 

where the latest frontiers 

in haute cuisine will be showcased. 

There will also be a space dedicated 

to the world championship finals of 

the ‘Cake Designers World Cham- 

59

pionship’ and the ‘World Trophy of 

Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate’ in 

collaboration with FIPGC (International 

Federation Pastry Ice Cream 

Chocolate). 

Moreover, Altoga (Lombard Association 

of Coffee Roasters and Importers 

and Food Wholesalers) will be 

joining forces with Fipe at Host 2017 

for Caffè e…, the event dedicated 

in its entirety to the coffee industry. 

The same theme will be the focus 

on 21 and 22 October for the 5th 

Gran Premio della Caffetteria Italiana 

(Italian Coffeehouse Grand Prix), organised 

by AICAF (Italian Academy 

of Coffee Masters), and supported 

during the finals by Altoga, so as to 

promote made in Italy professionalism 

and products. 

Last but not least, the schedule of 

training and entertainment events 

devised by Mixer with Planet One 

will be taking place: 

HostMilano will provide an opportunity 

for them to reveal the magic of 

mixology through professional workshops 

and Food Shows intended to 

discover natural herbs and medicinal 

plants. 

Agreements with international 

associations get the go ahead 

As part of a strategy that has seen 

extensive promotion the world over 

so as to reach a wider audience, the 

event taking place next October has 

also been devised to focus on this 

edition’s target areas - the USA, Canada 

and the Middle East - for which 

various activities to attract visitors 

have been organised through agreements 

with respected international 

associations. 

As regards the North American 

market, in particular, after having obtained 

prestigious certification from 


the Commercial Service of the US 

Department of Commerce, which 

authorises the official presence of the 

country at HostMilano, the fair has 

confirmed a number of partnerships 

with important associations such as 

ASID (American Society of Interior 

Designers), IDC (Interior Designers 

of Canada), ISHP (International 

Society of Hospitality Purchasers), 

NEWH (The Hospitality Industry 

Network), BAC (Baking Association 

of Canada) and the NYC Hospitality 

Alliance. These are the very latest 

companies that will be joining those 

with Feda ( Foodservice Equipment 

Distributors Association): Ocsa (Ontario 

Convenience Stores Association), 

WCSA (Western Convenience 

Stores Association) and Restaurants 

Canada. 

This being said, when discussing 

agreements, HostMilano does not 

focus solely on North America but 

on all the most interesting of markets. 

Subsequently, the most recent 

agreement has been made with 

CEDA (Catering Equipment Distributors 

Association), which includes 

almost 100 distributors of products 

and services for the catering industry 

in the United Kingdom. Spain’s 

AFEHC (Asociación de Fabricantes 

Españoles Exportadores de Equipamientos 

para Hostelería y Colectividades) 

also operates in the same 

sector, while the collaboration with 

two organisations that have had an 

active and constructive role in the 

Milanese event for some time now 

is set to continue: FCSI (Foodservice 

Consultants Society International), 

which brings together professionals 

specialised in the provision of consulting 

services in the catering and 

hospitality industry all over the world. 

SCA (Speciality Coffee Association), 

which as of January 2017, merged 

with SCAA (Speciality Coffee Association 

of America) and SCAE, (Speciality 

Coffee Association of Europe). 

61

Aktaslar targets to 

enter markets abroad 

A group in the 

bakery industry, 

Aktaslar prepares 

for Anuga Fair to 

introduce pita that 

represents Turkish 

culture to world 

markets. 


Known as a famous taste in Blacksea 

region, Aktaslar Pide, headquartered 

in Ordu province, opens first branch 

in Bagdat avenue, Istanbul, as Nelipide 

adds two new ones in Atasehir 

and Beylikduzu. The company registered 

its Pideor brand aiming to introduce 

its special pitas to markets 

abroad. The company produces 20 

tons of frozen bakery products daily. 

Chairman of the board Tamer Aktas, 

informed about his organizations 

both in Turkey and in abroad. 

Would you tell us about the 

emerging story of Aktaslar 

brand? 

Established first in 1981 in Ordu as 

a small pastry shop having about 

ten employers serving customers 

at ten tables. Since 2001 we have 

been managing our business with 

my brother. Recently, we decided to 

grow by opening new branches and 

established a logistics and procurement 

section with an aim to supply 

our branch operations. 

Having 4 thousand sqm space our 

production facility is in Ordu organized 

industrial zone. Products are 

processed without using any protective 

chemicals and have a shelf 

life about one year. Our factory is 

able to produce 20 tons of frozen 

products per day. We provide employment 

for about 450 people, we

have five storage space there in 

Istanbul, one in Ankara and one 

in Samsun. 

What do you have to say 

about Nelipide brand? 

We developed a concept to emphasize 

especially on pita (known 

as pide in Turkish) and named it 

Nelipide, meaning “with what 

pide?”. Everybody asks the kind of 

materials to be used in the pita; so, 

all people mention our name by 

ordering their choices. Our first 

branch for this brand has been 

opened in Bagdat avenue, in Istanbul, 

that was followed the ones in 

Atasehir and Beylikduzu. Now we 

own six brands three in Istanbul 

and three in Ordu, our home city. 

Tamer Aktas 

Chairman of the board 

Earlier pita was sold slum outlets 

while fish, kebabs and other 

foods were sold in more prestigious 

places. There were no location 

that offers great services for 

pide=pita lovers. We aimed to attract 

them to our Nelipide brand. 

What are your targets by 

the end of the year? 

At the beginning we had considered 

to sell as franchise, aiming 

to have 12 outlet by the end of 

2017. However, events, processes, 

economic climate, investment 

cost and our sensitivity for better 

production, we changed our 

minds. Now we want to grow 

by opening new branches of 

our own. We planned to open a 

branch in Ankara. 

For franchise operations we registered 

Pideor brand for faster 

growth both in the country and 

in the markets abroad. Naturally, 

this is a long-term project. 

63

Whit Pideor, we offer economic 

products that can be served in 90 

seconds to our customers in fastfood 

business. Pideor has variety 

of choices for customers. We developed 

new varieties by looking 

to pita from the world outside, not 

from pita to the word. Our concept 

requires less space and investment, 

and offers delicious, quality and 

healthy products at economic prices 

and fast. We aimed to expand in the 

markets abroad. 

Which countries do you 

target to penetrate? 

Retail chains are of third channel to 

reach consumers as Pideor. Our frozen 

pitas are already sold in leading 

retailers including the BIM, Migros, 

Carrefour, Macro Center, etc. “We 

supply to famous and respectful 

brands and we are about to finalize 

our new contracts with some more 

recognized brands. 

We aimed to be the greatest producer 

of Pide. The first branch of 

Pideor will be opened in Spring season 

in Besiktas Barbaros avenue. We 

planned to have 400 branches, starting 

with 20 then 112 and 400. Following 

the completion of the growth 

project in Turkey we will begin operations 

in abroad. We have contacts in 

Qatar and in Saudi Arabia. We gave 

permission for 5 branches in Cyprus, 

and we develop plans for Kazakhstan 

and Ukraine markets. 

