BUILDING A BRAND REQUIRES COURAGE
İdil Yiğitbaşı, CEO of Yaşar Holding, stated that Yaşar brand had been making innovative investments since its establishment, and she said, “For a company to become a brand, innovation, distinction, and courage is required. Yaşar Holding, since its establishment, moved towards that goal and made sure the brands it created were accepted.”
Yiğitbaşı, who attended the seminar conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Coşkun Küçüközmen, Lecturer at IUE Department of International Trade and Finance, shared her experiences with students and answered their questions. She told about the founding story of DYO, Turkey’s first paint factory, and reminded that they started the food business when the founder, Selçuk Yaşar, bought a farm in Seferihisar. “The journey that started in 1969 upon the purchase of the farm is very significant. Our brand, which was established during a period when the villagers used to dump the left over milk into the creeks, started milk production with a 4 month shelf life for the first time next to milk bottles. Pınar brand name launched a creative, different initiative,” stated İdil Yiğitbaşı.
“Exporting to Gulf Countries”
Yiğitbaşı, who indicated that the Holding currently had 7 companies, 12 factories, and more than 5 thousand employees, stated that it reached to 60 million consumers at 155 thousand points of sale. She said that they placed great importance on research and development, and they conducted studies focusing on the target group and positioning of each product. Yiğitbaşı said they mainly exported to Gulf countries, and they recently received permission to export to European countries. “We majorly export to Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Since the Gulf countries make up the majority of our exports, we shoot and publish commercials in their languages. Neighbouring countries are very convenient for exporting milk. Labneh cheese, white cheese is among the most preferred products. Turkish cream is very popular in North Iraq. We shot a commercial in Kurdish. Now we are getting ready to shoot a commercial in Azerbaijani language,” said Yiğitbaşı.
“No Tütünbank investment”
One of the students asked Yiğitbaşı, “Which investment would you not make as a holding?” and she answered, “I would not make the Tütünbank investment. Tütünbank was purchased and its name was changed into Yaşarbank. I would not have changed its name. Yaşar brand is a very prestigious name in food, chemistry sectors, etc. It was a very risky decision.”
When asked about internship at their companies, Yiğitbaşı stated that they were accepting more than 600 interns every year and they were conducting case studies for products with the interns.
