FoodTurkey-march2019

What’s hot, 

what’s new, 

what’s good at 

Gulfood! 

Attending ISM in Cologne was good. We distributed a great 

number of free copies at this world event in January as we do 

for a quarter century. Nothing is new in our attendance but we 

saw a lot of new things in the industry. It was sweet! 

We are now en route to Dubai as we do for over 15 years. We 

are excited to be there in our stand to cover the world event 

concentrating in setting trends and trade especially in the MENA 

region. 

Gulfood is the major entry point into the Middle East and beyond 

because retailers go there and take products and goods 

out across the wider Arabia region, Pakistan and India – here the 

business people hit numerous markets through a single platform 

because UAE is has a strategic location between the east and 

west, which makes it accessible to major emerging economies, 

linking shipping routes and facilitating goods’ transportation between 

the various regions in Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. 

We have prepared a very active and dynamic event calendar for 

the rest of the year as well. As the only publication representing 

the Turkish food and beverage industry in abroad, Food Turkey 

magazine is excited to offer the best service to promote the 

industry worldwide and to be an active tool for those foreign 

companies planning to penetrate into Turkey or the existing 

ones who want to enlarge their pie. I wish lucrative business 

for all! 

Group Chairman 

Publisher 

Managing Editor 

Editor 

Responsible 

Editor-in-Chief: 

Advertisement Manager 

Communications Manager 

Art Director 

Finance Manager 

Accounting Manager 

Subscription 

HEAD OFFICE 

Güneşli Evren Mah. Bahar Cad. 

Polat İş Merkezi B Blok No:3,34197 

Güneşli-İstanbul/TURKEY 

H.Ferruh ISIK 

ISTMAG Magazin Gazetecilik 

Yayıncılık İç ve Dış Ticaret Ltd. Şti. 

Mehmet SOZTUTAN 

(mehmet.soztutan@img.com.tr) 

Ayça SARIOĞLU 

(ayca.sarioglu@img.com.tr) 

Cüneyt AKTÜRK 

(cuneyt.akturk@ihlasfuar.com.tr) 

Emir Omer OCAL 

(emir.ocal@img.com.tr) 

Omer Faruk GORUN 

(fgorun@ihlas.net.tr) 

Enes KARADAYI 

(enes.karadayi@img.com.tr) 

Ebru PEKEL 

(ebru.pekel@voli.com.tr) 

Tolga ÇAKMAKLI 

(tolga.cakmakli@img.com.tr) 

Mustafa AKTAŞ 

(mustafa.aktas@img.com.tr) 

Zekayi TURASAN 

(zturasan@img.com.tr) 

İsmail ÖZÇELİK 

(ismail.ozcelik@img.com.tr) 

LIAISON OFFICE: 

Buttim Plaza A. Blok 

Kat:4 No:1038 

Bursa/TURKEY 

Mehmet Söztutan 

Tel: +90 212 604 50 50 

Fax: +90 212 604 50 51 

Tel: +90. 224 211 44 50-51 

Fax: +90. 224 211 44 81 

4 FOOD TURKEY November-December 2018 

PRINTED BY 

IHLAS GAZETECILIK A.Ş. 

Merkez Mahallesi 29 Ekim Caddesi İhlas Plaza No:11 A/41 

Yenibosna-Bahçelievler/ISTANBUL 

Tel: 0212 454 30 00

CONTENTS 

8 

Gulfood offers challenging 

FB opportunities 

20 

Corn chips exports 

to 15 countries by 

Lemar Foods 

22 

Beypazarı, the 

powerful brand 

on the top of the 

sparkling water 

sector 

26 36 

BTSO opens Trade 

Center in Dubai after 

New York 

28 

Nova Vera, the only 

Turkish brand olive oil in 

top-50 at EVOO World 

Ranking 

30 

Adding purity on tables 

Yörükoglu celebrates 

42nd year 

34 

2019 to be promising 

for Turkey 

TARIS FIG UNION 

offers more than 

fresh and delicious 

products 

42 

Gulfood Innovation 

summit to spotlight 

how distributors can 

drive cost efficient and 

sustainable future for 

F&B 

48 

Bupiliç stands for poultry 

meat 

52 

Unat Oil carries 

the unique taste of 

Turkish oil to the 

world 

60 

Lezita offers delicious 

and practical solutions 

64 

Consumers’ needs 

are provided with 

tasty products under 

Mersin Foods umbrella 

74 

Innovative products for 

2019 are coming soon 

84 

Global halal food 

market prospers more 

than ever 

6 FOOD TURKEY March - April 2019

Gulfood offers 

challenging FB 

opportunities 

Gulfood, the world’s 

largest annual food 

& beverage trade 

exhibition, opens 

at the Dubai World 

Trade Centre, 17- 

21 February 2019. 

It is expected to 

generate a record 

amount of trade 

for the food and 

beverage industry. 

Turkey attends as 

one of the most 

leading traditional 

national exhibitors. 

International ministers, government 

officials, mega brands, new-to-show 

exhibitors and industry professionals 

have universally hailed Gulfood as a 

truly unique platform linking every aspect 

of the global food supply chain. 

You may increase your margins by 

connecting with competitive suppliers 

of cutting edge product innovations, as 

well as international household name 

brands. Spanning more than 1,000,000 

square feet of F&B products and 

showcases, Gulfood welcomes over 

98,000 attendees from 193 countries. 

As the global F&B community gears 

up for this principal opportunity to 

source the latest and best products at 

the best price, Gulfood is promising a 

wave of new services and innovations 

to reflect changes in consumer demand. 

The fully booked-out event will 

once again welcome more than 5,000 

exhibitors - and 120 country pavilions 

- showcasing products across 8 primary 

market sectors. 


Celebrating world flavors and ingredients 

at a central point between East 

and West, Gulfood provides you with 

a unique opportunity to experience 

true culinary diversity. Welcoming 

master chefs and world-class food 

producers from all corners of the 

globe, the exhibition floor is a veritable 

festival of live cooking demonstrations 

and fresh food sampling that 

no amount of desktop research could 

hope to emulate. 

In addition to browsing dedicated halls 

segmented into eight of the largest 

commodity trading markets in F&B, 

visitors can also pay a visit to 120 

national pavilions offering global fare 

from as far afield as Malta, Finland and 

Slovakia. 

Trends from around the world 

By attending Gulfood buyers may 

have a chance to develop their buying 

plans in line with the hottest emerging 

consumer trends, as demonstrated by 

experts in international retail and food 

service. 

With world fresh food sales set to rise 

by 13% by 2020 – equating 280.5 million 

tons in volume, opportunities in 

this fast moving sector are ripe across 

the globe. 

By attending Gulfood you may have a 

chance to tap into geographical and 

sector-specific market trends that will 

assist your sourcing decisions in the 

short and long term. 

Gulfood Innovation Summit 

Gulfood 2019 will offer plenty of 

learning opportunities. The innovation 

summit will be a multi-track conference 

covering consumer trends, product 

innovation and industry success 

cases. 

Discover Zone 

The Gulfood Discover Zone 2019 will 

once again put product releases in the 

spotlight! This year, introducing two 

brand new categories for an enhanced 

shopping experience. Get ready to 

drool as the largest experiential gallery 

of the latest F&B products goes 

live at Gulfood 2019. Complemented 

by awe-inspiring case studies from pioneers 

and practitioners across healthy 

food, snacks, condiments and more. 


Global Industry Outlook 

Launched in 2018, the Gulfood Global 

Industry Outlook Report is a comprehensive 

market study, featuring 

trade discussions with local and global 

manufacturers, distributors, trade 

associations and government entities. 

Tastes of the World 

For the first time at Gulfood, Tastes 

of the World is a battle of culinary 

flavors. Join renowned chefs as they 

compete for the world’s best cuisine. 

It is a rare opportunity to experience 

the spellbinding theatrics and mastery 

of world-renowned chefs, as they 

make the unique flavors of different 

continents through live demos, master 

classes and an edge-of-the-seat 

competition. 

Halal World Food 

This major global trading platform 

generates lucrative investment opportunities 

for international F&B 

businesses looking to capitalize on 

the burgeoning halal sector. Halal 

World Food is a show-within-a-show 

concept returning for its 6th edition 

at Gulfood 2019. This major global 

trading platform generates lucrative 

investment opportunities for international 

F&B businesses looking to capitalize 

on the burgeoning halal sector 

that is witnessing significant growth in 

both Muslim and non-Muslim countries 

across the world. 

Reflecting the UAE’s strategic position 

as an international center for 

halal food trading, Halal World Food 

showcases the full spectrum of halal 

products – including vegan and vegetarian 

food, meat and poultry, canned 

goods, energy drinks, gourmet and 

much more. 

Gulfood Innovation Awards 

The Gulfood Innovation Awards celebrate 

and reward excellence across 

brands and products. Surely, a night 


to be remembered… The Gulfood 

Innovation Awards celebrate and reward 

excellence across brands and 

products, with an industry-wide campaign 

encouraging over 300 entries, a 

judging panel of prestigious industry 

leaders, and culminating at the glamorous 

awards gala dinner, held during 

the show. With intense interest from 

the media and visitors alike, the event 

offers unprecedented opportunities 

for industry networking and brand 

profile-raising through PR and sponsorship. 

As such, the Gulfood Innovation 

Awards will recognize the innovators 

and disruptors championing new 

products and techniques that are 

making waves across many categories. 

Barbecue Masters 

Meat & poultry will be all fired up as 

part of the brand new Barbecue Masters 

feature, showcasing open fire and 

chargrilling methods honed by world 

celebrity Pitmasters. As live fire cooking 

can be seen injecting a deeper level 

of flavor into popular street food 

and fine dining dishes in 2019, meat 

& poultry will be all fired up as part 

of the brand new Barbecue Masters 

feature at Gulfood. Visitors joining this 

open air feast will get to to witness 

a host of celebrity Pitmasters demonstrating 

their honed methods, from 

meat selection through to preparation 

and cooking. 

CxO Club 

Expect the unexpected at this closeddoor 

social breakfast club that kicks 

off with a disruptive bang during this 

year’s Gulfood. The Gulfood CxO 

Club is a closed-door social breakfast 


It is an inevitable element of dining tables equipped 

with the most delicious dishes to share with the 

loveliest friends… It is Kilikya Şalgam, It is 

Kilikya Turnip… 

No matter what you have on the menu, the dining 

tables without Kilikya are savorless and the dishes 

are unhappy. Because Kilikya Turnip is the taste 

friend of all dishes! 

taste 

friend 

/kilikyatr 

www.kilikya.com.tr

club for free-styling, risk-taking executives 

whose success is built on trial, 

error and a willingness to challenge 

norms. 

Expect the unexpected at this closeddoor 

social breakfast club that kicks 

off with a disruptive bang during this 

year’s Gulfood. 

Startup Program 

In this adaptive climate, the Startup 

Programme welcomes entrepreneurs 

to demonstrate how their contribution 

to the food industry is lighting the 

way to a smarter tomorrow. Like it 

or not, unique launches from unlikely 

sources will be influencing your business 

decisions in 2019. In this adaptive 

climate, the Gulfood Startup Program 

aims at fostering and promoting innovation 

and supporting the development 

of the F&B industry. The Program 

welcomes hands-on entrepreneurs to 

demonstrate how their contribution 

to the food industry is lighting the way 

to a smarter tomorrow. 

Cezve/Ibrik Championship 

The Championship highlights one of 

the oldest styles of brewing coffee, the 

cezve/ibrik. The competition format 

celebrates this method’s rich cultural 

tradition, while encouraging competitors 

to bring their own style and flair 

to their performances. 

The Championship highlights one of 

the oldest styles of brewing coffee, the 

cezve/ibrik. The competition format 

celebrates this method’s rich cultural 


tradition, while encouraging competitors 

to bring their own style and flair 

to their performances. 

The cezve/ibrik is a pot designed to 

make a concentrated beverage from 

finely ground coffee, by directly heating 

the vessel using a sand or gas heater. 

The body can be made of metal, brass, 

copper, or ceramic, but it features a 

distinctive long handle, and a brim that 

is designed to serve the coffee. Cezve/ 

ibrik is a preparation style most commonly 

found in Eastern Europe, the 

Middle East, and North Africa. 