Do you consider entering 

food fairs to realize your 

global targets? 

We are going to participate in Anuga 

fair in Cologne, World Food Moscow 

and Dubai Gulfood. We planned to 

deliver our frozen products to Georgian 

market. Our products are in the 

customs to reach to Germany and 

Qatar markets. We keep expanding 

our market coverage in abroad. We 

have deals with 60 companies and 

Turkey and 50 firms in abroad. 


Her Excellency 

Turkish apricots! 

The following Turkish apricot crop information 

has been provided by Banu 

Er of Doraintrade which is working as 

an agent, broker and consultant at international 

markets targeting to establish 

a strong link between producers 

and buyers on trust basis. Doraintrade 

has been tracing the market on behalf 

of producers and buyers in order to 

give feedback and market reports from 

the source regularly. The crop information 

follows: 

Turkish Apricots 2017 crop harvest 

started in the production area of 

Malatya. This year, harvest was around 

2 weeks later than usual due to cooler 

and rainy spring season and necessary 

hot and dry weather for harvest arrived 

to the production areas. 

As every year, at the beginning of the 

harvest, we have visited wide production 

areas in Malatya, performed our 

own survey and met with the farmers 

to hear their expectations and learn 

their new crop production behaviors. 

Beginning of the harvest by shaking the 

tress with machinery or by hand and 

collecting the fresh apricots from the 

plastic shields covered at the bottom 

of trees. 

If the production will continue, dried 

natural or organic Apricots, fresh products 

are spread over the shield for drying 

process immediately. 

When the Apricots dry for 2-3 days 

they become soft enough for pitting 

without damage. Pitting process is the 

most costly process for labor expenses 

in the orchards. Women workers can 

pit max 5-6 cascades after whole day 


work. Unfortunately, there is no still 

efficient machinery for Dried Apricots 

pitting without certain damage to the 

fruits. 

After pitting process Natural apricots 

lie under the sun lastly for few days 

more in order to come to the last stage 

and ready for raw material markets. 

On the other hand, conventional So2 

Dried Apricots are stored in So2 burning 

tents of rooms just after the harvest. 

Depending on desired high or low So2 

content at final product. Application 

and duration varies in the orchards. 

Drying and pitting process continue 

after So2 application for yellow color 

Dried Apricots as same as Natural apricots. 

Because it takes very long time to 

lose the So2 level for apricots (loose 

only 50-100ppm per month with good 

air circulation warehouses) after dried, 

growers mainly apply So2 according to 

the requests from the packers relating 

to export market’s So2 regulations. 

Finally dried Apricots are stored in the 

orchard warehouses and ready for 

market as raw materials to be further 

processed in factories. 

Although official declaration of estimated 

production quantity for Malatya 

dried apricots in 2017 crop was around 

142,000 mtons, general expectation of 

the region’s biggest packers as well as 

ours is above 160,000 mtons production 

in new crop. Meanwhile, estimated 

Natural production would be around 

10-15,000 mtons. 

There is a reality that Turkish Dried 

Apricots will have enough availability 

with all sizes this year. From our past 

experiences we can estimate price offers 

will be more settled and probably 

lower when the big raw material quantities 

are delivered. 

Same as previous years, organic buyers 

may need to contract as soon as possible 

in order to cover annual needs but 

for conventional business being no rush 

may lead the overseas buyers to better 

position for pricing in coming months. 

According to physical defects rate in 

2017 crop, price difference between 

Extra class, Class1 and Industrial may 

appear to be big. While Turkey has 

both extra quality and industrial grade 

enquiries from overseas markets, we 

believe the shipments will 

carry on in balance for 

all different qualities 

and sizes. 

We hope to have 

a good crop year 

for Turkish Apricots 

2017 and we 

would like to help 

you for your enquiries 

from globally unique taste of 

Malatya Dried Apricots. Below Chart 

shows figures of Turkish dried fruits 

varieties tonnage, average export prices 

with its comparison with last year 

figures. 

67

Turkish Minister &USA 

CEO unveil scientific 

breakthrough to save 

honeybees 

45 th Apimondia 

International 

Apiculture 

Congress 

Focuses on 

Staggering 

Losses 

Istanbul – At the 45th annual Apimondia 

International Apiculture 

Congress, Turkey’s Minister of Food, 

Agriculture and Livestock and the 

CEO of America’s Healthy Bees, 

LLC, unveiled the highly anticipated 

scientific breakthrough of BeesVita 

Plus. It is an advanced, organic nutritional 

system that researchers say 

can strengthen the immune systems 

and improve the health of billions of 

honeybees that face annihilation due 

to the unexplained epidemic of colony 

losses, worldwide. Minister Ahmet 

Eşref FAKIBABA, PhD, BeesVita Plus 

Italian inventor, Francesca Del Vecchio, 

PhD, Healthy Bees CEO, Lee Rosen, 

and Philip McCabe, President of the 

International Beekeeping Federation, 

announced the start of field testing 

of the new formulation by scientists 

at the Hacettepe Üniversitesi Bee 

Health Center in Ankara. 

Turkey’s Professor Queen Bee 

Tests Formulation 

The field tests will be supervised by 

Professor Asli Özkırım, PhD. She is 

one of the world’s most-respected 

honeybee biologists. She is affectionately 

known as “Turkey’s Queen Bee.” 


The professor will work with beekeepers 

at 10 biodiverse locations 

throughout Turkey testing the efficacy 

of BeesVita Plus. 

BeesVita Plus Global Testing: 

Saves Hives. Saves Lives. 

BeesVita Plus has already been tested 

in the field and in laboratories by the 

United States Department of Agriculture, 

at the University of Maryland, 

and at Argentinian, Brazilian and Italian 

agricultural research facilities and by 

beekeepers, around the world. 

Preliminary scientific data indicates 

that BeesVita Plus helps improve 

honeybee resistances to pesticides, 

parasites and diseases. According to 

studies, BeesVita Plus stabilizes colony 

populations, increases the weight 

of hives and improves longevity and 

productivity. 

Precision Patty 

BeesVita Plus is a pre-packaged dietary 

supplement patty that is placed 

in honey bee colonies. Honeybees 

eating the product, opposed to typical 

sugar water solutions fed by most 

beekeepers, receive a precise amount 

of essential nutrients and anti-oxidants 

that improve health. 

Minister Awaits Findings 

The Turkish Minister says, “It is very 

important for all nations to work on 

this worldwide pandemic and we are 

welcoming this new product and if it 

is confirmed by Turkish scientists l that 

it is really working then we will give all 

of our support.” 

