A slogan from Turkey to the world: Unrush Your World

The 11th Ayvalık International Olive Harvest Days is an important platform where the future of olives and olive oil in Turkey is discussed. 

Actually, one day is never enough to learn from experts why production has fallen despite the fact that the number of olive trees has increased and how climate change has affected olive production. 

Turkey in 2014 exported $100 million worth of olives and $66 million worth of olive oil. For a country which has a centuries-old olive and olive oil tradition, these figures indeed cannot be considered adequate. 

Ayvalık International Olive Harvest Days is like a festival with its panels and concerts and was again not sponsored by İzmir’s Sevilen Wines this year, a firm which actually had been sponsoring the event for many years. 

Meanwhile, the ban on alcoholic beverage producers from sponsoring festivals as well as advertising and promotion has been in effect for two years. 

Recently we learned with a decision printed on the Official Gazette that New Year’s baskets sold in supermarkets will be banned from including alcoholic drinks.  

The business of new wine producers who have invested significant amounts in vineyards as well as veteran wine producers is getting tougher because of taxes and new regulations. Exportation looks like a life saver. 

The data shared by the CEO of Mey İçki, Galip Yorgancıoğlu, proves this. Mey İçki was founded by the privatization of Tekel’s alcoholic drinks section in 2004 and went under the umbrella of London-based Diageo in 2011. 

The company has a total of nine factories in Turkey providing a significant amount of employment in these areas. Its annual exportation is around $44 million. 

If we are to make a comparison, the exportation of one company is $22 million less than the total olive oil exports of Turkey. 

According to the knowledge Yorgancıoğlu shared, the Mey Group in 2014 contributed $2.8 billion to Turkey’s budget in direct or indirect taxes. 

An important mission the group has undertaken is to make the Yeni Rakı brand, which was produced by Tekel in 1994, a world brand by 2020. 

Yorgancıoğlu said, “When Mey İçki bought Tekel, at that time, rakı exports were 1.2 million liters. We focused on international marketing activities and in the past four years we have multiplied exports by four, reaching 5 million liters.” 

When you consider that the domestic market for rakı is 33 million liters, then 5 million liters is an important figure. 

The CEO of Mey İçki said they aim to make Yeni Rakı a world brand by the year 2020 and make this brand one of the top 10 most valuable brands in the global drinks market. 

The group is conducting a campaign with the global brand consultancy company Effective Brands to make it a trendy drink attracting the attention of consumers in international markets. 

The slogan of the campaign is “Unrush Your World.” The slogan gives the message that it is important to take pleasure from small things in life. People should take time from the rush and spend time for themselves with a good meal. It invites consumers to share, savor and enjoy the spirit of slow.

The pilot sites for the campaign will be conducted in London, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. 

A global brand is on its way from Turkey’s alcoholic drinks sector.