Alongside the Cezve/Ibrik Championship, 

some of the world’s best coffee 

competitors from competitions like 

the World Coffee Roasting Championship 

and the World Brewers Cup 

will showcase their skills and coffee 

mastery through a series of interactive 

All-Stars features, including mystery 

drink challenges, interactive performances, 

meet-and-greets, and more! 

Tea House 

Third wave coffee has tread the path 

for a range of hot offerings to enter 

the café & beverage segment, and in 

2019 it is all about specialty tea. Third 

wave coffee has tread the path for a 

range of hot offerings to enter the 

café & beverage segment, and in 2019 

it is all about specialty tea. Strike into 

this unsaturated market with tastings, 

master classes, food pairings and sommelier 

demonstrations exclusively at 

Gulfood 2019. 


ZEYTİN, ZEYTİNYAĞI, 

SÜT ÜRÜNLERİ, ŞARAP VE 

TEKNOLOJİLERİ FUARI 

Olive, olive oil, dairy products 

wine & technologies fair 

6-9 MART 

MARCH 2019 

Yer / Meeting point: 

fuarizmir 

DESTEKLEYENLER (SUPPORTERS) 

THIS FAIR HAS BEEN ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE LAW OF 5174 BY TOBB (TURKISH UNION OF STOCK EXCHANGES AND CHAMBERS)

Corn chips exports to 

15 countries by Lemar 

Foods 

Lemar Foods realizes corn chips exports with an annual 

production capacity of 2,000 tons. Preferred in Arab and 

European countries, Lemar aims to grow its export markets. 

Founded in Gaziantep in 2016 

Lemar Foods reached the brand 

awareness in a short time in the 

international area and the firm became 

a sought after brand. Lemar 

exports to 15 countries notably 

to Arab and European countries. 

Targeting to establish a powerful 

sales network in a widen space, 

the company rolled up its sleeves 

to sale at domestic market, too. 

At leading fairs with new 

products! 

Working to develop alternative 

products, Lemar gets ready to 

launch their new products to the 

market. Rami Alhata, Export Specialist 

of Lemar, emphasizes that 

the most important way to build 

up brand awareness is participating 

in esteemed fairs. Pointing out that 

Lemar concentrates on the advertising 

works, Alhata said that their 

company attends to international 

fairs. Adding that Lemar could not 

participate in Gulfood because of 

lack of the place there, Rami Alhata 

said that the firm would attend 

to Gulfood in the years to come. 


Beypazarı, the 

powerful brand on the 

top of the sparkling 

water sector 

Niyazi Ercan,Chairman of the Board of Beypazarı, says that 

that it’s a hard work and prideful to be an ever-growing brand 

by preaching “Staying on the top is more difficult than climbing 

up to the top!” The number one priority of Beypazarı since its 

foundation and the biggest supporter of it in the success it 

attained in exports is quality! 

Having an export network actively 

in over 27 countries and admired in 

Arab countries very much, Niyazi Ercan, 

Chairman of the Board of Beypazarı 

responded our questions for 

our special Gulfood issue: 

How did you decide to step 

into this industry? What were 

the main factors to motivate 

you for this? 

We are originated from Gaziantep. 

My father was an initiative businessman. 

He made shop-keeping business 

in Ankara in the water-soda water and 

cola industries in 1950s. Somehow, a 

few people from Beypazarı reach to 

my father to sell the soda water resource 

to him. The comers become 

so insistent that my dad buys the 

place even without seeing it. After 

some years, he goes to the place that 

he bought and starts investing in it. Initially 

as small as a palm the resource 

currently serves on an area of 65,000 

square meters. Currently there are 

over 30 licensed soda water brands 

in the sector. Very few of these brands 

could manage serving nationwide. For 

the sparkling water abstraction is re- 

Niyazi Ercan, 

Chairman of the Board of Beypazari 


alized from fault shutters and mountainsides, 

founding factories in those 

areas necessitate serious investments. 

We do our job enthusiastically and we 

are in our business. 

Making our name in Europe 

with Turkish brands means 

more now. What would you 

say as a brand which has 

managed to grow in this 

presence? 

We are one of the very few firms 

enable to serve nationwide in Turkey. 

We are actively exporting to 27 countries. 

We ship our products mainly to 

TRNC and others such as Germany, 

Saudi Arabia, France, Taiwan, Australia, 

Qatar, Lebanon, etc. As a company 

established with 100% national capital, 

it is a prideful success to serve in 

domestic and world markets. As you 

know many of national companies 

were sold to foreigners. Supporting 

and preferring of our consumers to 

national products is important for our 

economy to develop. 

What are the main factors 

behind the success of 

Beypazarı Soda Water? 

All soda waters are not the same. 

The soda waters vary as the human 

characters do. The mineral-gas-taste 

differences are originated from the 

abstraction region, the mineral richness 

of the soil and the pressure 

under the ground. Beypazarı has the 

highest gas and mineral in this manner. 

We pay utmost attention to maintain 

the purity and health in existing in its 

nature and to offer to the consumer. 

We are established on where the resource 

is. Without carrying the water 

to tens of kilometers by pipes, we are 

bottling as soon as the water is abstracted. 

Our plant is 6 km away from 

the city. There is no residence around 

the plant to dirt the surroundings and 

to harm the facilities. There is no husbandry 

or pasture area. All of these 

are very important to keep the resource 

clean. We pay extra attention 

March - April 2019 FOOD TURKEY 25

to bottle without making concessions 

from quality and taste. That’s why the 

consumers admire and prefer our 

products. 

What kinds of incentives 

should be provided for 

exports? What kinds of 

expectations do you have 

for supporting national 

production? 

Turkey is rich of soda water resources. 

We are trying to reach almost all 

corners of Turkey and we managed to 

get the biggest share in the domestic 

market thanks to the admiration 

of the consumers. We also have export 

activities and we are selling to 

27 countries. The turmoil broke out 

in some countries brought the sales 

to halt. The soda water sector is not 

an industry with big profit margin. So, 

the products are cheaper than water 

so to speak. But the increase in freight 

costs makes the exports difficult. 

Consuming soda water is more in foreign 

countries and people drink soda 

water what they call mineral water. 

For there is not enough soda water 

resources, they import. As a soda water 

rich country, Turkey is among the 

biggest exporting countries. We want 

to make the soda water a dining table 

item in Turkey not only a product 

consumed after heavy meals but after 

sports, during pregnancy, in youth, in 

the old age, in short, at every moment 

of the human life as a healthy 

and pleasurable drink. 

Is the soda water industry at 

the point it deserves? How 

many brands are operating in 

the sector? 

There are a lot of soda water plants 

in Turkey. But only a few of them have 

become fame worldwide. The more 

people become conscious in consuming 

benefits the more consuming 

conscious grows. We can say that the 

level of soda water consuming is the 

same as the level of development of 

the countries. When we compared 

with the past we can say that the consumption 

has increase considerably. 

The entrance of fruit-flavored soda 

waters to the market has activated 

the sector. 

I believe that this market will grow 

more and the sector will be more 

dynamic because the importance of 

soda water for health and healthy 

life is understood and latched on. 

The easiest way of regaining the consumed 

minerals is drinking soda water. 

There is no time, place or age of 

drinking soda water. It is good for all 

phases of human life from health to 

keep fit and form. 

What are the points you 

target for the future and what 

is the period for them? 

We can say that Beypazarı Soda Water 

is a global brand thanks to its export 

to many countries. Of course we 

are targeting to have more shares in 

more countries and our major target 

is to cause Turkish soda water to be 

consumed by all around the world. 

We offered our lemonade soda water 

as a new product in 2017 and we 

welcomed very good feedbacks. We 

will continue to make more variety in 

line with the suggestions we welcome. 

Maintaining the presence on the top is 

more difficult than climbing to the top. 

Our company has been continuing to 

grow every year. We never compromise 

on quality during these growth 

processes. We are planning to grow in 

both capacity and sales every year. 


Dubai Turk Trade Center briefing meeting 

BTSO opens Trade 

Center in Dubai 

after New York 

Opportunity to 

have office in 

Dubai at airfare 

cost 

In line with Turkey’s export-oriented 

development goals Bursa Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) 

preparing to open the Turkish Trade 

Center in Dubai, after the one in New 

York City. 

As the first chamber of industry and 

commerce taking part in the partnership 

for the establishment of trade 

centers in coordination of the Ministry 

of Commerce and Turkey Exporters 

Assembly (TIM), Bursa Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry started 

the activities to open a new trade 

center in Dubai in order to provide 

services to their members operating 

in the food sector. At the meeting 

organized by the Global Fair Agency 

that was held for the introduction of 

the project, Murat Bayizit, BTSO Deputy 

Chairman of the Assembly and 

Foreign Trade Council, said that the 

Turkish Trade Center in Dubai, which 

is located next to the exhibition area 

would be positioned in the proximity 

of Dubai World Trade Center 

(DWTC). 

Bayizit said, “Previously, IT sector companies 

were located in Dubai TTM. 

The companies in this area soon 

achieved an important success and 

moved to a bigger place. We will fill 

the gap with our food sector companies. 

For 27 months, our companies 

will have offices and warehouses at 

low costs. We will design the center 

in a different way as it will be specific 

to food companies. We will organize 


them in the form of central supermarkets 

designed as interview tables and 

showrooms. In this way, we will ensure 

that all products are promoted more 

effectively. 

The trade volume potential of the 

food sector in the Gulf region is $ 116 

billion. Dubai is an important trade 

point in the heart of the Middle East 

opening to Basra and Africa. It has 12 

free zones. In addition, our cultural 

proximity brings Turkish products to a 

more attractive point. 

Turkish Trade Center is a project 

where our companies will come together 

and share their expenses and 

75 percent of the costs of companies 

will be met by the state. In Dubai 

where the monthly rents are up to 30 

thousand dollars with expenses such 

as office and warehouse services, we 

offer this opportunity to our members 

almost at costs of travel to and 

from Dubai. Dubai Turkish Trade Center 

Project will start a new era in our 

food sector exports,” he concluded. 

Murat Bayizit 

Dubai World Trade Center building 


Nova Vera, the only 

Turkish brand olive oil 

in top-50 at EVOO World 

Ranking 

Bahar Alan 

EVOO World Ranking 2018 results 

were disclosed. The index evaluates 

the total awards given to the most 

prestigious natural pressed olive 

oils by quality accolades all over the 

world. 30 producers from Turkey 

were ranked in the list, and Nova Vera 

having 700 points was the only brand 

ranked 33rd in the top 50 list of “the 

best producers of natural pressed olive 

oil” with its early harvest and Aegean 

pressed products. 

Turkey is among the top 10 in 

countries list 

Turkey is listed at the 8th rank in the 

14 accolade held in 2018 having 99 

awards. The top brand from Turkey 

was Nova Vera of which early harvest 

product got 404 points and Aegean 

press product got 303 points that totals 

707 for the brand. 

Bahar Alan, the founder of Nova Vera, 

expressed her satisfaction by saying, 

“The honor we were given is the biggest 

award for our delicate efforts. As 

a Turkish olive oil producer we are 

also happy to represent our country 

successfully in international platforms. 

We also congratulate all other producers 

and our friends who ranked 

in this index for their efforts to promote 

Turkish olives and olive oils in 

the world. 

“We have a large and beautiful varieties 

of olives in Turkey and they are 

processed perfectly to produce quality 

olive oil. The accolade of this kind 

is important to publicize them in the 

world. It is heartening to see our 

country at the 8th rank. As Nova Vera, 

we focused on Trilye olives last year 

and presented it to the world last year. 

We keep our efforts going to produce 

the highest quality products by focusing 

on quality over quantity and to 

promote their positions in the global 

markets.” 


Adding purity on 

tables Yörükoglu 

( 

celebrates 42 nd year 

Identifying themselves with the motto “We are ancestral 

ayran maker, yoghurt maker and dairymen” and 

discovering the value of milk made by yoruks at the clean 

and healthy atmosphere of Taurus Mountains years ago, 

Yörükoglu has been offering the tastes made from these 

milks to the consumers for 42 years. 

Ali Bulut, Chairman of the board of 

Yörükoğlu Dairy Products, details 

their success story in the sector for 

our readers in our interview: 

Let’s listen the long 

experience of Yörükoglu in 

brief from you. 

Our ‘Yoghurt and Ayran’ adventure, 

which would be handmade by our 

mothers years before, started by our 

deceased grandpa Ali Yörükoğlu by 

selling ‘Yoghurt and Ayran’ on his barrow. 