Necessity: Mother of 

Invention 

Dr. Del Vecchio, a genetic biologist and 

family farmer, says, “I invented BeesVita 

Plus out of necessity; when bees in the 

agricultural community where I live in 

Italy started dying in masses.” 

She continues, “I am a scientist and so 

I started looking for answers in my 

laboratory. The result led to me 

to creating the BeesVita Plus 

formulation that I now have 

the chance to bring to 

the world to 

help save honey 

bees.” 

International 

Beekeeping 

President 

Philip 

McCabe, President of Apimondia, 

says, “BeesVita Plus is one of the 

most-exciting developments in the 

effort to save the honey bee in years.” 

Global & Turkish Honeybee 

Fatalities 

Worldwide and throughout Turkey, 

honeybees are dying at alarming rates, 

according to the International Beekeeping 

Foundation. Turkey boasts the 

world’s second-largest population of 

honeybee colonies. 

The Ministry reports that there are 

7 million colonies spanning Turkey’s 

780,000 square kilometers. Pine Honey 

production, which is mostly exclusive 

to Turkey, is being impacted the 

most, according to the Hacettepe 

University Bee Health Center. 

Honeybee Impact 

In recent years, honey bee lifespans 

have decreased from two months 

to, as short as, two weeks, according 

to beekeepers. The impact on crop 

pollination, honey production and the 

livelihoods of farmers and beekeepers 

has been staggering, according to reports 

from the United Nations Environment 

Program (UNEP). 

Turkey Testing 

Hacettepe University’s Professor Ozkirim 

says she is establishing test sites 

in multiple areas of Turkey with varying 

bio-diversities that feature varying 

species of honey bees so that she has 

a broad range of data to analyze. 

“I typically decline invitations to study 

most products; says Dr. Ozkirim.”However, 

I was so impressed by the initial 

data about BeesVita Plus that I decided 

to conduct my own research.” 

She continues, “So far, I have observed 

that honey bees like eating BeesVita 

Plus, which is a good initial indication 

since they often reject most manmade 

feed solutions. Yet, I am not prepared 

to issue any conclusions until I 

have sufficient time to fully investigate 

the product’s actual efficacy.” 

69

American CEO 

BeesVita Plus Chairman and CEO, 

Rosen, says, ”We believe through 

the use of our product, there will be 

no more colony loss throughout the 

world.” 

Rosen also emphasizes, “Not only is 

BeesVita Plus nutritionally effective, it 

is also cost-effective for Beekeepers 

who spend unproductive hours every 

day hand feeding their hives with 

homemade mixtures that do little for 

honey bee health.” 

Beekeeper Concerns 

Beekeepers attending Apimondia 

complain that government agencies in 

most countries fail to implement solutions 

to curtail colony loss. 

Beekeepers seek regulations that include 

preventing the use of systemic 

neonicotinoid pesticides that are 

absorbed by plants, which eventually 

release poison attacking honey bees’ 

neurological systems, thus paralyzing 

them in the fields, where they die 

because they cannot find their ways 

back to the hive. 

Pollination 

The honeybee is critical to crop pollination. 

Beekeepers transport their 

hives, in boxes, to farms, where the 

honey bee flies from plant to plant 

-- pollinating crops. Honeybees pollinate 

more than 40 crops including 

almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries, 

citrus, cotton, melons, pumpkins, tomatoes 

and more. 


Beta Tea adds value 

to Turkish tea 

Exploring the 

world’s best 

quality tea and 

representing it in 

Turkey Beta Tea 

aims to sell Turkish 

tea in global 

markets 


Selling 800 varieties of tea in the most 

parts of the world, Beta Tea has a processing 

facility in Turkey, as well. Sabiha 

Uslu, manager of corporate communications, 

says that they want to introduce 

new tea culture in Turkish market 

and Turkish tea to the global markets. 

She said they had focused on central 

European markets and would soon be 

sold in retailers. 

May we know about Beta Tea 

brand, at the beginning? 

Beta is headquartered in Adana and 

aims to build a tea brand from Turkey, 

a country that consumes tea the 

most. There are several tea trade 

centers in the world where so many 

teas are traded, but no Turkish brand. 

Beta wants to grow as an international 

brand and all our efforts and systems 

are built on this. 

Beta was founded in 1978 and has 

been in trade by the year 1993 as a 

tea exporter. Then, following the high 

inflation period in Turkey, it moved its 

operations to Azerbaijan and other 

Turkic countries to sell tea it imported 

from Sri Lanka to these countries. 

As we know taste of tea 

changes depending on the 

level of leaves from top to 

bottom. What kind of teas are 

you offering? 

We choose the best quality teas of 

the world. Seventeen people in our 

Sri Lanka office buy the best teas of 

the country. We are the third biggest 

player in tea bourse. We maintain the 

same quality all year long. Classification 

of teas is so neat. There are lots tastes 

in black tea category. The system runs 

different in Turkey. We grouped the 

teas as the first harvest, second cut 

and third cut. We process Turkish tea 

at our facility that we have built in 2012 

in Trabzon. 

What are the differences 

between teas produced 

in Turkey and the ones 

processed in abroad? 

There is a huge difference between 

them. Our factory in Turkey has been 

constructed by the people coming

from Sri Lanka. They have specific criteria 

for the classification of tea. Our 

production capacity is definitively less 

than the capacities of others, because 

we have more delicate process in the 

factory. When we asked them the people 

demanded quality, so we do not try 

to be cheaper than others. 

How large is your domestic 

trade volume? 

Very limited, at most, it was 5 %. We 

want it should be more. Russia, Kirghizstan, 

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are our 

markets. We are not among the top 

five brands in Russian market. We are 

the leader in other countries. We are 

preparing to take part in central European 

markets. We are the first tea 

company who is covered by Turquality 

program, an incentive and support 

scheme run by the state. It is hard to be 

a tea producer in Turkey. We support 

the economic value of Turkish tea with 

our expertness and productions. 

You are a trader in world tea 

markets. Where do you have 

your packing facility? 

We have business partners and distributors 

in several countries in the world. 

Which regions are important 

for you right now? To which 

country are you selling your 

products the most? 

We are the market leader in Azerbaijan, 

Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Beta 

brand is the major tea brand in Turkic 

countries for many years. We are still 

struggling in Russian market, a large and 

important market. We have dealers in 

Iraq and Middle East markets. Recently 

we are interested in central European 

countries. 

Our product varieties are suitable for 

offering the right choice to the right 

country having specific tea cultures. 

What can be said about the 

variety of teas? 

Opa is a popular one in the world. 

Black teas have soft and hard types. We 

have three tea brands, namely Howdah, 

Champion and Beta Tea. There are still 

difference in these categories. Onl Beta 

has 800 varieties. British tea is black 

granule, rather hard and it smoothed 

with additional milk, and preferred in 

certain regions. Azerbaijani people has 

similar taste as Turkish people. We also 

keep an eye on local varieties. We observe 

the tea drinking habits and preferences 

of the people in the world. 

