Erişler Gıda Retail Group General Manager, Abdullah Eriş: “NUDO has become the first mover brand of Erişler Gıda in the retail industry and it proved to be both a healthy and practical food alternative by reaching a market share of 25% in its first year. I believe that our great success lies within the fact that Nudo doesn’t include any substance harmful to health along with the facts that it is a practical and delicious product.” Exporting flour to more than 50 nations with its brand “Eriş Un” and being one of the long-established and leader companies in the flour sector of Turkey, Erişler Gıda introduced NUDO, the first domestic noodle brand of Turkey, to the consumers after almost 3.5 years of R&D studies. Developed according to the palate of Turkish people and having no additives, NUDO, the first domestic noodle brand has also “Halal” certificate obtained by GIMDES and “V-Lable” by European Vegetarian Union which is the only international union in European level. Introducing Eriş Un into the retail industry after NUDO, Erişler Un meets the consumers’ various demands with its packages with the alternatives of 1 kg, 2kgs, 5kgs and 10kgs and special-purpose flour types as for baklava and pastries. Answering our question, Abdullah Eriş, Erişler Gıda Retail Group Manager, stated that one of the biggest flour producers in Turkey, they have invested in the noodle 20 million TL and he adds: “Our primary goal for NUDO is to establish a market for noodles in Turkey and to become the leader in this category. I can say that we are progressing as planned. As a vision for NUDO, introducing Turkish noodle to the uncharted markets in different countries may be amongst our long The foundation of Erişler Gıda has been laid by our great grandfather Ali Eriş by means of the grain trading in the Fatsa district of Ordu in 1920. In 1950s, our grandfather Ali Eriş started trading hazelnuts with the experience he took on from his dad. My grandfather is one of the first hazelnut exporters in Turkey. He showed great success at the time and thus the Eriş brand has become a known brand abroad. We entered the flour production industry by making investments in flourmills for the first time in 1974. Having started with a small trading house, our company has now become a leading company in the flour sector in Turkey, a successful white shoe firm that has taken its place amongst the first three companies in flour production. Having maintained production without compromising on quality and hygiene, Erişler Gıda has presently become the first flour exporter company of Turkey. Having exported 230 tons of flour to more than 50 countries under the brand of “Eriş Un” in 2014, Erişler Gıda executes 10% of the flour exportation of our country all by itself. Progressively establishing added value to the economy of our country every year with the export numbers exceeding 100 million dollars, our group takes its place in the top 250 exporting companies in Turkey to higher levels every year. 2014 has been a breakthrough year in which our company has passed on its experience in quality production to the retail marketing. We created the first “100% domestic” noodle brand “Nudo” by passing on our 41 years of experience in the professional market to the retail market. Introducing the Nudo brand after 3,5 years of R&D studies, it has become the first mover brand of Erişler Gıda in the retail industry and it proved to be both a healthy and practical food alternative by reaching a market share of 25% in its first year. We introduced Eriş Un to the retail market again in the same year. ERiş Un took its place in the market with pink and purple packaging with the alternatives of 1 kg, 2kgs, 5kgs and 10kgs. We have known Erişler for years for its flour and feed production, but you have embarked on various enterprises in the last 2-3 years. First you entered the retail market in the flour production and then introduced the Nudo brand in Turkey by entering noodle production. Could you please tell us about your retail ventures and of course the Nudo brand? 2014 has been a year in which we have embarked on great enterprises as the exportation leader of Turkey. We created the first “100% domestic” noodle brand “Nudo” by passing on our 41 years of experience in the professional market to the retail market. Introducing the Nudo brand after 3,5 years of R&D studies, it has become the first mover brand of Erişler Gıda in the retail industry. Having adopted the indispensable taste of Far East cuisine, the noodle to the Turkish palatal delight, our brand proved to be both a healthy and practical food alternative by reaching a market share of 25% in its first year. Offered in table, bag and cup variations, Nudo has reached an admiration rate of more than 85% amongst the youth in a survey conducted with more than 7 thousand participants. None of our products include MSG, additives, coloring agents, preservatives, sweeteners or artificial aromas. I believe that our great success lies within the fact that Nudo doesn’t include any substance harmful to health along with the facts that it is a practical and delicious product. All Nudo products in the market bear the Halal Certificate obtained from GİMDES. All products reach the consumers under healthy and hygienic conditions after the passing strict controls from their sauces to their packaging. Producing the world’s first and only noodle without additives, our company is proud to offer Nudo to the Turkish public which can be safely consumed by families, youngsters, elders, briefly the young and old alike. Nudo also has content which enables it to be safely consumed by vegetarians. All of the Nudo products offered in cup, bag and table varieties, carry the “V-Label” certificate of the European Vegetarian Union which is the only institution across Europe. The V-Label certificate is only granted to those companies which accept two unannounced auditions and product analyses a year carried out by