Followed by my father Ziya Bulut, 

my uncle Mehmet Yörükoğlu and my 

elder brother Cihan Bulut as the second 

generation by developing production 

facilities more, and ended up with 

investing in technology thereby handing 

down to us as the third generation 

to build up Yörükoğlu brand under the 

developed conditions of our time to 

offer the most quality products in Turkey 

as well as in international markets. 

Following every stage of production 

and managing the personnel strictly, 

our Factory Manager Erdinç Yörükoğlu, 

who is my cousin, has been supplying 

the products with him team to our 

customers successfully. I have been 

personally attending all leading food 

fairs in the world and treating our customers 

with the best way. What’s important 

for us is to offer the products 

which ‘our customers’ demand. So, 

integrated with our R&D and production 

departments we have been 

developing our products and share 

with them. 

How is the image 

of Yörükoglu at the 

consideration of the 

consumer? 

In Antalya, every dining table 

has Yörükoğlu brand. We are a 

brand that the consumers love 

as they homemade products. In 


addition, Antalya is the tourism pearl 

of Turkey as you know. We are admired 

by world tourism with our blue 

flag coasts and ultra luxury hotels. Millions 

of tourists coming to Antalya every 

year enjoy their breakfast with our 

cheese variety and butter. They drink 

our ayran with the kebabs they eat. 

In general the tourists who taste our 

products, reach us and want to know 

the points which they can reach our 

products in their countries. 

Ali Bulut, Chairman of the board of Yörükoğlu Dairy Products 

How do you manage your foreign 

market structure? Which countries 

will be on your agenda in the near 

future? 

Our export activities mainly dominate in Middle 

East, Gulf countries and North Africa for 

8-9 years. We have exports to 17 countries. 

You can find our product variety in neighboring 

Iraq, in Mauritania of West Africa, in Qatar 

in the Gulf. 

Our foreign structure would function through 

the importers we supplied until two years 

ago. We started to work directly with the 

‘market chains’ two years ago. Currently we 


have been strengthening our position 

in the countries we exist and 

we have been projecting to develop 

new markets as well. We have concentrated 

to develop markets in EU 

countries, China and Russia. We are 

about to complete our “Dairy Products” 

export documents. So, we are 

anxiously waiting to be on the tables 

of the Turks living in Europe. As soon 

as we complete our EU certificates, 

our target will be Russia and China. 

As you see we are always in new excitements 

with a pleasure of fulfilling 

our responsibilities. 

Is there a new product you 

are planning to add on your 

product range? 

There always exist new and different 

tastes that we don’t have in our portfolio 

in the countries which we penetrate. 

As an example, the flavor of 

Yorükoğlu still lingers of those who 

taste once. But since the 

shelf life of fresh ayran 

is not lasting as much 

as to go to far regions, 

we started 

to produce UHT 

Ayran which has 

6 months of shelf 

life. It is a products 

which is especially 

loved in North African 

and Middle Eastern 

countries. With the 

same token, we are producing 

cream for breakfast 

which has a 

shelf 

life of six 

months on our 

UHT line. By 

using different 

varieties 

and herb in 

our cheese 

varieties in line with 

the suggestions offered 

by our customers such as 

cheese with black sesame. We 

care for producing our products 

from natural milk with the most plain 

methods ‘special to Yoruks”, which is 

the main reason why our customers 

prefer us. Especially the inhabitants of 

Antalya and its surroundings, everybody 

buy our products comfortably 

as if they were made in the homes 

of their moms. We are certainly very 

lucky and proud by having such a loyal 

custom- 

er mass. 


After enjoying strong growth in 

2017 and the first three quarters 

of last year, Turkey expects 

a rebalancing period in the economy 

extending into the first half of this year. 

Preparing for a slowdown in economic 

activity, the government has taken 

the necessary measures to ensure 

effective management for rebalancing. 

In accordance with the government’s 

plan, the Turkish economy will shift to 

“quality-based” growth in the upcoming 

period, Treasury and Finance Minister 

Berat Albayrak said at the World 

Economic Forum (WEF). During an 

interview with Bloomberg Television, 

Albayrak stressed that the economy 

will bounce back to meet the official 

growth target of 2.3 percent by the 

end of this year, which will be a very 

promising year for Turkey. 

Under Treasury and Finance Minister 

Albayrak’s watch, the Turkish Treasury 

has moved to limit lira bond supply to 

restrain yields after a market slump 

last summer. It has not sold a benchmark 

10-year bond denominated in 

liras since July. 

Albayrak said the Treasury will be “very 

active and aggressive” in managing its 

borrowing strategy in compliance with 

his earlier pledges to adopt a different 

auc- tion methodology. 

“Our treasury 

management 

aims to decrease 

borrowing 

costs and 

correct the use 

of liquidity,” he 

said. 

2019 to be 

promising for 

Turkey 

The Treasury saved nearly TL 3 billion 

in interest rate expenditures in the last 

quarter of 2018. The Treasury has announced 

plans to borrow in Chinese 

yuan with panda bonds and samurai 

bonds denominated in Japanese yen. 

To mitigate concerns, Albayrak and his 

team prepared the New Economic 

Program (NEP), which was unveiled in 

September. This three-year economic 

plan has outlined major macroeconomic 

targets, including the budget 

deficit, the current account deficit, inflation 

and growth. 

The minister highlighted that the treasury 

has achieved its target of a 1.9 

percent budget deficit. He noted that 

when he assumed the post six months 

ago, the Finance Ministry had to manage 

the remaining budget, which was 

only 30 percent of what was initially 

set. The NEP sees the government 

budget deficit at 1.8 percent of gross 

domestic product at the end of 2019. 

“The central bank has been doing 

its job very well in the last couple of 

months, and they have proved how independent 

and how strong they are,” 

Albayrak said. “Monetary and fiscal 

policy alignment is the best in decades. 

You can only fight inflation with fiscal 

and monetary policies.” 

After the lira hit historic lows against 

the U.S. dollar in August, inflation hit 

over 25 percent in October, 

which 

compelled 

the central 

bank to raise interest rates. The treasury 

and finance minister also evaluated 

his Davos program during a press 

meeting with representatives from 

Turkish media. 

When asked about investors’ reaction 

to Turkey, Albayrak stressed that investors 

he met in Davos appreciated 

Turkey’s current economic outlook 

that ensured effective and coordinated 

measures when compared to the 

situation six months ago, a period of 

turbulence in the country’s economy. 

The minister also stressed that Turkey 

welcomes foreign investment in his 

exchanges with CEOs from around 

the world. 

During his meetings, the minister also 

underscored the strength of the Turkish 

economy despite coup attempts, 

terror attacks and regional tensions, 

which severely impacted the country’s 

outlook. As part of his Davos program, 

Albayrak met with French Finance 

Minister Bruno Le Maire and German 

Economy and Energy Minister Peter 

Altmaier on the sidelines of the World 

Economic Forum. 

During the meetings, Albayrak exchanged 

views related to further improvement 

of bilateral economic relations 

between Turkey and the two 

countries. 

The minister also said French Finance 

Minister Le Maire will visit Turkey in 

May, and he will visit Germany to meet 

Altmaier and the German economy 

administration in the spring. 

He also stressed that positive returns 

from Davos meetings are already visible, 

especially on the markets. 

36 FOOD TURKEY November-December 2018

TARIS FIG UNION 

offers more than 

fresh and delicious 

products 

Taris Fig Union is the best place for 

many products. The company has a 

fame of providing the most competitive 

food items. We asked the success 

story of Taris Fig Union to Mustafa 

Bircan and Fatma Behit. The interview 

follows: 

Could you give us information 

about the establishment of 

Taris Fig Union and about its 

product groups? 

Taris Fig Union was established in 

1915 and has a headquarter in city of 

Izmir with its 13 cooperatives in Aydın 

and Izmir cities and have nearly 4.000 

- 5.000 member growers, who control 

of fig production in Turkey. Our 

main products are dried figs, fig paste, 

diced dried figs, fig delight species, 

Turkish delights species, croquets species, 

dried apricots, chocolate covered 

dried figs and fig eau de cologne. Our 

Union works on; 

-to cover the outputs of the farmers 

regarding their production and to 

make financial support to the farmers, 

-to apply new technology in order to 

increase the productivity and quality 

-to develop alternative products relevant 

to dried fig and its by products 

-Taris Fig Union products are produced 

in our own factories. 

Capacity of Taris Fig Production and 

Storage Facility is 12.000 tons/year 

Raw material storage capacity, 15.000 

tons/year Fig Production capacity 

Our establishment also has TS EN 

ISO 22000:2005 Food Safety Management 

System Certificate, ISO 

9001:2015 

Quality Management 

System, Kosher Certificate 

and BRC Certificate, ISF Certificate, 

Halal Certificate and ECOCERT for 

our organic products. 

Taris Fig Union products mainly export 

in bulk and consumer packages 


Mustafa Bircan 

and we are one of the important exporters 

of Turkey. 

Fatma Behit 

Taris Fig Union have also Eau de Cologne 

factory which was founded in 

1972 in Izmir and moved in 2018 to 

Aydın-Ortaklar. We have beautiful 

different essences like lemon, lavender 

and premium selection essences 

such as green tee, mandarins, etc. also 

after-shave colognes which are being 

produced in Tariş cologne factory. 

The cologne capacity of our factory 

is annually 1.000.000 lt. Tariş Lemon 

Cologne is the first TSE (Turkish Standards 

Institute) registered cologne of 

Turkey. Taris Fig Union is the shortest 

way from producer to consumer. Our 

AIM IS TO KEEP NATIONAL VAL- 

UES AND CARRY THEM TO THE 

FUTURE WITH HEALTHY AND 

QUALITY PRODUCTION. 

In 2017/18 season dried fig 

exports was totaled 268 

million dollars, the highest 

export figure in the history. 

What do you say about the 

position of Taris Fig in dried 

fig exports? 

Being the top producer of figs in the 

world, Turkey has a significant share in 

exports of dried figs, as well. 

With its 104 years of experience, Tariş 

Fig Union is an institution that develops 

innovations in the sector and finds 

new markets for them. We do not only 

promote our figs, but also promote 

Turkish figs and find new markets for 

other fig exporters. Although there is 

no noticeable increase when we look 

at the amount of demand due to the 

new markets and the purchase prices 

that are under the leadership of our 

Association, our product has started 

to be sold from the relatively worthy 

value compared to the previous years 

and the amount of foreign currency 

earned has increased in recent years. 

Great responsibility is felt by the 

producers to ensure sustainability of 

exports in the dried fruit sector. Improving 

product quality is also an important 

factor. What does Taris Fig do 

in these fields? 


As Tariş Fig Union we provide technical 

information to our co-producers 

during the farming phase. We also 

offer support to our farmers in their 

production activities. Dried figs are 

both traditional and natural products 

because they are grown in a very 

limited geographical area and do not 

require any additional chemicals from 

production to consumption. It is a 

very healthy food product when no 

chemicals are applied to the product. 

It is a fact that the demand for natural 

and healthy foods is increasing all over 

the world. Dried figs have a rich content 

and a natural product. In order to 

preserve the natural nutritional values, 

it must be stored, produced, packaged 

and transported in suitable conditions. 

Fig is considered to be a sacred 

product in three heavenly religions. 

Therefore, the consumer should be 

presented with natural figs, which are 

checked for food safety; otherwise the 

consumer would not like to enjoy the 

taste of the product. Everyone should 

be able to pack healthy products in 

accordance with the food criteria like 

we do in Tariş Fig Union and present 

them to the taste of the end consumers 

and act in such a way that they 

do not disturb the continuity of the 

demand for the product without disturbing 

the image of the Turkish dried 

figs worldwide. We should protect the 

trust that we already have been accumulated 

from our past as natural food 

producer for future generations. 

Do you have any new product 

projects? 

We have projects and we continue 

to work on this issue. When you 

present the same product to the final 

consumer, the product loses its charm 

after a certain period. For this reason, 

in order to ensure the continuity of 

our brand and the quality image of 

our products, we are diversifying our 

products and packaging for the young 

generations with an aim to have them 

love dry figs taking into account the 

tastes and sociological structure of the 

countries according to changing consumption 

habits and emerging trends 

in the world. 