In Turkey, we have particulate black 

teas and bergamot and citrus varieties 

though most people are not aware of. 

What do you do in order to 

explain the importance of teas 

to the people? 

We take part in several events and we 

want the people to have emotional 

contacts and experiences. We contact 

with our buyers directly to transfer 

our knowledge and experiences to the 

buyers. People see our brand on the 

shelves and our commercials on TV. 

We gift them metal tea boxes. 

Third generation of coffee 

lovers have emerged in Turkey. 

Nowadays, we are witnessing 

some cafes that serve tea 

imported from Sri Lanka. 

Does Beta Tea consider about 

entering retail chains? 

Yes, we do. We have plans for the 

opening our first retail store in Adana. 

People in this market drinks tea while 

socializing. Turkish people consumes 

tea more that the consume water. We 

are testing new varieties from time to 

time. Turkey is developing and people 

like to taste new products. However, 

original Turkish tea has a good reputation. 

We want to make it a global brand. 

73

Gulfood Manufacturing to 

underline Dubai’s status as 

global food supply chain hub 

1,600-plus exhibitors 

bound for MENA’s 

largest specialist food 

manufacturing and 

processing event 

as geographical 

location, stability 

and government 

investment affirm 

Dubai’s critical role 

in the future of food 

Dubai, UAE – As the world’s population 

figures continue to soar, 

so does demand for food with a 

United Nations Department of 

Social and Economic Affairs study 

revealing the global figure is growing 

annually by 83 million people 

and estimated to reach 9.7 billion 

people by 2050. Consequently, the 

need for food is set to increase by 

at least 60 per cent. 

In the GCC alone, population 

growth is forecasted to maintain a 

Compound Annual Growth Rate 

(CAGR) of 2.4 per cent to reach 

57.6 million by 2019, according to 

Alpen Capital. As a result, regional 

food consumption will rise by a 

CAGR of 3.5 per cent to hit 51.9 

million tons annually. 

Identifying an urgent need to address 

growing food demand in the 

region, fueled by a growing population 

with an increasing disposable 

income per capita, Dubai, boosted 

by its strategic geographical location, 

modern infrastructure, sociopolitical 

stability and commitment 

to economic investment has moved 

to the forefront of the international 

food supply chain industry. 

And Gulfood Manufacturing 2017, 

which takes place from 31 October 

to 2 November at Dubai World 

Trade Centre (DWTC) - will reinforce 

the emirate’s strategic objective 

to become a global hub for the 

food processing and supply chain 

industries. 

Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice 

President, Exhibitions & Events 

Management, DWTC, said: “Dubai’s 

geographical location, political stability 

and world-class infrastructure 

support the food processing sector 

and food export trade. The contin- 


ued growth of Gulfood Manufacturing 

is further evidence of how the world’s 

leading food industry providers view 

the show as a must-attend and Dubai 

as a preferred destination to both 

house and grow their global business.” 

Backed by a visionary leadership committed 

to diversifying the country’s 

economy - the food trade currently 

accounts for 11 per cent of the UAE’s 

GDP - Dubai has assumed a crucial 

role from manufacturing, processing 

and packaging, to re-exports and the 

growing importance of food security. 

The UAE is already the world’s biggest 

re-exporter of rice, accounting for 81 

per cent of global trade. 

Innovative government-backed initiatives 

such as Dubai Wholesale City and 

Dubai Food Park and private sector 

investment, highlighted by halal food 

producer Al Islami’s USD27.2 million 

facility at Dubai Investment Park, Brazil’s 

BRF SA’s USD150 million plant 

and Abu Dhabi’s National Food Products 

Co’s USD411 million facility at 

the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi 

(Kizad) have further cemented the 

UAE’s increasingly influential role in the 

food supply chain industry. 

“Government and private sector investment 

in the industry complement 

Gulfood Manufacturing as all major 

stakeholders continue to work together 

in Dubai’s quest to become the 

primary hub in the global food production 

value chain,” added LohMirmand. 

Emphasising the emirate’s high standing 

in the global food supply chain, Gulfood 

Manufacturing – the region’s largest 

food manufacturing, processing and 

supply chain event - will feature more 

than 1,600 local, regional and international 

food supply chain suppliers and 

service providers with thousands of 

buyers. Exhibitors from more than 60 

countries will be showcasing their latest 

innovations, including 30 national pavilions, 

with first-time participation from 

countries including Poland and across 

the CIS. 

Fresco NZ, a Dubai-based supplier of 

food processing and handling solutions, 

will be exhibiting for the fourth straight 

year and is fully aware of the role Gulfood 

Manufacturing plays in cementing 

Dubai’s role as a key player in the global 

food manufacturing industry. 

“Gulfood Manufacturing provides us 

with a tailored platform to exhibit our 

products to new and existing regional 

customers. It also allows our customers 

to see we are locally based and 

committed to servicing their needs 

pre- and post-sale,” said Ken Hetherington, 

Regional Director of Fresco NZ. 

“While Dubai’s global ambition will 

keep re-exports high, the need for in- 

75

creased local manufacturing is growing 

because it reduces carbon footprint, labour 

costs and logistics - Gulfood Manufacturing 

provides these opportunities 

for growth.” 

To ensure participating companies can 

connect with the right partners and 

investors, Gulfood Manufacturing 2017 

will host the ‘Big Buyers’ Programme, 

which will host more than 2,000 

pre-qualified buyers from across the 

Middle East and Africa, with a pre-determined 

budget to spend with participating 

exhibitors. 

Also new for this year are the Gulfood 

Manufacturing Awards, which 

will recognise industry excellence in 

a glittering ceremony and gala dinner 

on the evening of October 31, while 

the Innovation Tours will offer visitors 

a memorable journey showing real-life 

innovations within some of the region’s 

top, award-winning food factories. 

An industry-leading conference will 

also be held on the sidelines of the exhibition 

featuring in-depth analysis, debate 

and discussion on topics including 

digitisation in the industry, smart manufacturing, 

big data and analytics. 

Gulfood Manufacturing 2017 will open 

from 10 am – 6 pm on 31 October 

and 1 November, and 10 am – 5 pm 

on 2 November 2017. The show is only 

open to F&B trade professionals and 

visitor attendance is free of charge. 


yummex Middle East: 

growing MENA market is 

driving snacks and sweets 

trends 

yummex Middle East (ME) has once 

again impressively demonstrated its 

top position as an international trade 

fair for sweets and snacks in the MENA 

region. The event took place for the 

first time under the new trade fair 

umbrella of the “Dubai International 

Hospitality Week”, with five other 

co-located trade shows: GulfHost, The 

Speciality Food Festival and SEAFEX 

Middle East, organised by Dubai World 

Trade Centre (DWTC), as well as The 

Hotel Show and The Leisure Show, 

organised by dmg events. Exhibitors 

and trade visitors thus profited from 

expanded access to the growing hospitality 

and foodservice market in the 

MENA region and were able to open 

up attractive new business potential. 