internationally accredited local food control laboratories. Nudo accepts these audits and crowns its meticulousness it shows for the contents of the products with an international food certificate. Nuro satisfies all needs with table, bag and cup alternatives. Nudo appeals to those who can’t find the time to go out to lunch at the office, students who get hungry in between the lessons, young couples who arrive home late and exhausted due to the traffic, namely to those who seek for a quick, practical, healthy and delicious solutions at any time of the day. The cup and bag form of Nudo provides a 3 minutes quick solution with its practical preparation for those who are short of time. Table products targets the nutrition of bigger families. It provides endless of choices with all kinds of seasonings, sauces and materials. We have introduced Eriş Un into the retail industry after NUDO. Thus we have offered the high quality flours we exported to more than 50 countries to the Turkish consumer. We are planning of becoming one of the biggest brands in the retail flour market. Eriş Un has taken its place in the market with the alternatives of 1 kg, 2kgs, 5kgs and 10kgs packages that can satisfy all kinds of needs. Our Eriş Un brand with the richest grain blend in Turkey, aims to become the biggest helper of ladies in the kitchen with its multi-purpose flours and flours for baklava and pastries introduce to the market last year. Possessing four manufacturing facilities across Turkey, Eriş Un is making mid-terms plans of taking its place in the first three brands that make distributions nationwide. Eriş Un has also made the difference in the market with the pink and purple packaging rather than the conventional white. Our brand is planning to introduce more flour types into the market such as whole wheat flour. Erişler Gıda is also taking steps to offer special and delicious alternatives to the consumers with Miluni in the Premium flour category and ViaDoa brand in the cold press oil class. You have made investments in a new field, the ready pasta-noodle sector whereas Turkey have not yet reached the expected levels of consumption in the standard dry pasta. Can you say that it is a courageous movement to be taken in Turkey? How did you make the decision to make such an investment? First, I have to mention that pasta and noodle are different products. Although both show resemblances in terms of their practical preparations, they exert significant differences in taste. Therefore I think that they have their own sections. The most significant property of the noodle is that it can be prepared in such a short time as 3 minutes, it doesn’t contain any additives, it is natural, healthy, cheap, nourishing and of course delicious Except for the plain noodle, I believe that the other variations will fit well into the Turkish cuisine. When we look at it as “noodle” it sounds like something far from the Turkish palatal delight, but Nudo is curly vermicelli. And the vermicelli culture in Turkey dates back to old times. There are still some people who produce and consume their own vermicelli. I can say that we have brought about a fresh approach to vermicelli. And we also wanted to be the pioneer in a new sector. In this regard, we believe that noodle is the right investment. And it also bears importance that it is directly related with the flour production that we are particularly our field of expertise. Can you inform us about the extent and content of the investment you have made in noodle? We know that you have carried out some significant R&D researches. Could you tell us all about it? The first investment amount we have made in the noodle was 20 million TL. Production, marketing, distribution expenses are all included. And obviously the prominence of Erişler Gıda played an important role in this. We have succeeded in keeping the expenses at the lowest possible levels and made the most effective investment thanks to our past experiences. Our R&D department executed long and comprehensive studies to get the closest taste to the vermicelli which is loved by our people and not to deviate from the taste of the noodle too much. Our expert team of food engineers and chemistry engineers within our R&D department have visited the prominent noodle manufacturing facilities around the world and analyzed the noodles in the market before introducing Nudo to the public. They carried their researches to find the noodle with the taste closest to the Turkish palate. As a result of these studies, Nudo has been produced in the most natural way. There are no additives, MSG, coloring agents, preservatives, sweeteners or artificial aromas in it. We are happy and proud to have produced such a product which can be safely consumed by all. We have also obtained Halal Certificate from GİMDES. We offer our Nudo brand products to the consumer after the thorough controls of our products from their sauces to their packaging. Apart from this, Nudo also has content which enables it to be safely consumed by vegetarians. All of the Nudo products offered in cup, bag and table varieties carry the “V-Label” certificate of the European Vegetarian Union which is the only institution across Europe. The V-Label certificate is only granted to those companies which accept two unannounced auditions and product analyses a year carried out by internationally accredited local food control laboratories. Nudo accepts these audits and crowns its meticulousness it shows for the contents of the products with an international food certificate. What is the product range of the Nudo brand products which you introduced to the market? Since you have introduced the brand Nudo, how much progress have you achieved in sales and reputation? What can you say about the consumer interest shown in Nudo? Nudo has entered the market in 2014 with three different types, table, cup and bag that meet different kinds of needs. We have addressed the university students