From this point of view, we developed 

new by-products from dried figs in order 

to make new consumption habits 

fort he new generations. For example, 

we have developed the small packages 

of figs to ensure that our children can 

be placed them in school bags, so, they 


may consume it day time easily for 

their healthy nutrition. In this sense, 

as Tariş Fig Union we always lead the 

introduction of new forms of Turkish 

dried figs both in domestic market 

and worldwide. 

Can you tell us about your 

sales channels and networks 

in Turkey and abroad? To 

which countries are you 

exporting your products; are 

there new markets in your 

target? 

Considering the 104-year history of 

the Tariş Fig Union, we are expanding 

our customer network 

with new and traditional 

distributors 

in Turkey as well as 

in the new export 

markets. 

Starting 10 years ago 

we, as the Tariş Fig Union, 

initiated promotional 

activities in the Chinese 

market not only for the recognition 

of our Union but also 

the Turkish dried figs in the Far 

East and we opened alternative 

channesl for 50% of the 

Turkish dried figs exports 

in the EU countries. 

Of course, we 

have target markets, 

but rather than mentioning 

these here, 

we want to point 

out that non-tariff 

barriers and high taxes 

imposed on our 

product, especially in 

some countries with 

high potentials, impede 

the further export 

of our product to the relevant 

country. For this reason, Free Trade 

Agreements should be signed 

quickly with potential countries 

with high populations 

and high purchasing capacity. 

What is on 

Tariş Fig 

Union’s 2019 

trade show 

calendar? 

We, as Taris 

Fig Union, 

participate 

regularly in 

important 

food 

fairs such as Anuga Cologne, 

Sial Paris, FHC Shanghai, and 

Gulf Food. Besides, we can say SEOUL 

FOOD & HOTEL 2019 as one of the 

new fairs that we planned to participate 

in. 

In recent years, when the 

frozen food was on the 

agenda, we could say that 

there is an intense demand in 

the field of dried food. Can 

you explain the advantages 

and disadvantages of the 

frozen and dried food market? 

Turkey is the main producer of the 

kind of figs that is the most suitable 

and convenient for drying in the 

world, is the most convenient the 


yellow lobes (Smyrna) figs (in Latin, 

ficus carica). It is widespread in Menderes 

(semender) region. There are 

270 most known species of figs. Not 

all of these are suitable for drying, for 

example, the thick peel fresh figs are 

mostly frozen or freshly consumed. 

Our yellow lop figs are dried due to 

the thin bark and kept for sale due 

to the short duration of storage. In 

this sense, other types of figs do not 

compete with our hollidose dried figs, 

while we are leader in competition 

in exports of this kind of figs in the 

world. 

As Tariş Fig Union we are able to position 

ourselves by differentiating with 

our brand awareness and product 

diversification to improve our export 

power. 

Do you have any recent 

investments? 

We have invested in new machinery 

and equipment in order to increase 

food quality control and reliability in 

production, for example x-ray machines, 

in addition to the control of 

our existing workers, machines used 

in different fields of the processing, 

such as the aflatoxin control machine. 

In addition, we have renewed our 

production capacity and production 

technology by establishing a new cologne 

factory in Aydın, Ortaklar. After 

that, we started new initiatives to expand 

our product portfolio. 


Gulfood Innovation 

summit to spotlight 

how distributors can 

drive cost efficient 

and sustainable 

future for F&B 

Three-day conference to feature diverse range of content 

and engaging discussions addressing major industry 

challenges and trends 

Dubai, UAE – The evolution of distribution 

in driving cost efficiency 

and sustainability in the global food 

industry will be explored during the 

inaugural Gulfood Innovation Summit, 

a robust new conference programme 

underpinning Gulfood 2019, the 

world’s largest annual food and beverage 

trade show, which returns to 

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) 

from 17-21 February. 

Running from 18-20 February, the 

three-day summit will bring together a 

high-profile gathering of industry professionals, 

thought leaders and major 

disruptors to explore, address and debate 

major trends, challenges and opportunities 

in the F&B industry across 

the region and beyond. The diverse 

range of summit content will include 

industry-shaping sessions on the rise 

of foodtech, how the upsurge in online 

food service apps and the use of 

new technologies such as blockchain 

and artificial intelligence are re-shaping 

the industry and how innovation is 

driving food retail. 

Day one of the conference will shine 

the spotlight on distribution and the 

‘key success factors for distributors’ in 

a highly competitive market. The session 

will examine the need for industry 

players to redefine portfolios for 

distribution, assess market challenges 

and trends, achieve sustainable business 

models and minimise shipping 

and logistics challenges. 


The key to efficient 

distribution 

Bhushant Gandhi, Department Head 

of Truebell Food, one of the GCC’s 

leading players in F&B imports, wholesale, 

distribution and exports, will 

lead the session. Gandhi believes distributors 

are increasingly seeking out 

cost-efficient methods to minimise 

shipping charges, which will put them 

and the wider industry on course for 

a sustainable, efficient future. 

“With the regional F&B industry now 

at a well-developed stage, consolidation 

of distribution is becoming a 

much sought-after solution by hotel 

and restaurant operators. The preference 

for a one-stop-shop solution 

can minimise the processing time and 

the number of suppliers that end operators 

have to deal with,” explained 

Gandhi. 

“Consolidated procurement is already 

prevalent and successfully implemented 

in some food categories, but it is 

gaining popularity in several other 

F&B segments - we will explore these 

abundant opportunities at the Summit,” 

added Gandhi, who will point to 

the success of Truebell’s one-of-a-kind, 

21,000+ capacity pallet fulfillment 

centre, which caters for consolidation-based 

distribution to F&B operators, 

a key success factor in Truebell’s 

capability to attract internationally-renowned 

chains both in retail and food 

service. 


The Gulfood Innovation Summit is 

poised to be a prime educational and 

networking forum within the regional 

F&B industry, with tailored sessions 

probing the hottest topics impacting 

the wider industry. The inaugural Summit 

will also feature exclusive questions-and-answer 

session with globally 

acclaimed chefs, influencers and hospitality 

leaders on the challenges of 

introducing breakthrough concepts to 

local markets. 

“The summit will tackle a diverse range 

of issues which are already impacting 

the global F&B industry during this 

hugely transformative part of its history,” 

said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior 

Vice President, Exhibitions & Events, 

DWTC. “As an educational forum, the 

Summit is a vital learning ground and 

essential for those looking to keep up 

with the pace of change this sector is 

currently experiencing.” 

Keynote addresses on the industry’s 

challenges and opportunities and 

global food supply will come from 

Dr. Bernhard van Lengerich, Board 

Member of Beyond Meat and former 

Chief Science Officer & Vice-President 

of Technology Strategy, General 

Mills; and Paul Newnham, Director of 

the World Food Programme, United 

Nations. A blueprint for the Design of 

Good Food for the future, meanwhile, 

will be the Summit domain of Dr. Nigel 

Hughes, SVP Research & Development, 

Kellogg’s. 


Bupiliç stands 

for poultry 

meat 

Bupiliç offers not 

only products but 

also health and 

safety with a wide 

supply network 

from Bosnia 

Herzegovina to 

Hong Kong. 

Taking part among the 500 

largest companies Bupiliç pulls 

attention with its investment 

decision as well as its grow rate in the 

poultry sector. Mehmet Yavuz, Member 

of the Board of Bupiliç, underlined 

that they set sails to big targets by saying, 

“Conscious of realities of the industry 

Bupiliç is aware of the fact that 

growth is only possible by standing 

straight and being permanent in the 

sector. The 100% growth we realized 

during last 4 years our guarantee to 

accomplish our plan of growing 100% 

next tree years.” We listened details 

of their success story from Mehmet 

Yavuz. 

Could you furnish our readers 

with details about Bupiliç 

which is among the first 

largest 500 companies of 

Turkey? 

Mehmet Yavuz, Member of the Board of Bupiliç 

Since its foundation in 2004, Bupiliç 

has always made its presence felt with 

safety steps in the way to growth is 

396th largest industrial establishment 

of Turkey with a slaughtering capacity 

of 180 thousand. It is one of the most 

curious establishment of the region 

with 810 personnel it employees. 


At the same time we pull attention 

with employing 44% woman. Having 

all necessary integrated facilities from 

breeding plants to the dining tables 

of the consumers our company has a 

feed factory with a capacity of 60 ton/ 

hour to produce most quality feeds. 

We offer the least expensive protein 

source as chicken to the consumer at 

most hygienic and safety ways. 

What will you say about halal 

slaughtering policy of Bupiliç? 

Bupiliç is a company whose compliance 

with halal slaughtering has been 

certified with Halal Production Documents 

and has been a sought after 

brand in Muslim countries. 

What do you do to offer 

healthy products? 

Taking maximum care for the health of 

the animals with expert veterinarians 

and prioritizing human health Bupiliç 

has 100% safety food motto with hygiene 

conditions at European standards. 

We take pride of our well-established 

utmost confidence by the 

consumers. 

Which countries do you 

export? What are your target 

markets? 

We are an active actor of the white 

meat industry with our wide supply 

network from Bosnia Herzegovina to 

Hong Kong. Our top tree export customers 

are Iraq, Libya and the UAE. 

What will you say about 

growing policy of your 

company? 

We have a goal of fulfilling our mission 

in Turkish economy with an export 

volume of reaching around 25 

million dollars by the end of 2018. 

We are taking secure steps for our 

future goals with an infrastructure investment 

of TL 20 million and a second 

slaughtering line of 12,000 pcs/ 

hour. With this new slaughtering line, 


which is planned to be operational by 

the end of 2020, we blink to the upper 

levels of the industry. 

Consumer habits direct 

the food sector. Are you 

considering to add new 

products to your product 

range portfolio? 

Bupiliç is one of the firms that will play 

an important role in the development 

of Turkey with the new investment initiations 

on its agenda. Proceeding with 

the purpose of realizing further processing 

production in the near future, 

Bupiliç will secure its position in view 

of consumer with its new products 

soon. 

How do you evaluate Turkey’s 

position in the poultry sector 

and location of Bupiliç in the 

industry? 

Positioning itself as the 8th largest 

chicken producer, Turkey is one of the 

most leading countries supplying the 

region with protein with 1 million 958 

thousand tons of chicken meat. It is 

clear fact that the country will go up 

to better level step by step with ever 

continuing new investments. We take 

pride of observing the demands for 

this protein source we offer to our 

nation and for surrounding nations on 

the way we, as Bupiliç, set up in 2004. 


Unat Oil 

carries the 

unique taste 

of Turkish oil 

to the world 

The company accomplishes new production lines and 

investments for its world-leadership goal. 

Unat Oil is one of the first 500 companies 

of Turkey. The firm offers delicious 

oils of lucrative Turkish soils with 

its İnci, Unat and Forza brands to the 

four corners of the world. These days, 

Unat makes preparation for the pastry 

and catering group in the fields of industrial 

food production. 

Serdar Asker Unat, Member of the 

Board of Unat, emphasized that edible 

oils were among of the export 

products of Turkey to Asian, European 

and African markets and it was at the 

top of list during our interview. Serdar 

Asker Unat underlined that new investments 

contribute to the national 

economy, as well. 

“We are ready to do whatever 

it takes for the quality and 

hygiene” 

What would you say about 

the latest developments of 

Unat Oil in recent years? 

We opened our new factory in Mersin 

in 2016 and we used the latest technology 

in our factory. We can carry 

the taste of Turkish oil to 54 countries 

with our daily production capacity of 

700 tons. We always follow current 

trends and the quality and hygiene 


are the center on our production, too. 

Our factory has important certificates 

such as ISO 2200, HACCP, OHSAS, 

HALAL and KOSHER. Meanwhile, all 

of our tests are made by an independent 

accredited laboratory. In short, 

we are ready to do whatever it takes 

for the quality and hygiene. 

We understand that you 

aim to take Turkey one 

step further with your new 

investments. What would you 

say about this? 

Turkey meets the food demands of 

the world with its rich resources. One 

of the increasing trends is industrial 

food production. We, as Unat Oil, follow 

closely the trends and we want 

to build up the quality of the Turkey 

in the pastry and catering area as a 

brand with our new industrial production 

line. 

“We are happy to reach 

to the not so well-known 

markets, too!” 

Which countries do you 

export? 