The consistently positive market situation 

in the region and the partner trade 

fair concept also promoted opportunities 

for successful business contacts and 

initiation of transactions in the hotel industry 

and food service sectors, as well 

as in the retail business. For the 11th 

edition, yummex ME demonstrated its 

importance as a central, firmly estab- 


lished business platform for sweets and 

snacks, and convinced with a high degree 

of internationality: 333 exhibitors 

from 43 countries presented their new 

products and trends to 8,507 trade 

visitors from 111 countries. Represented 

for the first time were exhibitors 

from Argentina, Romania and Switzerland. 

The largest national participation 

came from Turkey, Germany and 

Malaysia. Companies jointly presented 

their sweets and snacks offerings for 

the region in 18 regional and international 

pavilions. “yummex ME 2017 

was a complete success. Exhibitors and 

trade visitors profited from extensive 

access to the retail and hospitality sectors 

were able to utilise a variety of 

synergies and establish profitable business 

contacts. This further increased 

the attractiveness of yummex ME as a 

leading business platform for all those 

involved”, emphasises Gerald Böse, 

President and Chief Executive Officer 

of Koelmesse GmbH. yummex ME 

is organised by Koelnmesse and the 

Dubai World Trade Centre. 

In the context of the “Innovation Corner” 

special event, two themes were 

focused on during this year’s event: 

the yummex ME trend partner Innova 

Markets Insights presented “Sweet 

Trends” - global industry trends - and 

underlined their importance for the 

MENA region. The yummex Innovation 

Awards also presented prize-winning, 

innovative new products. 

The renowned market research company 

presented the top ten global 

trends of 2017 for the snacks and 

sweets world, as well as their transfer 

to the diversified and high- contrast 

market in the MENA region. Consumer 

trends like growing health consciousness 

and the focus on indulgence 

were presented on the basis of numerous 

new products in the sweets 

and snacks market. All of this offered 

exhibitors and trade visitors an ideal 

overview and numerous approaches 

for participating in the success of the 

booming sweets and snacks market in 

the MENA region. According to studies 

of Euromonitor International, the 

79

growth rate in the segment of sweets 

and snacks in the MENA region is 

twice as strong as the global average. 

Growing regional markets, increasing 

incomes and strong consumer behaviour 

present the manufacturers of 

sweets and snacks with ideal conditions 

for successful access to the market and 

for exploiting profitable potential. “It’s 

fantastic, on day one we have almost 

achieved our objectives. We met companies 

from various countries in the 

MENA-region and signed off distributors 

for three markets. We go to a 

lot of trade shows around the world. 

yummex is certainly one of the best 

trade fairs we have been to. The show 

is very professional and there is a lot 

of engagement. We will for sure rejoin 

next year“, says Eoghan Webb, Head of 

Export from Fulfil Nutrition. The trend 

overview, with its future-oriented presentation 

of innovations in the sweets, 

snacks, aromas and additives segments, 

was therefore an important starting 

point for many exhibitors and trade 

visitors. 

The “Innovations Awards” for especially 

innovative, newly-launched sweets and 

snacks products were awarded for the 

fourth time in four categories. The increase 

in the number of participants 

and of submitted products in comparison 

to the previous year demonstrates 

the growing interest in innovations, the 

awards and the benefit of the attractive 

additional presentation possibilities that 

come with the award. It underlines the 

venerable position of yummex ME as 

an industry meeting point and provider 

of impulses for trends and innovations 

in the MENA region. An independent 

jury of experts evaluated the many 

submissions for the competition from 

regional and international companies. 

The prizewinners were exhibited at 

yummex ME in the “Innovation Corner” 

and will also be presented in Cologne 

from 28-31 January 2018 at the 

ISM, the world’s leading trade fair for 

sweets and snacks. 

First class, handmade ice cream and 

confections from an international field 

of competitors were distinguished inside 

the Gelato and Pastry Lab. The 

recreated ice cream parlour and the 

confectionery shop attracted many 

spectators. Participants in the competition 

presented the high art of their 

profession in live demonstrations. The 

winner of the GELATO CHEF`S Cup, 

which took place as part of the Young 

Chef`s Hotel Challenge, is Mary Rose 

Perez. 

The next yummex Middle East takes 

place from 16 to 18 September 2018 

in Dubai in the context of the Dubai 

International Hospitality Week. 


To be a pioneer means 

to be “Öncü” thanks to 

carrying on some traditions 

As a result, Acemoğlu family started 

the establishment of Öncü brand. 

Within a very short time, the family 

put its plan into practice and expanded 

their business in homemade type 

tomato and pepper paste by establishing 

a full scale factory in 1998, to 

be the very first company to produce 

homemade type tomato and pepper 

paste in Turkey, following strict hygiene 

and safety rules. 

Despite the annual increase in the 

company’s production capacity, and 

due to the expanded demand on 

Öncü products, the company had to 

take a big decision in order to catch 

up the growing demand and increasing 

tomato and pepper paste market. 

Within 3 years, in 2001, the second 

Acemoğlu Food factory was established 

and put into practice in Tire located 

in Izmir. This factory specialized 

in homemade type pepper and tomato 

paste production. 

As a result of the significant increase 

in demand on homemade type pep- 


Due to the excellent quality paste produced by 

Acemoglu, the sales scale started to grow and expand 

significantly. Consequently, the demand on paste 

produced in the villages of Gaziantep has grown and 

increased. 

per and tomato paste, the production 

capacity had to expand in order to 

catch up the increasing demand. So 

the company decided to establish another 

3rd factory located in Gönen 

in Balıkesir city. The factory started its 

production in 2006. 

With the increase in demand on 

homemade type pepper and tomato 

paste, the company again decided to 

increase the capacity by establishing 

the 4th factory in 2010 located in 

Torbalı/Izmir. In order to produce high 

quality paste, Acemoğlu Food industry 

offered the nearby farmers incentives 

and supported them to get the highest 

quality pepper and tomato to deliver 

the wanted and expected high quality 

products to consumers. By 2013, 

Öncü products includes mild and hot 

pepper paste, and tomato paste packaged 

in PET, tin, and glass bottles. In 

addition, Öncü has variety of products 

such as pomegranate sauce as well 

as cig kofte, pepper flakes, ketchup, 

mayonnaise, roasted eggplant, roasted 

pepper. In this way, Öncü widened its 

products variety, which consequently 

continues to enrich the research and 

development studies. 

Acemoğlu food industry established 

in 1998, had a humble start selling 

its products in Gaziantep and its surrounding. 

In the same year, after the 

significant increase in its capacity, and 

within challenging time period, Acemoğlu 

food industry started selling in 

all over Turkey, and exporting to Europe, 

USA, Asia, making Öncü products 

to be proudly exported to more 

than 20 countries, characterizing itself 

as the leading company in its field all 

around the world. 

