Besides its success in the cooking oil market, Turkey’s biggest cooking oil producer Savola Foods continues to be Turkey’s biggest branded olive oil exporter. Savola Foods continues to invest and extend the success of its Yudum, Sırma, Egemden, Cielo and Brillo brands to its new brands ‘Sava’ and ‘Vala.’ Savola Foods, which has become irreplaceable in the household, will soon be indispensable to industrial kitchens with Sava and to bakers with Vala, both new brands of margarine that will be available this April. The factory used for the production of ‘Sava’ and ‘Vala’ was commissioned in Ayvalık with a $12 million investment. $10 million more is planned to be invested in the next 2 years.
We will make a difference in the industry with Sava and Vala
Houmer Balazadeh met with press members during the 14th Ayvalık Olive Harvest Days Festival this year saying: “We offer more than 100 products in the sunflower seed, olive oil and corn oil categories today from our 18.000 m2 Ayvalık factory. We have achieved pioneering work in the industry, and we will continue to offer products which best suit the needs of our customers. We are focused on innovation for both cooking oils and margarine. We create value-added products for better nutrition and delicious food. With this in mind, our new margarine plant was built with state of the art technology. Savola Foods entered the industrial and pastry oil markets this year. Our new brand Sava is for industrial use and Vala is for pastry cooks. We’ve brought one of Turkey’s best-equipped plants online to produce our new brands and we’ve formed a very good team. The production capacity of our margarine plant is now 30 thousand tons. We aim to increase this capacity to 45 thousand tons next year and to 70 thousand tons two years later. We’re preparing to sign off on work never before seen in this category to bring our innovative products to the industry and customers soon.¨
We are the leaders in packaged olive oil exports
Balazadeh said: “We want to introduce Turkish olive oil to the world and increase its consumption. We also request support from the government to contribute to the international promotion of Turkish olive oil. Turkish olive oil has the quality and is strong enough to compete in the global arena. We have been the biggest packaged olive oil exporter since 2015. Of our total exports of 6000 tons, 4000 tons is olive oil. Our export turnover is 25 million dollars.
We export 32% of all the cooking oil we produce (not including olive oil.). Our products are available in the USA and Japanese markets as well as in European countries such as France, England, and Germany. Our export volume is growing rapidly. We export to Togo regularly as well as to Middle Eastern countries. We recently signed an agreement with a very important chain store in Canada. Our priority target markets are China, the Far East and America.
‘Egemden’ from the olive capital to the table
Yudum, which started in Ayvalık 30 years ago and became Turkey’s most preferred leading cooking oil brand, continues its journey with Egemden which reflects the abundance, spirit and taste of the region. Egemden Early Harvest is produced from the first harvest crop of the Aegean collected during the October-November period, Egemden Cold Pressed is produced by pressing Aegean olives using cold water below 27 degrees, and Egemden Organic Extra Virgin is produced far away from industrial zones without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. All are suitable for the tastes of olive oil gourmets.
With truffle and chocolate flavored olive oil varieties recently joining the Egemden gourmet delicacies family, food is even more delicious now. Egemden Chocolate Flavored Olive Oil, which will be especially indispensable for chocolate lovers, is a delicious and healthy alternative to chocolate cream. Egemden Truffle Flavored Olive Oil takes its place in the Egemden gourmet series with its excellent truffle flavor which increases the taste of food and is perfect for those who want to try new flavors.
Awards prove success
Turkey’s largest cooking oil producer Savola Foods continues to prove its success by winning awards. Egemden received two ‘Gold Awards’ at the Crescent and Star Packaging Competition. Bottles designed by women from Ayvalık won a Gold Award in the Luxury Packaging Category, and a series of gourmet glass bottles designed by Ümit Ünal won a Gold Award in the Food Category. Egemden’s gourmet series, which won Gold Awards in the Luxury Packaging and Food Categories, was also deemed worthy of Platinum, Silver and Gold awards at the most prestigious competition in Europe, the London International Olive Oil Competition. In addition, Savola Foods received an award in the Food & Beverage category at the International Business Excellence Awards.
Women’s dreams turn into works of art
The Bounty of the Aegean, the Work of Women project provides more than 40 women from Ayvalık with the paint and materials necessary for them to create specially designed glass bottles that reflect the colorful worlds of their dreams. Each figure which ornaments the Egemden bottles is inspired by Ayvalık and contains symbols identified with the region.
Olive lovers meet for the 14th time
The Ayvalık Olive Harvest Days event brought olive lovers and representatives from the olive sector together from all corners of Turkey for the 14th time this year.
The event was organized by the Metropolitan Municipality of Balıkesir, the Municipality of Ayvalık, the Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce, and the Ayvalık Chamber of Agriculture between the 26th and 29th of October. The theme of the event, which Egemden sponsored this year, was ‘Olive Oil is Health’. Performances by street artists, as well as cultural and artistic activities, pepped up the organization. The traditional olive harvest festival started with a parade accompanied by the municipality marching band. Women farmers added color to the organization with their traditional outfits.