and young professionals with the cup and bag products besides addressing everyone who wish to quench their hunger under unfavorable conditions. We have curry, tomato, onion and vegetable curly vermicelli types in cup and bag. Nudo Cup is ready to be consumed after adding hot water to the cup and waiting for 3 minutes. Tasty and square, Nudo Cup ends the nuisance of washing the dishes. It is possible to consume Nudo at any place with the fork found in the cup. The bag version provides a cheaper access to the curry, tomato, onion and vegetable flavors. Nudo’s table product is satisfying the nourishment needs of crowded families. Nudo is a healthy vermicelli consisting of just water, flour and salt. It provides endless number of tasting variations with all kinds of seasonings, sauces and materials. Cooked in the pot for 3 minutes after adding hot water, Nudo Table provides quick, practical and nourishing taste alternative. It is up to you to make something new of the Nudo Table with different materials every day. Vegetables, chicken, meat or sea food can be blended with Nudo Table or add any seasoning into it. The table packaging comes in 200gr size at the moment. We will soon introduce bigger size packaging into the market. We made extensive researches with regard to the interest of the consumer in the noodle before entering the market. And even one year after entering the market, we conducted taste – panel surveys with more than 7 thousand participants in 6 cities. Varying on the different flavors, the admiration rates for our products in these researches increased over 85%. Those who said they would consume 4 and more times a month were more than 60%. Therefore we have full faith in our product. NUDO has gained the admiration of women with the table range product and the student and working people with the bag and cup products in Turkey. Do you have any works concerning the abroad marketing of Nudo? Or are you going to have this range of products only in Turkey, what are your objectives? As Erişler Gıda, one of the biggest flour manufacturers in Turkey and a company amongst the top 250 exporter companies, we have made a significant investment in Nudo. Our primary goal for NUDO is to establish a market for noodles in Turkey and to become the leader in this category. I can say that we are progressing as planned. After reaching the level we have projected with regard to the market of noodle known as the curly vermicelli, we may have introducing Turkish noodle to the uncharted markets in different countries amongst our long term goals. But for the time being, we are focusing on the Turkish market. Will your investments in pasta continue, having started with noodle? Could we expect new and surprising moves from Erişler in the near future? As I have mentioned noodle and pasta are two different products. Although both show resemblances in terms of their practical preparations, they exert significant differences in taste. Therefore I think that they have their own sections. We have entered the market with various product types. Besides all these products of ours, we will be offering a new size packaging for our table product due to the increasing demands for the 200 gr packaging. Erişler Gıda is also taking steps to offer special and delicious alternatives to the consumers with Miluni in the Premium flour category and ViaDoa brand in the cold press oil class. Lastly, can we learn about the future objectives of Erişler Gıda? The flour industry directly affects the farmers, bakers and millions of people and consumers together with the employment it provides. Our country is an important country in the grain production; one significant issue is to make the necessary investments to process the grain… There are about 700 active flour factories in Turkey. The effective production of these factories is about 12 million tons. However there is much waste capacity in our industry. Whereas the capacity use rate in the world is about 65%, this rate is about 45% in Turkey. We primarily need to find a solution to the waste capacity in order not to waste the sources of our country. Staying consolidated in this regard and improving the capacity use rate bears great significance concerning our sector. Things are going well exportation-wise. We believe that we can simultaneously increase our capacity in exportation with the increase our production capacity. Another point to consider is to increase the quality and product range along with the increase in production. Thus, it will be possible to enable the production of healthy products with high added value and taking the unit price and exportation prices to higher levels. As Erişler Gıda, one of the biggest flour producers in Turkey, we have passed on our 41 years of experience in the professional market to the retail market. In this regard, we have introduced Eriş Un branded multi-purpose flours and flours for baklava and pastries into the retail market. Eriş Un has also made the difference in the market with the pink and purple packaging rather than the conventional white. We are aiming to take our place amongst the top 3 brands with nationwide distribution capacities in 2015. We will primarily take our place in the retail market with the flours for baklava and pastry and the multi-purpose flour. We are also planning to introduce whole wheat flour and other product ranges very recently. We are manufacturing the NUDO brand with which we have entered the retail market. We are making the production in Indonesia at the moment; but I can say that we are only utilizing the machines of the producer company. Our own R&D specialists are at the helm. NUDO is being produced with our own formula and with Eriş Flour. The producer company doesn’t even know the formula. We will move the production to Turkey when we identify the right conditions and time. We have completed the preliminary works for this. We are at a point to move the production to Turkey in one year.