Öncü Salça has proudly several awards 

including the US Quality Award that 

was awarded in 2009, the Consumer 

Quality Award which was awarded in 

2010, Trustful Brand Award which was 

awarded in 2011, and Eurasia Quality 

Award, which indeed prove and support 

the high quality Öncü Salça own. 

83

WorldFood Istanbul 

opened its doors for 

the 25th time! 

The WorldFood Istanbul International 

Food Products and Technologies Exhibition, 

which opened its doors for the 

25th time this year, welcomed 13.198 

visitors between September 7th and 

10th WorldFood Istanbul, with its 

broad participation, provided its exhibitors 

new business and business development 

opportunities and led the 

latest developments in the food sector. 

WorldFood Istanbul, which is the 

“Where the World of Food Meets” 

and has pioneered the exhibition of 

the latest products, services and technologies 

in the Turkish food sector to 

this day, provided information on many 

different topics to the food sector with 

the conference program, which was 


held simultaneously with the exhibition, 

showed its exhibitors and visitors 

the future of food sector and created 

awareness. Expert speakers in the international 

arena shared their impressions 

and ideas, giving participants a 

vivid vision. 

Supported by the Turkish Ministry of 

Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the 

Turkish Ministry of Economy, the Turkish 

Federation of Food and Drink Industry 

Associations (TGDF), KOSGEB, 

TÜGİDER, MARSAP and PAKDER, 

WorldFood Istanbul hosted many activities 

this year as well. 

The Marmara Regional Procurement 

Managers Platform (MARSAP), which 

has many hotel procurement managers, 

took its place at WorldFood 

Istanbul. WorldFood Istanbul brought 

together the procurement managers 

of many hotels with members of the 

MARSAP Association, and opened the 

doors for new business opportunities. 

The Turkish Cooks Association, which 

works to promote and enrich the 

Turkish cuisine and food culture, made 

delicious food shows at WorldFood Istanbul. 

The Cooks Association shared 

the interesting details and special presentations 

of the cooking art with the 

visitors by welcoming famous chefs 

and cooks throughout the event. At 

the stand of the Turkish Cooks Association, 

which participated in the event

with The International Taste & Quality 

Institute - iTQi, the products of the 

domestic companies which won the 

“Superior Taste Award” were exhibited. 

In addition to this, the Superior Tastes 

Award Exhibition, which took place at 

the stand of the Cooks Association, has 

hosted the Turkish firms that won the 

Superior Taste award of iTQi, which is 

an independent organization consisting 

of chiefs and sommeliers. iTQi, operating 

in Belgium on testing consumer 

foods and beverages from around the 

world and introducing the tastiest ones, 

also organized a conference entitled 

“Superior Taste Award in the World” 

in the show area of the Cooks Association. 

The shows at the exhibit, which 

brought together all the stakeholders 

of the food industry, coloured up the 

event. Visitors also had the opportunity 

to experience new tastes in the 

shows. Gastronomy feasts set sail for 

new tastes. 

New products for the first 

time at WorldFood Istanbul 

At WorldFood Istanbul, held at TUYAP 

Fair and Exhibition Center, while visitors 

experienced many products for 

the first time, the exhibition took on 

an important role with the attendance 

of sector-oriented people and wide 

exhibitor profile. 

85

This year, the exhibition had featured a 

number of products, including beverages, 

milk and dairy products, meat and 

poultry products, fresh fruits and vegetables, 

seafood, frozen products, basic 

foods and oils, sugary products, bakery 

products, nuts and food components. 

Products, services and technologies 

in all processes from food production 

to end customers have met under the 

roof of WorldFood Istanbul. 

WorldFood Istanbul, which hosted 

national and international brands, provided 

sectoral information flow with 

conferences forming platform for new 

business opportunities and collaborations. 

At the exhibition, which is Turkey’s 

greatest food gathering, visitors had a 

chance to listen to the views of the experts 

on topics such as “Turkish Food 

Codex Labeling Legislation, Health and 

Nutrition Statements”, “Food Products 

Import Legislation”, “Responsible Procurement 

= Sustainable Agriculture, 

we are responsible for every product 

we produce”, “Heat monitoring of cold 

chain products in storage and transportation, 

Indicator labels” and “Turkish 

Food and Drink Sector, Consumer and 

Trends”. Speakers who shared their 

comments on the food industry, pointed 

out important issues that provide an 

insight to the participants. 

This year, “International Hosted Buyer 

Delegation” from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, 

Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 

Algeria, Ethiopia, Palestine, India, 

Iraq, Sweden, Japan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, 

Northern Cyprus, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, 

Libya, Lebanon, Egypt, Uzbekistan, 

Pakistan, Rwanda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, 

Taiwan, Jordan, Greece were present. 

Retail Center hosted B2B 

Meetings 

The Retail Center area, where the international 

hosted buyer delegation 

were hosted and the B2B meetings 

were held, enabled different partnerships 

with hosted buyer delegation 

from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, 

Sudan and the United Arab 


Emirates. Semi Benbanaste, exhibition 

spokesman and ITE Turkey Food 

Group Director, said: “Turkish food sector 

is growing every year. Since the first 

day we started organizing WorldFood 

Istanbul as ITE Turkey, we are leading 

the development of the industry. In this 

direction, we aimed to bring together 

industry stakeholders, create new business 

opportunities and inform visitors 

about developments in the food field. 

There are billions of dollars worth of 

opportunities for exporters in the 

Turkish import market. Those who 

want to benefit from these advantages 

took the opportunity to contact food 

and beverage buyers at WorldFood 

Istanbul. WorldFood Istanbul provided 

a convenient environment for participants 

to reach food and beverage professionals, 

including distributors, retail 

representatives and members of the 

HoreCa sector.”

We starts every day 

with a new taste passion! 

To offer you more healthy, reliable, tasty chicken products… 

Dry Poultry Defeathering, Slaughtering by Hand, Halal Food Criterias, 

TSE quality certificates and awards, 

all of them is in order to raise your taste satisfaction. 

Since 1969… 

% 100 

Slaughtering By 

Hand

Quarter-wise increase 

in red meat, whereas 

yearly output drops 

Total red meat production was estimated 

as 260 683 tones in the 

second quarter as announced in 

the TURKSTAT release. Red meat 

production increased by 12.2% according 

to the previous period, it 

decreased by 3.4% when compared 

with the same period of last year. 

In total red meat production, the 

amount produced by slaughterhouses 

was 140 093 thousand tones. 

While cattle meat production increased 

by 10.3% according to the 

previous quarter with an estimated 

as 229,227 tones, it decreased by 

5.6% when compared with the same 

quarter of last year. Thanks to an estimated 

22,276 tones of production, 

sheep meat increased by 19.3% 

according to the previous quarter, 

whereas it decreased 2.1% when 

compared with the same quarter of 

last year stated by recently released 

TURKSTAT statistics. 