We export to the Middle East countries 

notably to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, 

Qatar and Iraq for 20 years. We are 

one of the most preferred brands in 

this region. Thanks to the advantages 

of our new factory, we have the advantage 

of being in the Far East markets 

such as Japan, China and Cambodia; in 

African markets such as Senegal, Djibouti, 

Libya, Ghana; and in European 

countries such as Switzerland, Germany, 

we are very happy that we export 

to the lesser known markets such as 

Seychelles, Tanzania and Burkina Faso. 

Where do you see the 

position of Turkish products in 

the industrial food industry? 

Turkey is a big actor in developing of 

pastry products all over the world. 

Especially, we observe serious figures 

in Turkey’s exports to Europe. We 

are excited for the Turkish products 

getting stronger against Malaysia, the 

leader of this field in the world. 


Kilikya, the name of deeprooted, 

innovative and 

healthy products in the 

beverage industry 

Kilikya offers healthier alternative products in the beverage 

sector aiming to form a new understanding in beverage 

industry in the world. 

Founded by Mehmet Nas in 1957 Kilikya 

now serves with a capacity of 36 

million liters of production in its 7,500 

sqm factory on a land area of 16,000 

sqm in Adana Organized Industrial 

Zone. Exporting to more than 30 

countries, Kilikya Turnip has renewed 

all the packages of nearly 100 variety 

of products including Organic Turnip, 

Special Turnip, Lemonade, Ice tea, 

Lemon Sauce, Grape Vinegar, Apple 

Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Pomegranate 

Vinegar, White Vinegar, Turşukur, 100% 

Natural Pomegranate Sour, Pomegranate 

Sauce, Hot Pepper Sauce, Vinegar 

Sauce, Soy Sauce, etc. and they 

are ready to take their place on the 

shelves with a brand new image. 

Meeting the expectations of customers 

around the world Kilikya continues 

to develop its product portfolio with 

new varieties and is moving towards 

becoming the leading beverage company 

with its superior quality and taste 

with an aim to produce 100% customer 

satisfaction by producing high 

quality and delicious products that the 

customer always trusted. 

We talked with Zuhal Kayissahin who 

tries to expand product portfolio with 

new varieties about her company and 

preparations before the Gulfood fair. 


In recent years, demand for 

natural beverages such as 

turnip juice is on the rise. 

How are the sales of Kilikya 

products in the country and 

abroad? Which countries do 

you export your products? 

More than 200 countries are in the 

world, and each has its own preferred 

products, taste of flavors, and 

dietary habits. We have to manage 

a process demanding performance 

and resources. We sell our products 

in over 30 countries in the world; in 

Europe, America, Russia and Far East. 

Number of export countries and 

potentials are growing steadily. 

We serve 95 percent of domestic 

market through our distribution network 

organized under nine regional 

directorates. Customers can buy our 

products directly from the shelves of 

national retail chains such as Migros, 

Carrafour, Metro and Kipa. To be a 

preferred brand you have to gain the 

confidence of the consumers. 

Would you give us 

information about your 

activities aiming to improve 

your brand awareness and 

R&D investments? 

Thanks to the efforts of our R&D 

team we are both developing new 

products and improving our product 

that we are already selling. We 

listen to our customers to direct our 

research and development projects. 

Kilikya has ben chosen as the brand 

that is advised to the consumers by 

having the least number of customer 

complaint by the consumer protection 

association in 2015 and 2018. 

We believe that being the most preferred 

brand is dependent on your 

success to gain the confidence of 

consumers. This award documents 

our success in this regard for the 

second time. 

Which fair do you plan to 

participate in near future in 

and out of the country? 

We research the national tastes and 

needs of the countries. We want to 

promote our turnip juice in the fair 

that we participate. 

We were in Food Istanbul, Sial in Paris, 

Beirut Cooking Festival and food 

trade fair in Japan last year. We want 

to repeat the same schedule this year 

again. 

What are the prevailing trends 

in the beverages industries? 

How does this effect your 

company? Would you mention 

about your targets to extend 

your market share? 

Return to nature, healthy life and 

natural nutrition are major life-style 

trends in the world. In this regard turnip 

juice is having high potential since 

it is a proven functional and natural 

consumption good for a healthy life. 

Turnip is a natural probiotic and vitamin 

bomb with several healthy ingredients. 

Obesity is one of the greatest 

problems of the era. Our products are 

advised by dieticians frequently. Potential 

for developing new drinks by 

combining several tastes is rather high 

and new trends are emerging easily in 

beverages sector. Turnip is one of the 

high potential products in this regard. 

In line with growing volume of out of 

home consumption, the sales potential 

are enormous. Shelf life of this product 

is rather long and this means another 

advantage for more sales. We have to 

expand our distribution network and 

our visibility in retail level. So, we engage 

several promotional events such 

as taste tests in selling points to reach 

our targets. 


The heart of the 

HORECA sector beat 

at ANFAS ¸ Expo Centre 

A visitor record was broken at the 30 th Hotel Equipment and 

26 th Food Product Exhibitions. A total of 44,625 international 

and domestic professional visitors were hosted. Expressing 

that the number of visitors this year was a record, Ali Bıdı, 

Chairman of ANFAS, summoned the participants for 2020. 

The 30th Hotel Equipment - International 

Hospitality Industry Equipment 

Exhibition and the 26th Food Product 

– International Trade Exhibition for 

Food and Beverage Hospitality Equipment, 

organized by ANFAŞ - Antalya 

Fuarcılık İşletme ve Yatırım A.Ş. and the 

most comprehensive exhibitions in 

their fields, were held at Antalya Expo 

Centre on January 16 to 19, 2019. 

453 companies and over 

3,500 brands 

Added value to the economy of Antalya 

and Turkey with the trade volume 

it achieved after the exhibition, the 

giant organization brought a total of 

435 exhibitor companies and 3,500 

brands from accommodation, hospitality, 

food and beverage sectors together. 

Companies that established 

new business connections throughout 

the exhibition had the opportunity to 

exhibit their new and innovative products. 

44,625 domestic and overseas 

visitors in 4 days 

The 30th Hotel Equipment and the 

26th Food Product Exhibitions hosted 

a total of 44,625 domestic and overseas 

professional visitors in 4 days as 

a result of the visits that ANFAS had 

made in Turkey and target countries. 

The exhibition received a great deal of 

attention from hotel investors, hotel 

managers, buyers, spa centres, interior 

designers, contractors, public officials, 


chefs and cooks, chain market officials, 

café and restaurant owners, food 

wholesalers, retailers, teacher’s lodges, 

police’s lodges, public institutions and 

social facility businesses. 

The gate of the sector to the 

world 

More than one thousand professional 

visitors and purchasing committees 

from 36 countries, including Germany, 

Albania, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, 

Belgium, United Arab Emirates, Bosnia 

and Herzegovina, Algeria, China, 

Morocco, Palestine, Georgia, Croatia, 

the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Iraq, 

Iran, Montenegro, Qatar, Kazakhstan, 

Kosovo, Libya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, 

Macedonia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Russia, 

Serbia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Ukraine, 

Oman and Jordan, came together with 

the participants thanks to the cooperation 

between the Ministry of Economy, 

the West Mediterranean Exporters 

Association and ANFAS. 

Business interviews above one thousand 

took place as a result of B2B 

negotiations, collective presentations 

and exhibition interviews organized 

throughout the exhibition. Small and 

medium-sized exhibitors had the opportunity 

to introduce their products 

to the world market, while giant companies 

of the sector that made international 

business connections signed 

new franchise/dealership contracts 

abroad, through the negotiations. 

Münevver Duran Vice general Manager 

Design and gastronomy shows 

Participants and visitors came together 

during activity programs organized 

within the exhibition area. Six different 

designs with the concepts of Brazil, 

Dubai, Morocco, Sweden, Mexico and 

Russia were exhibited in six different 

hotel room designs at the Hotel Design 

Show which was organized with 

the theme of world countries this 

year under the 30th Hotel Equipment 

Exhibition. In addition to the Hotel 


Design Show, specific areas of specialization 

and Housekeeping Olympics, 

conferences and seminars brought the 

participants and visitors together at 

the 30th Hotel Equipment Exhibition. 

In the 26th Food Product Exhibition 

area, the campaign ‘’869- Yerliyse Yeriz 

(We eat if it is a national)’’, initiated 

by chiefs from AGEB - Antalya Association 

of Gastronomy and Educators 

to promote the use of domestic 

products in tourist facilities under 

the leadership of TAFED - Turkish 

Culinary Federation, received a great 

deal of interest in the Food Show. 

Competitions, shows, workshops and 

demonstrations were carried out using 

entirely domestic products from 

industrial kitchen equipment to food 

products. More than 3500 chiefs participated 

in the Exhibition which is the 

highest-attended culinary gathering of 

Turkey. 

Tourism professionals set the 

sector’s course 

Many panels, conferences and seminars 

addressing the development of 

the sector were carried out in the 

Exhibition. POYD - Professional Hotel 

Managers Association organized 

panels for Changes to the Food Safety 

Management Systems Standard, Occupational 

Health and Safety Management 

System and ‘Wasting Out Productivity 

In with Lean Products’ panels 

throughout the Exhibition. 

Simultaneous record 

Evaluating the 30th Hotel Equipment 

and 26th Food Product Exhibitions 

and stating that a trade bridge was 

established between the purchasing 

committees from abroad and the participants, 

Ali Bıdı, Chairman of ANFAŞ, 

continued: ‘’We expect a trade volume 

of at least US $ 45 million between 

the purchasing committees from 36 

countries and the participants. We, as 

ANFAS, will continue to develop the 

fair sector in Turkey, to meet the needs 

of the sector and revive the economy 

of our city as we do today. As we always 

say, ANFAS fairs are not just our 

fairs, but the entire Turkey. As ANFAS 

fairs succeed, Antalya will continue to 

succeed, and as Antalya succeeds, our 

country will continue to succeed. We 

will continue the momentum we have 

achieved this year also in 2020 with 

the support of all our stakeholders. I 

already invite exhibitors to take their 

part in the exhibition for the organization 

that will open its doors simultaneously 

in January next year.” 


Lezita offers 

delicious 

and practical 

solutions 

Lezita is one of the most leading 

brands operating in the broiler market 

having a lot of respectful successes 

in the lists of largest names and other 

qualities. We got details of their success 

story from Mustafa Özdil, General 

Manager of the company. Full text of 

the exclusive interview follows: 

Could you please tell us the 

corporate image of Lezita? 

Lezita, which carries on a business 

within the body of Abalıoğlu Group, 

53rd biggest industrial enterprise of 

Turkey, is one of the first 5 enterprises 

in the broiler chicken and one of the 

first 2 enterprises in the processed innovative 

product market thanks to experiences 

of Abalıoğlu within this sector. 

As Lezita, we offer delicious and 

practical solutions to people with our 

convenient and innovative products 

which we developed by taking inspiration 

from consumers. We produce 

our products in 5 different categories 

at our production facility, established 

on 100.000 square meters in Izmir-Kemalpasa 

and equipped with modern 

and state-of-the-art technology, has 

the capacity for slaughtering processing 

400.000 broilers per day. 

We have a rich product portfolio, consisting 

of fresh, frozen and nutritious 

chicken products, practical, easy-toprepare 

and crispy meatball and other 


cooked products, charcuterie products 

(salami, Turkish style fermented 

sausage (sucuk), sausage) and types of 

döner with its traditional tastes. 

In the direction of our mission, for 

12 years, we have always aimed to 

maintain a continuous development 

in order to offer our products to our 

customers in the amounts and time 

requested by them with the best prices 

and we have achieved plenty of 

new grounds within this period. Today, 

we continue our visionary works by 

taking firm steps forward in order for 

being the leader company in the further 

processed chicken sector. 

Which technologies do you 

use for the production? What 

is your annual capacity? 

In order to meet the world standards 

regarding technologic infrastructure, 

food safety and healthy production, 

as Lezita, we constantly improve and 

increase our fund of knowledge related 

to chicken meat production. We 

have an integrated supply-chain which 

monitors all processes that a product 

goes through from being inside eggs 

to being served on the table including, 

animal feed, hatching period, produc- 

Mustafa Özdil, 

General Manager of Lezita - Abalıoğlu Food Division 


tion facility and 

transportation. 

