Interview with Aromsa Founder Murat Yasa

Mr. Murat Yasa, could you tell us about yourself and your professional background?

I am a native of Moda. My grandfather was one of the first to settle in Moda in 1895. My father was one of the brilliant students Atatürk sent abroad on scholarship, so he completed his university education in America. Because of this, upon returning to the country, he served 15 years of mandatory state service. For this reason, my brother and I started primary school in Ankara, continued in Artvin Murgul, and finished primary school in Istanbul. I attended secondary and high school at Saint Joseph French High School. I obtained my degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Istanbul University. During university and until founding Aromsa, I gave private lessons for 11 years. After university, I worked professionally for 6 years. In the company where I worked professionally, I first became Sales Manager, and at age 29 became General Manager; at age 29 I completed my military service as a Naval Reserve Officer, teaching chemistry at Beylerbeyi Non-Commissioned Officer School. After military service, I returned to my position at the company. In 1982, I started Aromsa with a friend who gave me 20 square meters in his factory yard and loaned me USD 8,000. I am married; I have 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren. I speak English, French, and enough German to make myself understood.

Could you share with our readers the secret to your success in the sector spanning from 1982 to today?

In high school, we had a teacher named Henri Matalon, whose reputation for making all students love mathematics had spread beyond Turkey's borders. One of his sayings never left my mind, and I applied it in everything I did. He used to say: if you study to learn the subject, grades will follow you, but if you study for grades, you will follow grades. Every investment we make at Aromsa is based on this principle—not to make money, but to strengthen our core business and provide better service to our customers. Also, the principle my father and my uncle instilled in my brother and me—not to deviate from honesty and to respect the society, environment, and nature we live in—applied at Aromsa, are the reasons behind Aromsa's success. As a result, in the countries where Aromsa provides service, in addition to Turkey, in 3 other countries, Aromsa is the only local company that is a leader ahead of the world's top 5 multinational companies.

What are your product varieties and the sectors you serve?

We have a portfolio of 34,000 flavor formulations to serve all branches of the food industry. And through a program we had specially created for each item in this large collection, we can access it at any time. Quality Control Apart from our Quality Control Laboratories, in our 4,200 square meter Research and Application Laboratories, we serve all sectors of the food industry with approximately 80 colleagues, all trained at Aromsa. This equals 25% of all our company employees. When necessary, all of us, including myself, have the knowledge and skills to select and apply products most suitable for our customers' processes. Sometimes when my customers ask me why they should work with Aromsa, my answer is: "Just as a tailor sews a suit according to the customer's measurements, unlike ready-made clothing, we approach our customers' projects not with a bottle off the shelf but with special work."

What are the points you pay attention to in order to be a good flavor producer?

To be a good flavor producer, it is necessary to respond in a timely manner to the needs and requests of our customers, whom we see as business partners, to always maintain the same standard using quality raw materials, and to produce in compliance with regulations in force worldwide. Conducting proactive work, informing the customers we serve about innovations in the world, and following the minimum criteria that a flavor producer company must adhere to are essential.

In our developing world, there is an increasing shift toward new tastes and healthier products. How do you shape your work in this regard?

Since the raw materials we produce in the food industry concern human health, we must closely follow the regulations applied in the world from the outset. For this purpose, organizations such as the FDA in America and EFSA in Europe conduct research and issue these regulations based on their findings. To be immediately informed of these regulations, you need to become a member of these organizations through indirect means. This is how we, through AREP Association, of which flavor producers and sellers in Turkey are members, and its European equivalent EFFA, are immediately informed of these changes and share them with relevant official organizations. Within Aromsa, we have a team of 4 people who follow and implement these regulations. This is the health-related regulation part of the work. There is also a part about new tastes and new trends, where I believe our colleagues are very successful. They have tremendous creativity. To enhance their creativity and develop dialogue among them, we established theater, excursion, reading, photography, and sports clubs at the company. And we see the benefits of these more and more each day. At certain intervals, we organize innovative tasting days within the company. We present the outstanding projects from there to our customers.

You have a significant market both domestically and internationally. In this context, what criteria do you base on when determining your sales activities?