A taste of honey by 

Balparmak 

With his education behind him, Özen 

Altıparmak now needed to give direction 

to his future, yet he still remained 

undecided as to how he would establish 

his business life. 

This is not just the story of Balparmak, 

but also the story of the Turkish Honey 

Sector and the two brothers who 

brought the sector’s leading and distinguished 

brand, Balparmak, to life. The 

exemplary story began as a modest 

enterprise in Istanbul, and within a few 

years became known all over Turkey. 

Now the whole world is starting to 

hear and talk about it. 

Özen Altıparmak, the founder of Altıparmak 

Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., is 

one of the two brothers who created 

the Balparmak brand. He graduated 

from the Turkish Education Association’s 

(TED) Ankara College in 1971, 

and in 1978 completed his education 

at Middle East Technical University’s 

Department of Administrative Sciences. 

His independent and enterprising spirit 

on the one hand compelled him to 

start his own business, but on the other 

hand, conditions necessitated that 

he immediately find a job and start 

working. 

He took the employee entrance exam 

of Öğretmenler Bank, which was one 

of the biggest and most important 

banks at the time. He passed the test, 

and was offered a position on the permanent 

supervisory staff, but with the 

five-year mandatory service condition... 

Free spirit? Entrepreneurship? These 

qualities of Özen Altıparmak did not 

mesh well with this stipulation so he 

declined the job. 

He moved to Istanbul, which he thought 

was an opportune location to start his 

own business. There, he embarked on 

his professional work life while working 


on business projects. He worked at a 

variety of jobs. 

His last job was in the marketing 

department of a spice production 

and sales company. His success there 

turned out to be, in a sense, one of the 

most important factors in bringing him 

and Balparmak brand, to where they 

are today. 

The management at the spice firm 

advised Özen Altıparmak to found a 

marketing and distribution company to 

handle the Istanbul distribution of their 

products. 

The opportunity he had been waiting 

for had arrived. He accepted. He 

founded Altıparmak Pazarlama Unlimited 

with his father, Sabri Altıparmak, and 

his brother, Özgür Altıparmak. 

Özgür Altıparmak, who was born in 

Ankara in 1958, is now the Vice Chairman 

at Altıparmak Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret 

A.Ş. He manages analysis, product 

blending, and the filling facility. 

Özgür Altıparmak, who graduated 

from Gazi University’s Press Academy 

in 1983, entered business life while 

he was still a university student. He 

became a founding partner with his 

brother Özen Altıparmak, with whom 

he shared the same entrepreneurial 

spirit and vision. 

Before long, the company undertook 

the marketing, selling and distribution 

of a great many food products, which 

was in line with the two brothers’ common 

vision and goal, and became successful 

at it. 

One of these products was the specialty 

of a close acquaintance of their 

father: mankind’s natural, millennia-old 

friend and food, honey. 

As with every product, the selling and 

marketing of honey also requires the 

seller to know it very well. And to be 

acquainted with honey, to intimately 

know its qualities, its place in people’s 

lives, its laborious production, its burdened 

producers, presented the Altıparmak 

brothers with a brand new 

horizon. Their future lay in honey, in the 

honey sector. 

In those years, apiculture in Turkey was 

just beginning to develop, and scientific 

methods were seldom used in honey 

production. There was no brand of 

honey that was widely distributed, preferred, 

or even known to consumers. 

Because of this, the honey sector was 

an open field with a wide horizon and 

lots of work to be done. The Altıparmak 

brothers had the foresight and vision 

to notice this situation. 

Özen Altıparmak and Özgür Altıparmak 

saw that it was possible to develop 

apiculture, which was one of 

Turkey’s most prized lines of work, by 

putting a well-deserved premium on 

honey, which is one of Turkey’s most 

valuable resources. With this foresight, 

they decided to inextricably fuse the 

future of their company, Altıparmak, 

with the future of beekeeping and the 

honey sector. 

They would collect the choicest honey 

from the best regions in Turkey, and 

present it to consumers packaged in 

the safest and most hygienic way. Their 

long-term goal was to create a world 

brand from Turkey’s best honey. 

91

They gave it a name: 

Balparmak. 

The next step consisted of directing 

the process primarily through a consumer-oriented 

perspective that employed 

scientific methods and accurate 

solutions. This was accomplished 

through decisiveness and patience by 

an excellent team of personnel that 

took consumer needs and demands 

into consideration, and carried out a 

meticulous analysis of market conditions 

without sacrificing the principles 

of quality and management. 

Balparmak came on the market under 

the Altıparmak umbrella and in 1989 

became the top selling honey brand in 

Turkey. Altıparmak Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret 

A.Ş. assumed market leadership in 

1991 and maintains that position today. 

Under the title Altıparmak Gıda San. 

ve Tic. A.Ş., the Turkish honey sector’s 

leading corporation ranks among Europe’s 

largest honey producers with its 

annual operational capacity of 32,000 

tons, over 350 employees, and 30,000 

m2 of facilities. 

Balparmak differentiates itself through 

the standard of quality that it delivers to 

consumers, making it the leader of the 

industry. When it comes to food safety, 

the company operates in accordance 

with international standards, holding a 

FSSC 22000 food safety management 

system certificate as well as the BRC 

(British Retail Consortium) global food 

standard certificate, among others. 

The Balparmak Analysis Laboratory 

(APİLAB) ranks among Europe’s four 

most comprehensive honey-specialist 

laboratories and is the only lab of 

its kind in Turkey. The laboratory can 

analyze honeys gathered from every 

region in Turkey on 122 different parameters. 

With steady and decisive steps, Balparmak 

is forging ahead on the path to 

becoming a world brand. 


Crop & cereals production 

estimated to increase in 2017 

Increase was expected in the production 

of cereals and other crops, fruits 

in the first estimation of 2017 with 

rates of 4.4% and 9.7% when compared 

with the previous year, TURK- 

STAT announced in a latest release. 

Production quantities of cereals and 

other crops, vegetables, fruits in 2017 

were predicted approximately as follows; 

68.2 million tonnes for cereals 

and other crops, 30.3 million tonnes 

for vegetables, 20.8 million tonnes for 

fruits. 

It was estimated that in 2017, cereals 

production would increase with 

a rate of 4.4% when compared with 

the previous year and approximately 

become 36.8 million tonnes. 

It was foreseen that wheat production 

will increase by 5.8% to become 

21.8 million tonnes, barley production 

will increase by 11.9% and become 

7.5 million tonnes, rye production will 

increase by 6.7% and become 320 

thousand tonnes, oats production will 

increase by 11.1% and become 250 

thousand tonnes, when compared 

with the previous year. 