All of our 

processes are 

carried out in 

accordance with 

national and international 

standards 

and EU criteria. Conformities 

to the specifications 

for all inputs 

and processes, from 

the materials we supply 

to the final product, are 

tested in our laboratories 

with high standards. 

The carcasses, feathers of which are 

plucked via fully automatic machines 

after they are cut, internal organs 

of which are removed and cleaned, 

which are cooled down and automatically 

transferred to the chopping line 

are scanned one by one through camera 

systems with high technology and 

then, they are categorized according 

to their weights and qualities. 

Every stage of the operation is controlled 

and approved by our professional 

food engineers and veterinarians 

within the scope of our principle 

for safe food production in a sustainable 

quality. At our facility, which has 

the capacity to process twenty five 

thousand chickens per hour, all process 

stages from hanging to cutting, 

from chopping to packaging 

and from 

final product 

to logistics are 

managed by 

computer systems 

and traceability of 

products is ensured. 

We already 

know that you use 

halal methods for 

slaughtering. Which 

certificates do you have? 

All of our chickens are slaughtered 

by hand in accordance with Islamic 

methods. All of our halal production, 

including processed 

product groups, is certified 

by KASCERT and GIMDES 

HALAL CERTIFICA- 

TION INSTUTIONS 

which have international 

recognition 

and credibility. 

What 

percentage 

of production is 

exported? In which markets 

are you strong? 

As Lezita, we export our products, 

produced at our facility in 

Izmir-Kemalpasa, approximately 

to 30 countries. A large 

part of our exportation is 

made to Iraq and Gulf Arabian 

countries. The share 

of exportation in our total 

sales is approximately 15%. 

While performing our exportation 

activities, we 

take care of working with 

business partners that will 

ideally represent our brand and 

products and that we can from a 

long-term cooperation. We develop 

products and sales actions strategically 

according to requirement 

and 

consumption 

trends of 

related 

market 

f o r 

our sales 

in different countries. 

Dubai - Gulfood, Germany 

- ANUGA and France - SIAL 

fairs, which we annually participate, 

provide significant opportunities for 

us to exhibit innovations brought into 

sector by us and to form new cooperation. 

While we doubled our exportation 

in 2018, we had significant growth 

in markets of Kosovo, Albania, Maldives, 

Gulf Countries, Mauritius, Iraq 

and Ghana and at the same time, we 

started to make exportation to Russia, 

Togo and Japan. 

Our strategic steps lie behind this 

success. As Lezita, we obtained TUR- 

QUALITY certificate in 

2016. At the point 

we have arrived 

today, 

we reap 

the fruits 

of our 

works 

and 

we base 

our 

future plans on the 

solid data that we have created with 

our experiences and researches. We 

will continue our studies and investments 

in order to maintain our economic 

growth also in 2019. We will 

make marketing investments especially 

in target countries and put up a 

struggle to give a place to our products 

in international chain markets. 

How was 2018 for Lezita? 

As Lezita, we had really a successful 

year which we achieved all our business 

objectives. Thanks to help of 


solid infrastructure and experience 

allocated by Abalıoğlu as the 53rd biggest 

industrial enterprise of Turkey, we 

increased our market share in Turkish 

market to the level of 10% while 

completing 2018 with a growth rate 

over the sector average. 

We took first steps for Lezita brand 

management in 2018. We appeared 

before customers with our practical, 

easy-to-prepare, reachable and nutritious 

products that testify our assertion 

on innovative products. We 

launched our new product ‘‘Lezita 

AÇ YE Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken 

Breast Strips” that is the only and 

first product in this from in Turkey. 

This product, which is made of 100% 

chicken breast and which can be consumed 

both cold and hot with its 

smell of grill and taste, proves that innovation 

is maximized by Lezita. Furthermore, 

this product has a further 

significance for us since it matches 

up with our mission ‘‘eliminating the 

barriers standing up against healthy 

nutrition needs of modern urban life 

by developing and offering practical 

solutions’’. 

In 2018, we were also granted to 

be a licensed producer of 

Disney, is one 

of the biggest 

companies 

of the world, 

and we entered 

into an agreement. 

Within the framework 

of this cooperation, 

by leading the 

way in the sector once 

more, we launched Mickey 

Mouse themed product 

group, firstly nuggets, to the market. 

Lezita Mickey Mouse themed lowsalty 

and low-fat nuggets, which are 

crispy even in the oven with its special 

coating and which do not contain 

any coloring agent and preservative 

substance, have been found attractive 

with its package for mothers who take 

care their children. It is considered as 

a good alternative for mothers who 

have difficulties to make their children 

eat food and care for their healthy nutrition. 

Would you like to address any 

other issues? 

We attend fairs, congresses and 

conferences which provide a basis 

for meeting with o u r 

customers in new 

countries. 

In markets, 

to which we already 

export our products, we focus 

on strengthening our brand power 

through our branding studies and increasing 

the awareness of our potential 

customers. 

As an enterprise which adopted the 

principle of constant development and 

change, we take firm steps forward 

through our mission to develop more 

practical, tasty, nutritious and healthy 

products under chicken meat category 

and make these products more accessible. 

As Lezita, we make an effort 

to meet the protein needs of people 

in a more accessible way thanks to 

our chicken products that we produce. 

We will continue to attach great 

importance to research-development 

(R&D) and innovation to ensure that 

everyone is well-nourished. We will 

keep on removing the barriers against 

healthy nutrition needs of people in 

modern urban life by developing and 

offering practical solutions by following 

new trends in the world and 

customer needs closely also within 

the upcoming period. 

Regardless of to which market 

you are getting into, the first 

rule to hold on to a market is to find 

out the current business cycle by conducting 

a market research. Researches 

concerning which products should be 

offered for customers through which 

methods and channels light the way 

for us. Another significant point is to 

decide on distribution channels of 

offered products and constitute your 

supply-chain organization properly. 

We think that right steps taken on 

such issues will increase market share 

of Turkish companies abroad. 


Consumers’ needs are 

provided with tasty 

products under Mersin 

Foods umbrella! 

The company makes its presence felt with its wide range of 

products, from dairy products to frozen fruit & vegetables 

and also different types of goods. 

Mersin Foods started its journey with 

awareness of success comes with 

walking into consumer’s life and being 

permanent by appealing to their 

magnificent taste. Since its establishment, 

Mersin Foods has moved ahead 

with an impressive development. We 

learned the success story of the company 

from Yusuf Romano, The official 

of Mersin Foods. Full text of the exclusive 

interview follows: 

Could you tell us briefly about 

your company? 

In order to initiate our firm, we aimed 

to establish a solid foundation based 

on strong pillars. For us, the central pillar 

of a company is human capital and 

team work. We have identified human 

health and happiness as our primary 

goal. 

Since our establishment, we aimed to 

produce healthy products within hygienic 

conditions. Our sensitivity on 

this issue, keeps its momentum as it 

was the case since the establishment 

of the company. We have always taken 

care of all the processes required to 

keep our factories hygienic and health 

conscious. 

Since the very first day, we have always 

worked hard to produce the 

best and the highest quality products 

with our technical expertise and quality 

manpower. 


your product groups and 

annual production capacity? 

Our products consist of milk and milk 

products. In 2018, a total of 8 million 

kg of production was made in our factories 

located in Çanakkale and Mersin. 

In 2019, we continue to upgrade 

our investments and to increase our 

capacity. 


What are your main criteria 

in production process? 

We have a very important role in 

production. First of all, we are very 

sensitive about safety. Another sensitive 

issue is hygiene. Hygiene is very 

important especially when it comes to 

food products. We take all necessary 

measures to ensure that there is no 

problem in terms of hygiene in the 

products we produce in our factories. 

Food safety is also a sensitive issue because 

it is related to human health. We 

conduct food inspections with our 

own laboratory by keeping our food 

safety at the highest level. I would also 

like to point out that foods are carefully 

stored in the required degrees. In 

addition to these, our factories have 

certificates such as ISO, HACCP, BRC 

and HALAL. We have registered the 

quality of our production by the certificates 

we have received. In our company, 

trained labor force is also very 

important factor in our production 

process. We believe that labor force 

should be an educated one. We take 

care to ensure a disciplined and quality 

teamwork. Consumer trends, innovations 

in the sector are the most 

important factors for companies to 

launch new products. 

Do you intend to add new 


range in line with rising 

demand? 


As a company, we are always open 

to innovations. In fact, when we look 

at our product range, there are many 

different products that take consumer 

trends seriously. In the new year, we 

have developed some projects in line 

with these trends. I hope we will soon 

add those products to our product 

range. 

What do you say about your 

brand in the sector and your 

market share? 

Our company has a very 

high market share 

especially in the 

Middle East. 

We have been 

maintaining 

our trading 

relations with 

a well-established 

company 

for many 

years. Every year, 

we increase our market 

share by diversifying our customer 

portfolio. 

Could you give information 

about the volume of your 

domestic and foreign sales 

and your export portfolio? 

About 90 percent of our sales volume 

are overseas sales. We export 

our products to America, Australia, 

Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, 

United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Lebanon, 

Libya, Oman, Syria, Jordan, Albania 

and Palestine. One of our main 

goals is to expand our market share in 

America and Australia. We think that 

we will be able to better address the 

consumers with new products and 

we continue to work on this issue. 

There is also an African market within 

our plans. We are also working on this 

issue. 


about your investment in 

R&D and the works you have 

undertaken to increase 

your brand 

awareness? 

Today, we face innovations 

in every aspect 

of our lives. These innovations 

have become indispensable 

to our lives. We are 

constantly renewing ourselves to 

catch up with these innovations and 

keep up with the new era. While our 

production and consumption 

habits change rapidly, we 

attach great importance 

to our R & 

D activities in 

order to meet 

the high expectations 

of 

people. People 

want to discover 

new flavors while 

on the other hand 

they search for healthier, 

pure and natural products. 

The 

authorities 

of our 

country are aware 

of this change and the have initiated 

a considerable amount of regulations 

in 10 years, thousands of additives 

(preservatives, coloring, etc.) were 

imposed restrictions and prohibitions 

within this framework. 

Under these circumstances, we are 

continuing our investments with full 

speed, knowing how vital our R & D 

activities are to the sustainability of 

our brand. To give an example to our 

company’s R & D activities; 


- Developing durable processing techniques 

free of additives. 

-To develop products to meet the 

expectations of our customers to discover 

different tastes. 

- Develop packaging that prevents 

consumer from wasting (domestic 

consumption or catering). 

We are participating in many fairs to 

increase brand awareness. In addition 

to the trade fairs, our sales team travels 

many times throughout the year 

in order to establish a warm contact 

with our existing customers and potential 

customers. By doing so, we 

make them taste our products and 

we have the opportunity to meet 

each other. 

What are the major fairs you 

attended? Is there any fair you 

will attend recently? What are 

the surprises waiting for your 

visitors at this fair? 

We are participating in Paris Sial, 

Gulfood Dubai, Abu Dabhi Sial, Russia 

World Food and Malezia Sial. We 

will be in Dubai Gulfood again as it 

has been for many years. We look 

forward to meeting people to be 

there. Of course, we will also have 

the opportunity to present our new 

products to our visitors. This process 

makes us more excited and motivated. 

Those who are interested in our 

products should definitely visit us. For 

this reason, I would recommend that 

the exhibitors should visit our stand at 

Hall 7, 706. 

What are your goals to 

expand your market share? 

As I mentioned before, we are launching 

new products to expand our market 

share. We would also like to participate 

in fairs as much as possible and 

promote our products to the World 

efficiently. In the future, we are aiming 

to reach out to the countries where 

we have not yet 

sold or have not 

sold enough. 

Do you have any 

new investment 

initiative? What 

would you like to 

add? 

Recently, we have invested in 

new machinery in our own factories. 

In this way, we are producing 

new products and increasing our 

product range. Our recent investment 

in mozzarella is at the forefront. We 

get satisfactory feedback from our 

customers. 


Makam Beverages 

A dependable 

representative of 

Ottoman drinks 

Makam revitalizes traditional flavors inherited from Turkish 

culture and produces for the world consumers 

Black Grape Juice, Tamarind, Cranberry, 

Hurma and Hunkar Night and 

others are some of the products of 

MAKAM’s product portfolio. During 

the most glorious periods of the Ottoman 

Empire, these healing syrups/ 

sherbets became elegant drinks of 

pashas and gentlemen. Thanks to the 

natural extracts and herbs 

in their contents, these 

products were well-deserved 

to be offered in 

gold tombacs. 