When determining our sales activities, the precautions we must take against macro developments occurring beyond us take precedence over everything else. From countries where we operate to countries that openly or covertly boycott Turkish goods, from countries subjected to boycotts by global circumstances, to countries where propaganda is conducted and investment has become fashionable—you must establish a separate strategy for each. On the other hand, our biggest problem domestically is determining strategies to warn our customers against unfair competition from underground production and those who operate underground, which violates every rule of honest industry. We discuss all of these with broad employee participation in the "Strategy Development" workshops we hold in the final quarter of each year and follow them throughout the year.

The place of R&D at Aromsa is distinctive. Could you provide information about the success and value that R&D work has brought to your brand?

As Aromsa, we don't particularly like slogans that sound good but lack substance—"World brand," "We became an R&D center," "We export to 70 countries," "The world's biggest." Our slogan is "A person's character shows in their work, not in words." A few years ago, my colleagues told me they wanted to apply to become an R&D Center. My answer was that the very existence of companies like ours is already R&D, so there was no need for incentives. To not disappoint them, I agreed. Today, we allocate approximately 5.5-6% of our annual turnover to R&D. The advantage we receive from the government as an R&D center does not exceed 3% of this amount. The ratio of R&D spending in the country to GDP is 0.9%; in South Korea, this ratio is 4.36%. We rank among the top 250 companies in value-added creation for the country. I would like to assign a doctoral student a thesis on the incentives provided to doctoral students in Turkey and the value-added they bring to the country.

What studies do you plan to conduct at your R&D center in the coming years?

Beyond our R&D center, we also have a pilot units division. The colleagues working here develop and improve innovative and improvement processes related to our core business. Thanks to these projects worked on in our pilot facilities, if we believe we will be able to provide better quality service to our business partners, we move these projects to production investment. For Aromsa, the most important thing is working with quality people. When I visit a business partner or attend an event to represent Aromsa, I feel the capabilities, knowledge, and skills of all my colleagues behind me; this gives me great power. Years ago at a congress in Ankara, an older, valued female professor, who is no longer with us, spoke out. She said "The state gave us 200 hectares of land for the research center we will establish, we will buy a USD 70 million building, equipment, and so on." I raised my hand in front of the responsible minister, undersecretary, and other officials and asked, "Madam, what kind of investment will you make in people?" When she responded, "That's not the subject of today's discussion," I said to her, "In that case, your investment is nothing but throwing state resources into the street." Unfortunately, we couldn't agree with her on what priorities should be given in a work to be done with her. Working with quality people on every issue is the key to success. Otherwise, you cannot achieve long-term success. Once companies reach a certain size, they cease to be the owner's company. They have a common denominator package they must follow. The items that make up this package are as follows: you will make your employees happy and respect their rights, you will be sensitive to the environment and believe that future generations have the right to live in at least as healthy an environment as you do; your business purpose will be to provide added value to the close social environment and country where you live. Aromsa, which has applied these criteria since its founding in 1982, was deemed worthy of receiving the "Best Managed Companies" award in 2018 in a study conducted with a jury of a world-renowned private organization and a prestigious university.

Ms. Melis Yasa Aytaman, could you tell our readers about yourself and your professional background?

After completing my studies at Notre Dame de Sion French High School, I completed my degree in Chemistry with Food Science at the University of Reading in England. I did my master's degree in France at ISIPCA in Versailles on Food Aromas. I then began my professional career working at Nestle in Zurich, Switzerland. From there, I moved to Nestle Germany and worked for a total of 5 years. Subsequently, I completed a 6-month culinary education at the French Culinary Institute in New York. After gaining experience in different parts of the world for approximately 9 years, I returned to Turkey of my own accord and have been working at Aromsa, our family company, for 14 years.

What responsibilities does being a second-generation representative of the company place on you? How are your future objectives shaped within the framework of these responsibilities?