In the pulses group, it was expected 

that an increase will occur in broad 

beans to consume by 10.7% and 

production approximately become 

7 thousand tonnes, red lentil will increase 

by 7.2% and become 370 

thousand tonnes, potatoes will increase 

by 0.6%, one of tuber crops, 

and approximately become 4.8 million 

tonnes. 

In the group of oil seeds, it was expected 

that soybean production 


would decrease by 9.1% and become 

150 thousand tonnes. 

It was estimated that tobacco production 

will be 70 thousand tonnes with 

invariably, while sugar beets production 

will increase by 4.5% and approximately 

become 20.5 million tonnes. 

Vegetable production would 

be stable, whereas the fruit 

production estimated to elevate 

It was estimated that vegetables production 

would be no significant change 

in 2017 compared with the previous 

year, also stated in the TURKSTAT forecasts. 

Vegetables production in 2017 was estimated 

to be approximately 30.3 million 

tonnes with no significant change 

when compared with the previous year. 

When examining production of subgroups 

of vegetables, root and tuberous 

vegetables production was expected 

to decrease by 0.8%, and other 

vegetables not elsewhere classified was 

expected to increase with the rate of 

0.4%. 

The production of some important 

crops in vegetables; increments were 

expected in watermelon production 

by 3.3%, in pepper for processed, capia, 

by 12.1%, in carrots by 2.4% respectively, 

while decrements were expected as 

1.6% in tomatoes, 2.8% in dry onion, 

1.2% in melon. 

It was estimated that fruits production 

will be 20.8 million tonnes in 2017 increasing 

by 9.7% when compared with 

the previous year. 

When examining productions of some 

important fruits, it was estimated that 

there is increase in apple figures with 

the rate of 17.5%, in peaches by 6.3%, 

in cherries by 7%, in apricots production 

with the rate of 34.9% respectively, 

while decrements were expected in 

grape fruits by 13.5%, when compared 

with the previous year. 

In the citrus group, an increase was 

expected in mandarin production by 

14.2%. From nuts, pistachios production 

is expected to decrease by 50%. 

It was estimated that grape production 

will increase by 7.5%, and bananas production 

will increase by 3.9%. 

95

Russia to 

import Turkish 

tomatoes 

in certain 

periods 

Russia has decided to buy tomatoes 

from Turkey at certain times and three 

companies that meet the requirements 

will initially export them to the country. 

The green light was finally given 

regarding the embargo that Russia had 

applied on Turkish tomatoes. Russia decided 

to import tomatoes from Turkey 

at certain periods which the product is 

not grown by its own producers and it 

will additionally import other products 

such as tomato paste from Turkey. 

According to the decision taken after 

the contacts of Russian officials in 

Turkey, three companies that fulfill the 

technical requirements will initially export 

Turkish tomatoes to the country. 

According to the decision taken after 

the technical contacts of Russian officials 


Turkey, which produces 70 percent of 

tomato exports to Russia, faced a Russian 

embargo after the jet downing crisis 

between the two countries. Russia, 

which launched an economic embargo 

on Turkey as of January 1, 2016. The imposed 

import sanctions on many Turkish 

products such as tomato, orange, 

apple, apricot, broccoli, mandarin, pear, 

chicken and turkey, were later lifted after 

normalization talks began, with the 

exception of tomatoes. Turkey, therefore, 

intensified efforts to solve the crisis 

surrounding the crucial exports of 

tomatoes. 

The Turkish delegation that engaged in 

talks with the Russian delegation that 

came to Turkey, proposed to pave the 

way for exporting in the seasons when 

Russia cannot produce tomatoes. 

It was reported that Russians also 

leaned toward this proposal. According 

to the decision made after technical 

talks with Russian officials, three Turkish 

companies that meet the technical requirements 

will be the first to engage 

in exports with Russia. These three 

companies will be selected from those 

which have exported to Russia before. 

The export permit covers the entire 

year except for a few months when 

Russia can plant tomatoes. The permit 

is expected to take effect within a few 

months. Samples will be taken from 

Turkish tomatoes with the mechanism 

to be set up and then, tomatoes that 

meet the required conditions will be 

exported without any bottleneck in 

customs. 

Thus, problems associated with pesticides 

are expected to be avoided. With 

the said mechanism, there will also be 

no customs duties arising from the inspection 

with regards to the exports 

of tomatoes. 

With the new system, the Russian 

farmers who started to produce tomatoes 

in the greenhouses after the crisis, 

will not be victimized either. Russia’s tomato 

needs will be primarily met from 

the domestic producers. Especially, the

greenhouses in the southern part of 

the country are said to be working efficiently. 

Russia estimates that the tomato prices 

in the market will also drop as a result 

of renewed visa exports of tomatoes 

from Turkey. In 2014, Turkey exported 

$508 million in tomatoes and cucumbers 

to Russia, while prior to the 

embargo, 43 percent of the tomatoes 

consumed in Russia came from Turkey. 

Following the ban by the Russian government, 

Turkey’s exports of tomatoes 

increased by 500 percent to Belarus, 

200 percent to Poland, 200 percent to 

Azerbaijan and 130 percent to Nakhichevan. 

In addition, producers and exporters, 

regarding an increase in the tomato 

exports to countries neighboring 

Russia, said they are buying tomatoes 

from them and selling the product to 

Russia. 

and a very minor reduction value compared 

to the 2013 quarter. 

The official data also demonstrated 

that Turkey’s fresh tomato exports in 

2014 were valued at $426 million while 

$275 million of this amount came from 

exports to Russia, which signifies that 

Russia alone constituted 65 percent of 

the Turkey’s fresh tomato exports. 

According to the Turkish Exporters’ 

Assembly data from May, Turkey’s fresh 

fruit and vegetable exports to Russia 

increased by 503.7 percent in May and 

reached $2.12 billion. 

Indicating that the price of selling tomatoes 

to Russia before the crisis was 

around TL 4-5 ($1.14-1.42), Turkey’s 

Greenhouse Investors’ and Manufacturers’ 

Association (SERA BİR) Chairman 

Müslüm Yılmaz previously noted, 

“After the crisis, the tomato price in 

Russia was TL 13 ($4). Russian citizens 

consume tomatoes at a price that is 

three times higher that amount.” 

In the January-April period of 2016, 

Turkey exported 227,619 tons of tomatoes 

valued at $120 million. In the 

same period this year, 267,482 million 

tons were exported and the value of 

these exports was $161 million. Officials 

stated that Turkey’s tomato exports 

increased by 18 percent compared 

to the previous year, saying there 

was a value-based increase of 34 percent. 

They also said that tomatoes are 

entering the Russian market. 

Moreover, during the third quarter of 

2014, tomato exports to Russia increased 

by 89 percent in volume and 

96 percent in revenue compared with 

the same quarter of 2013, official data 

revealed. The fourth quarter of 2014 

saw a 2 percent increase in volume 

97

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Food Turkey Magazine October 2017

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