MAKAM 

Beverages 

produces 

these palace 

drinks from the wonderful fruits of 

Anatolia, from the plant roots and 

seeds with chemical-free processes 

and offers them to the consumers. 

Mr. Ömer Kaya, founder and chairman 

of MAKAM Beverages, told us about 

his successful and extraordinary initiatives. 

Could you tell us briefly 

about the basic building 

blocks of your company since 

its establishment? 

Our company, Makam Food and Beverages 

produces a series of healthy 

beverages inspired by the beverage 

culture used in the rich palace kitchens 

which dates back about 500 years 

before the Turks. Our products 

are sold under the brands of 

MAKAM, PLANTAE and IBRA- 

HIM ARIF. 

Our beverages 

are produced 

to meet the 

needs of our customers who have 

high expectations for taste and quality. 

Carefully selected natural fruits are 

produced as original drinks formulated 

from these plants and seeds. 

The most prominent feature of our 

products is that they do not contain 

any chemical additive such as glucose 

and corn syrup, aspartame, caffeine, 

chemical preservatives and chlorophyll. 

Our products have important 

contributions to human health as well 

as consumed for pleasure. 

Drinks prepared in our factory, in Nilufer 

district of Bursa, are pasteurized 

with modern devices to preserve 

their freshness and contents and are 

bottled in glass which are the healthiest 

container in the world. 


your product groups and 

annual production capacity? 

We sell our products under three 

brands. 


Most of our products are reinterpretation 

of the drinks used in the old 

Turkish palaces to the present day. 

PLANTAE branded products are 

mostly positioned as Detox drinks 

and mixed fruit drinks. IBRAHIM ARIF 

branded drinks are traditional drinks 

that positioned for chain markets, 

restaurants, cafeteria and so on. This 

brand is produced as a respect for the 

names of two wise men with unique 

knowledge of plants. 

The annual capacity of our factory is 

around 4 million liters. The capacity is 

increasing in parallel with the increasing 

demand. 

What do you say about your 

brand in the sector and your 

market share? 

Our company believes that people 

in Turkey and around the world have 

some problems with the chemical 

contents in drinks. Therefore, we have 

an understanding that drinks have to 

be healthy and beneficial to people. 

These varieties do not have a large 

market share yet. However, people 

are becoming more conscious and 

Ömer Kaya 

sensitive and have shown a serious 

interest towards the kind of products 

we produce. We strongly believe that 

our production can reach serious volumes 

in the sector in a short time. The 

intense demand for our products confirms 

this fact. 

In which countries are you 

exporting your products 

and where are your target 

markets? 

Our company is about to complete 

the restructuring and institutionalization 

works. Some of our products 


have started to take place in several 

chain stores. Besides, in addition to exports 

to countries such as Germany, 

Austria, Denmark, Indonesia and Saudi 

Arabia. Our exports to Germany, Berlin 

Region, Qatar and Iraq will be realized 

in a very short time. Our meetings 

for exports with countries such as 

the United Kingdom and the United 

States continue. 

Do you plan to add new 


range in accordance with the 

demands? 

We are experiencing developments 

just like your question. Taking into account 

the incoming demands, we have 

started to work to produce several 

new products. 

Soon we will offer a number of high 

quality drinks to our people first and 

to other consumers in the world. You 

will encounter very unique products 

that have not been produced in series 

yet. I would like to keep them a 

surprise. 


about your investment in R 

& D and the works you have 

done to increase your brand 

awareness? 

We are working on this issue. These 

days, we have included some professional 

friends in our team, we have 

increased our activities, we will be in 

new and special selling points. We will 

also expand our brand awareness by 

expanding in key chain markets. 

What are the domestic and 

foreign fairs you attend? 

We did not find it appropriate to 

participate in fairs without strengthening 

our infrastructure. We recently 

attended a trade fair organized by the 

Bursa Chamber of Commerce for importers 

only. We’ve been very useful. 

But from now on, we will participate 

more in similar fairs and bring our useful 

drinks to the people of the world. 

What are your goals to grow 

your market share? 

As I have just mentioned, there is already 

a weakness in the beverage 

sector about the human health and 

benefits. We aim to be one of the serious 

companies that fill this gap, we 

are moving forward rapidly. 

Do you have any recent 

investments or developments 

to mention? 

As MAKAM Beverages company, earlier, 

we did not think about entering 

chain markets. Then we decided that 

it would be more beneficial to be 

in chain markets to increase brand 

awareness and decided to be in chain 

markets. In Istanbul, Adana, Bursa and 

Ankara, we have joined in several effective 

chain of markets. Our efforts 

in this direction will continue and we 

will have a more extensive sales network 

in a short time. Our goal is to 

bring these healthy drinks to as many 

people as possible. We do our best to 

achieve this. 


Ulusoy Un keeps its 

position on top 

Listed in the top 500 companies in Turkey, Ulusoy Un 

expands its market coverage with factories in Tekirdag and 

Samsun. 

Board member of the Association 

of Flour Mills in Turkey and chairman 

of the board of Ulusoy Un, 

Eren Günhan Ulusoy informed 

about his company as follows: 

“Ulusoy Un was founded by our 

father Fahrettin Ulusoy, an entrepreneur 

family in Samsun, in 1969 

to produce flour, wheat, bran and 

feed. In 90’s exports were begun. 

Port in Samsun has contributed 

much to the continuous growth 

of our exports to meet increasing 

demands coming from neighboring 

countries. We bought a factory 

in Corlu, and this helped us to 

increase our efficiency in Istanbul 

and in the region. With the factory 

that we had in 2008 in Samsun, our 

capacity was doubled and we entered 

in Iraqi market. In 2019 our 

total capacity reached to 900,000 

tons with a five-fold increase from 

180,000 tons. Then we engaged 

in transit trade. We increased our 

capital base by offering some 

shares to public. We are the first 

firm in Samsun, whose shares are 

traded in Istanbul Stock Exchange 

(BIST).” 

New targets in the 50th 

anniversary 

Having 50 years of experience in 

the business the company facilitated 

the construction of a new 

factory in Samsun. The facility 

will be operational in 2019 and 

will produce about 600,000 tons 

of flour, accounting one sixth of 

Turkey’s total flour exports. Eren 

Gunhan Ulusoy says, “We prefer 


the industry instead of construction 

business. Our potential for exports 

is 50 million dollars. Besides, 

we have licensed warehouse that 

helps farmers by offering them secure 

and dependable warehousing 

services. The first facility was built 

in Alaca and the other one in Samsun 

is about to be completed. We 

targeted to have a storage capacity 

of 200,000 tons by June 2020.” 

Ulusoy exports 60% of it total 

production mainly to the markets 

in Far East and in Asia. According 

to the data furnished by Gunhan 

Ulusoy, Turkey has more than 20 

million tons of production capacity 

for more than 100 varieties of 

crops and the capacity is growing 

even more. 

Eren Günhan 

Board member of the Association of Flour Mills in 

Turkey and chairman of the board of Ulusoy Un 

Markets will expand when the 

production is doubled in 2019 

Ulusoy exports to over 80 countries 

and is active in 30 to 40 countries. 

Mr. Ulusoy says, “Sustainable 

growth is the most important 

factor for us. Both the quality of 

products and financial data and 

risk management are important 

factors. We want to grow more by 

keeping our financial risks at the 

minimum level and keep growing. 


Innovative products for 

2019 are coming soon 

Muratbey aims at increasing its total export revenue of 

2019 by 40 percent. 

Having shaped the sector with its 

successful actions in 2018 Muratbey 

announced that 2019 would be a 

growth year in export. During 2018, 

Muratbey attended global fairs and so 

it speeded up also its abroad branding 

activities. One of the 2019 goals of 

Muratbey is to bring new and innovative 

products to the sector. 

Muratbey to be the most delicious 

leader of dairy products industry 

contributed to our national economy 

by taking successful steps in export 

actions in 2018. Also, it got into new 

markets and brought together its innovative 

tastes with global markets by 

attending global fairs in 2018. Muratbey 

which gave acceleration its abroad 

branding activities in 2018 conducted 

consumer researches and digital 

campaigns. Its innovative actions and 

export activities conducting throughout 

the year were deemed worthy of 

many awards. 

Muratbey aiming at increasing its total 

export revenue of 2019 by 40 percent 

is preparing to get together the 

sector with innovations. Moreover, it 


is going to put its signature under the 

important successes that will shape 

the sector this year within the scope 

of the projects conducted in R&D 

center in Uşak. 

Added European countries to 

its export network in 2018 

After the export ban put by European 

countries was removed and Muratbey 

obtained export license, Muratbey 

that exports to USA, Balkan and Middle 

East countries and Turkic Republics 

added also European countries to its 

export network. 

Indicating that this move expending 

their export routes made a major 

contribution to Turkey’s economy as 

well, Necmi Erol, President of Muratbey’s 

Executive Board, said: “As Muratbey, 

we increased the share of export 

in our turnover from 5 percent to 18 

percent. In order to contribute to our 

country, which has passed through difficult 

times, we have accelerated our 

export activities and aimed to increase 

our foreign exchange contribution to 

our country’s economy. In 2018, we 

carried out successful export activities. 

We took justified pride of bringing 

our products which are unique in its 

field in the European market. We are 

currently sending our products to EU 

countries, in particular UK, Germany, 

France and Netherlands”. 

Muratbey speeded up its 

foreign branding efforts 

Stating that they carried out foreign 

activities abroad within the scope 

of export objectives for 2018, Necmi 

Erol said: “In 2018, we adopted a 

branded growth strategy abroad. In 

addition to our flavor, naturalness, innovative 

products, we speeded up our 

foreign branding activities, researches 

and digital investments. In this context, 

we have established close communication 

with our consumers abroad 

through our English and Arabic social 

Necmi Erol 

President of Muratbey’s Executive Board 

media accounts. We enhanced our 

emotional connection by organizing 

social media contests. In line with our 

country-based marketing activities, 

we also opened new social media 

accounts named “MuratbeyLebanon” 

on Instagram. We will operate these 

operations in cooperation with our 

local business partner in Lebanon. On 

the other hand, we have managed 

our marketing activities by conducting 

consumer researches on the consumption 

habits of cheese in different 

countries”. 

Muratbey’s globalization 

activities are rewarded 

Stating that they represented our 

country successfully in every platform, 

Necmi Erol said: “In 2018, we were 

granted a prestigious award, thanks to 

successful our activities. We got the 

first place with the “Helix Cheese” 

brand, under the category of “Best 

Cheese” in the World Dairy Innovation 

Awards organized within the 

scope of the Global Dairy Congress 

in which the leading brands participate. 

We are delighted to bring this 

pride to our country”. Erol said: “We 

have been awarded the Qudal Medal 

as the brand chosen by our consumers 

as “number one in quality” during 

the year. We were proud to have the 

same award twice in a row, thanks to 

qualified as “best quality brand” by our 

consumers since 2016”. 


Turkey’s organic 

agricultural products 

diversified 

Due to its rich plant variety, Turkey is one of the countries 

best suited for organic cultivation. Today, nearly 250 

kinds of agricultural products are organically produced 

efficiently. 

78 FOOD TURKEY March - April 2019 

Nowadays consumers are becoming 

increasingly interested in environmentally 

sound products, as a result 

of continuously expanding awareness. 

Thus, the desire for healthy life has 

oriented consumers toward healthy 

food and organic agricultural products. 

The movement towards healthy food 

has started in 1960’s in developed 

countries, spread all over the world. In 

line with, growing demand, organic agricultural 

activities began in Turkey in 

1985 based on demand of importing 

countries. Due to its rich plant variety, 

Turkey is one of the countries best 

suited for organic cultivation. Today, 

nearly 250 kinds of agricultural products 

are organically produced in Tur-

key and shipped abroad pioneering with 

dried fruits and nuts, olive and olive oil, 

pulses and spices. Industrial products such 

as cotton, textiles and essential oils have 

also be started to be produced organically. 

In the Turkish agricultural and food industry, 

production is realized in conformity with all 

rules of hygiene in order to produce high 

quality and sanitary products. In this regard, 

many firms in Turkey have started to apply 

internationally recognized quality and food 

safety systems like ISO 9000, ISO 22000, 

HACCP, BRC, IFS, SQF or GLOBALGAP. 

