Oil turmoil: Turkish brand SUNKOY eyes 10% of country’s edible oil exports in 2023
According to the founder and CEO of the brand’s parent company HVS Group, Mikail Cosar, the turmoil did affect the firm’s production plans and supply chain. Consequently, the launch of the oil range had to be postponed to May instead of early 2022.
Despite the delays, Cosar shared that Turkish edible oil exports managed to reach US$1.7bn in the first half of this year, and the value is expected to be the same for the second half. Mirroring that projection, SUNKOY is targeting a market share of 3% to 5% this year and up to 10% for 2023. To achieve this goal, the brand has set its sights on numerous markets, chiefly the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the US.
“It is obvious that the problems (oil production and supply chain) have recovered substantially in markets all over the world. I do not agree with the idea that shortages in the markets were caused by war. In my opinion, the main reason we can’t find oil varieties in the market is that intermediary companies are purposely holding the products in their warehouses as they want to increase the price per unit.
“On behalf of my company, I can say that we promise to meet any order quantity and any demands as we trust our production line. We do not have any supply problems at the moment. I can confirm that we are at the capacity of meeting any size of order quantity. We aim for sustainable and profitable growth by providing innovative products for customers. We did not take the war crisis as an opportunity; we simply wanted to be part of consumers’ tables,” said Cosar.
The SUNKOY range consists of sunflower, corn, canola, vegetable and olive oils in PET bottles and tins in volumes ranging from 1 to 20 litres. It is a brand under Turkish food firm HVS Group, which manufactures and exports natural food products globally. Other products include honey, olive oil, olives, jams, tahini, halva and molasses.
Sunny outlook
According to Cosar, SUNKOY oils are gathered and processed from harvesters during a specific time frame in Turkey. But the firm also imports if required, depending on supply and demand.
Their sunflower oils are gathered from the Marmara and Black Sea regions where sunflowers thrive, whereas corn oils are derived from the Black Sea and Anatolian regions. Canola oil is taken from the Mediterranean and Aegean regions, while olive oils hail from the Aegean too.
To explain their novelty, Cosar gave the example of SUNKOY’s sunflower oil. It is claimed to contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, coupled with Omega-6, Omega-9 and vitamins A, D, E and K. Specifically, its vitamin E content is purported to be higher than other conventional off-the-shelf brands.
In addition, SUNKOY’s research and development (R&D) process spanned one year. It involved intensive testing, such as raw material and final-product microbiological controls, fat and moisture determination, pH determination, brix, ash, salt determination, and product quality assurance.
Besides scientific testing, experts used the oils in professionally-equipped kitchens to mimic consumers and identify the oils were used in their experiences. As a result, the various oils could be used to cook international cuisines with different techniques, be it broiling, frying, baking or spraying on salads, and complies with the Turkish Food Codex.
Regarding sales volume, Cosar declined to reveal numbers but claimed to have received good feedback and demand from customers that were higher than expected.
“If you want your brand to shine worldwide, you have to pay attention to the consumers’ experiences and country-specific needs, such as quality assurance. You must constantly sustain the quality, and this is most challenging with the ongoing crises globally,” he said.