Aromsa was founded 37 years ago and has reached today's position with its own capital. Growing with steady steps, it has become a leader domestically and a preferred brand internationally. As Aromsa, we operate with the strategy of being the first name that comes to mind in all markets where we exist when it comes to food flavors. At the same time, without compromising on quality, we aim to always satisfy our business partners by providing comprehensive service. As a second-generation representative of the company, I can say that my greatest responsibility is to pass on Aromsa's values, vision, and culture to future generations. With this sense of responsibility, I draw strength from the solid foundations laid in the past; I aim to build the future by seriously managing institutionalization, sustainability, and innovation processes.

What motivation does being a woman entrepreneur bring to you and your company? Do you have a message to relay to women workers in Turkey through this platform?

I don't describe myself as an entrepreneur, and I find it strange that this term is used so widely. For me, the responsibility of passing Aromsa's values to future generations is my greatest source of motivation. I think that women workers in Turkey should be more involved in business life. I believe that women's labor force is very important for both our country's development and the growth of companies and thus the development of the economy. If we consider Aromsa, 50% of employees and 70% of managers are women. Undoubtedly, women's contribution to the company reaching this point is significant. In the future, women workers will continue to contribute to Aromsa reaching even better points. As the company's second-generation representative, I will continue to support equal opportunities for women workers and their assumption of key positions in the future. My message to women is to continue fighting under all circumstances, never give up, and pursue their dreams. On the path to success, there will definitely be obstacles, impossibilities, and difficulties. Being determined, working hard, and focusing on the goal will bring success.

Aromsa owns 6 factories, 5 in Istanbul and 1 in Germany. What value does being a domestic and national producer bring to your brand? Could you tell our readers about the work you have undertaken to increase competition with global brands and increase business volume abroad?

I have always taken pride in being a domestic and national producer. As Aromsa, we are the flavor supplier and solution partner for many local and international food producers in Turkey. From product design to recipe creation, from product application to sensory panel evaluations, we offer comprehensive and innovative solutions. In all geographies where we operate, we move forward with the goal of being the first name that comes to mind when it comes to products known for their quality and flavor. Although Aromsa ranks among the world's top 20 flavor producers in terms of sales, it competes with world leaders—in other words, the top 5 largest companies—in terms of quality. Aromsa's success as a brand both in Turkey and in the countries to which it exports is due to its finished product support, recipe knowledge, and market research capabilities, making it not just a flavor supplier but a solution partner. Exports constitute 40% of our sales. We export to approximately 70 countries. We have significant market share especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and Russia. Our goal is to strengthen our position in the regions where we operate and to enter new markets we are targeting. In this direction, we continue to invest in increasing our R&D, innovation, and production capacity at our factory in Germany.

Could you tell us about the markets you are active in and the laboratory work you conduct with your business partners to enter new markets?

Aromsa is a company with R&D in its DNA, and R&D leads our growth. We continue to invest in line with our objectives. Our R&D center has doubled in size and we continue our new technology investments. Currently, all employees in our R&D center are specialists in their respective fields. We generally bring recent graduates into our company and invest in our employees to train the best in their field. This will continue to be part of our objectives in the future. Under increasing competitive conditions, we will continue to produce the highest quality and innovative products without compromising on quality and to provide the best service as a solution partner. Our customers are our business partners, and we provide comprehensive service. From beverages to ice cream, from chips to processed meat products, from instant soups to frozen foods—we conduct R&D and applications and serve the sector for a very wide range of food products. Our laboratories are always open to our customers for joint projects. We frequently invite our business partners, work together, and conduct projects.

Could you tell us about your sustainability work? How do you interpret the effects of these efforts?

As Aromsa, while developing innovative products that respond to changes of the times for society, we create value and emphasize being sensitive to the environment. Issues such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, and rapid population growth bring along risks closely concerning many sectors. The private sector bears great responsibilities in effectively and proactively managing risks and resolving global problems. To leave a livable world for future generations, we adopt an environmentally sensitive approach in our production processes. Within the scope of our Environmental Policy, we work to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint, perform effective water and waste management, and maximize efficiency in our activities. For this, we focus on climate change mitigation and energy management, which are among our priority issues, and operational efficiency. We contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, we bring Aromsa's vision to a global level. We support ensuring that all sections of society have access to safe, nutritious, and adequate food through sustainable food systems, adopt production that increases production and productivity without causing environmental harm, and establish sustainable consumption and production patterns.