This enables the Turkish food industry to 

export to all countries in the world. In 

addition, the similarity of consumers’ preferences 

with Moslem countries and the 

geographic and cultural proximity to many 

European markets allow Turkish food exporters 

to penetrate international markets 

easily. However, the Turkish agriculture and 

food industry export potential is not limited 

with these products. There are many 

other products that are worth experiencing 

and these are recommended to all 

consumers in the world. 

From all of the described products above, 

it can be easily seen that Turkey has become 

a big potential supplier of various agricultural 

and food products. It is apparent 

that Turkey is likely to continue to develop 

her trade with world markets as her products 

become known and preferred more 

and more in the future. 

In the mean time, trade between Turkey 

and the world markets must not be solely 

limited to export and import business; 

foreign investment is always welcome to 

Turkey. Joint ventures in Turkey and other 

countries are potential activities, which are 

expected to be the major promoting tool 

for enhancing trade relations of Turkey. 


World Bank to fund 

modernization of 

Turkey’s irrigation 

The bank approved the funds - a $252 

million loan plus $2 million in grants - 

for the project, which will modernize 

irrigation infrastructure, the bank announced. 

The project will provide farmers better 

access to water, the bank said. 

Mariam Sherman, World Bank acting 

country director for Turkey, said: “The 

agriculture sector employs about 21 

percent of the population and accounts 

for 60 percent of the rural 

workforce in Turkey.” 

The bank stressed that the project 

was started by Turkey’s Treasury and 

Finance Ministry and State Waterworks. 

As part of the modernization, 

irrigation systems will be rebuilt and 

improved in selected areas with $249 

million, the bank stressed. 

Meanwhile, another $5 million will 

be used for innovation, institutional 

support, and project management, it 

added. 

“The project is funded through an 

IBRD [International Bank for Reconstruction 

and Development] Investment 

Project Financing (IPF) instrument, 

with a 10.5-year repayment 

period, including a five-year grace period,” 

the bank underlined. 


Traditional flavors 

of Turkey beyond 

borders by Sekeroglu 

Spices 

Meeting 70 percent of domestic demand for coffee, 

Sekeroglu Spices company’s innovative varieties are sold 

hot in abroad. 

Having a quarter century of experience 

in the business, Turkish coffee 

with its unforgettable flavors and other 

local tastes are brought to export 

markets by Sekeroglu Spices company. 

Shortlisted in four companies in the 

hot beverages in Gulfood Innovation 

Awards the menengic coffee is a candidate 

for the most innovative product 

in Golfood. We spoke to Ferhat Sekeroglu, 

foreign trade manager, about 

their innovative products they sell. 

Can you tell about the main 

focus areas of your company? 

Our company was founded as a small 

spices retail shop twenty five years 

ago by an entrepreneur who had 

been looming kilim business. Today the 

firm is operating in 15,000sqm factory 

in the south, in Kilis, having two 

marketing firms, three retailers, 30 distributors 

in domestic market and 10 

abroad in 25 countries. Our company 

offers the best products at very competitive 

prices to its customers. 

What do you want to say 

about your products and 

annual production capacities? 

In general we deal with specific, natural 

and local varieties. Menengic coffee, 

dibek coffee, cig kofte set and snack 

sweeties are examples of them. Production 

capacities change for varieties, 

but in total, we have a capacity of 

about 250 thousand packages. 

What is your position and 

shares in the markets? 

Our Sekeroglu brand is the market 

leader in its product categories. For 

example, menengic coffee, the first 

product in the market in ground form 

addresses to 80 percent of the market. 

We claim that we are the greatest 

producer of snack sweeties in the 

world. We employ 230 people for 

only this variety. We met 70 percent 

of demand in domestic market. 

Our buyers prefer directly our products 

in terms of quality and customer 

trust. 


Would you give information 

about the shares of sales in 

and out of the country? What 

are your target countries for 

exports? 

Presently, share of domestic sales 

is about 60 percent, rest is sold in 

abroad. Our target is to reach a balance 

for both. Our products are sold 

in almost all countries in Europe, Iraq, 

USA, Gulf countries such as Dubai, 

Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman, 

and some part of central Africa. Our 

target markets for the future are all 

Arabian countries and Russia, Azerbaijan 

and other Turkic republics. 

How are your activities 

aiming to improve your brand 

awareness and investments in 

R&D? 

The food and chemical engineers in 

our factory are active in research and 

development fields. We are focused 

on self-development every day and 

every moment, to find new ways to 

facilitate works, machinery, warehousing 

and in terms of employment. 

In order to increase our brand awareness 

we spend on commercials on TV 

and ads in local and national newspapers. 

We believe that the best advertisement 

is made by our buyers 

through word of mouth communication. 

What type of fairs have you 

been participating in the 

country and abroad to find 

more customers? Are there 

any fairs that you planned to 

participate soon? If there is 

any, what surprises that your 

buyers may be find in these 

events? 

Our firm is an active follower for Gulfood, 

World Food Moscow and World 

Food Istanbul. But, we will be participating 

in Sial Paris, Anuga Cologne and 

Fancy Food in USA in the years ahead. 

Soon, we will meet with our valuable visitors in Dubai/Gulfood. We will introduce 

some new products of our company. 

Is there any investment that you have been engaged recently 

and any other point that you want to be emphasized? 

Recently, we launched fast in the market our new product, the menengic coffee, 

the first one shot coffee. With this product our company was shortlisted 

with four products among the hot beverages category for Gulfood Innovation 

Awards. Results will be disclosed concurrently with Gulfood in the coming fair 

activity. This product, menengic coffee, is made of virgin form of Antep pistachio 

will be the most innovative product of our company. 


Global halal 

food market 

prospers 

more than 

ever 

The halal food market has grown quickly over the past 

decade, and is now worth an estimated $632 billion 

annually on a global scale 

According to a recent global market 

research, Muslims represent an 

estimated 25% of the world’s population, 

with around 1.6 billion consumers. 

This large consumer market 

presents several opportunities for 

halal food products. Not only is the 

Muslim population growing, but also 

Muslim consumers are increasingly 

better educated, with higher household 

incomes, paving the way for a 

worldwide demand for mainstream 

products and services that conform to 

Islamic values. Halal food is prepared 

following a set of Islamic dietary laws 

and regulations that determine what is 

permissible, lawful and clean. The halal 

food market has grown quickly over 

the past decade, and is now worth 

an estimated $632 billion annually. As 

such, it represents close to 17% of the 

entire global food industry. In order to 

conform to Islamic standards; all Muslims 

must ensure that they are only 

consuming halal approved food, drink 

and medicine. The large population 

of Muslims adhering to halal requirements 

has fuelled increased global demand 

for halal products. 

The global halal food market was not 

significantly affected by the global financial 

recession. Major growth in Asia 

has been driven by changing lifestyles 

that allow for higher incomes. The largest 

contributors to the halal market in 

Asia are Indonesia, China, India, Malaysia 

and the Gulf Cooperation Council 

(GCC) members, including the United 

Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, 

Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. These countries 

have all seen substantial growth 

in the halal food industry that is unlikely 

to be curbed in the near future. 

There is also strong potential for halal 

certified products in non-majority 

Muslim markets, where consumers are 

looking for safe and ethical products. 

The increasing popularity of the halal 

market in Europe is driven by Russia, 

France and the United Kingdom. The 

halal market in these countries has 

continued growing since 2004, albeit 

at a slower pace than Asian markets. 

A major opportunity can be found in 

the Australia/Oceania region, where 


the halal food market saw growth of 

33.3% in recent years. 

The most promising halal markets 

span over a range of different countries. 

As the largest populations of 

Muslim’s are located in the Asia-Pacific 

region, both majority and non-majority 

Muslim countries in this region 

would have high demand for halal 

products. However, markets in North 

Africa and the Middle East are particularly 

lucrative markets, as several 

countries have majority-Muslim populations. 

The halal food industry is also 

growing in countries that have smaller 

populations of Muslims, but that have 

food quality and safety concerns, such 

as Australia, the United States and European 

countries. 

Key halal markets include Indonesia, 

United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Saudi 

Arabia, Iraq, Morocco, Iran, Malaysia, 

Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Kuwait, Jordan, 

Lebanon, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Syria, 

Oman and Pakistan. Emerging halal 

markets with relatively large Muslim 

populations include India (177 million 

Muslims), China (23 million), Russia 

(16 million), the Philippines (5 million), 

France (5 million), Germany (4 million) 

and the United Kingdom (3 million). 

To sum up: 

- 25% of the world’s population is 

Muslim, nearly 1.6 billion people. 

-Food products prepared following a 

set of Islamic dietary laws and regulations, 

which determine what is permissible, 

lawful and clean, are classified 

as halal. 

-The halal food market has grown 

quickly over the past decade, and is 

now worth an estimated $632 billion 

annually on a global scale. 

-Strong economic growth and rising 

per capita incomes have fuelled demand 

for diversified halal products, 

enabling higher consumption levels 

and more opportunities for halal food 

producers. 

-Halal consumption is not limited only 

to the Muslim population; other consumer 

goods are seeking halal food 

due to halal food’s excellent reputation 

for healthy and safe food products, 

and the humane treatment of 

animals. 


Turkey offers significant 

investment opportunities 

in agribusiness subsectors 

As part of its targets set for the agriculture sector by 2023 

Turkey aims to be among the top five overall producers 

globally 

Home to the headwaters of the Tigris 

and Euphrates Rivers, Turkey’s agricultural 

sector today is echoing the 

prosperity of ancient Mesopotamia. 

With its favorable geographical conditions 

and climate, large arable lands, 

and abundant water supplies, Turkey is 

considered to be one of the leading 

countries in the world in the field of 

agriculture and food. 

Turkey has a robust agriculture and 

food industry that employs almost 

20 percent of the country’s working 

population and accounts for 6.1 

percent of the country’s GDP. The 

strengths of the industry include the 

size of the market in relation to the 

country’s young population, a dynamic 

private sector economy, substantial 

tourism income and a favorable climate. 

Turkey is the world’s 7th largest 

agricultural producer overall, and 

is the world leader in the production 

of dried figs, hazelnuts, sultanas/raisins, 

and dried apricots. The country is also 

one of the leading honey producers 

in the world. The recent data indicate 

that Turkey boasted production 

of 18.5 million tons of milk, making it 

the leading milk and dairy producer in 

its region. The country also saw production 

totals of 35.3 million tons of 

cereal crops, 30.3 million tons of vegetables, 

18.9 million tons of fruit, 1.9 

million tons of poultry, and 1.2 million 

tons of red meat. In addition, Turkey 

has an estimated total of 11,000 plant 

species, whereas the total number of 

species in Europe is 11,500. 

This bountiful production allows Turkey 

to maintain a significantly positive 

trade balance thanks to its position as 

one of the largest exporters of agricultural 

products in the Eastern Europe, 

Middle East, and North Africa (EME- 

NA) region. Globally, Turkey exported 

1,781 kinds of agricultural products to 

more than 190 countries accounting 

for an export volume of USD 16.9 

billion. Turkey is looking to position itself 

as the preferred option for being 

the regional headquarters and supply 

center of top global players in the agricultural 

sector. To encourage investment 

in the sector, Turkey offers a set 

of incentives for potential agribusiness 

investors. According to McKinsey and 

Co., Turkey offers significant investment 

opportunities in agribusiness 

subsectors such as fruit and vegetable 

processing, animal feed, livestock, poultry, 

dairy, functional food, fisheries, and 

enablers (in particular cold chain distribution, 

greenhouses, irrigation, and 

fertilizer). As part of its targets set for 

the agriculture sector by 2023 Turkey 

aims to be among the top five overall 

producers globally. Turkey’s vision for 

its centenary in 2023 includes other 

ambitious goals, such as: 

•USD 150 billion gross agricultural 

domestic product 

•USD 40 billion agricultural exports 

•8.5 million hectare irrigable area 

(from 5.4 million) 

•Ranking number one in fisheries as 

compared with the EU. 


Nem Alma ve Kurutmada 

Çözüm Ortağınız... 

İkitelli Organize Sanayi Bölgesi 

MUTSAN Mutfakçılar Sanayi Sitesi 

M Blok No : 40 Başakşehir / İSTANBUL 

www.akscooling.com 

info@akscooling.com

FoodTurkey-march2019

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