Can Karakuş, Turkish Marketing Manager of La Lorraine: “As La Lorraine, we use a technology named BAKE OFF.  We prepare the bread with all its special ingredients and bake it 80 percent and then deep-freeze it at - 30 degrees. Then, we store the product. Without breaking the cold chain, we deliver it to the sale point. It has one year consumption period. Quality hotels, restaurants or retail stores carry out the last baking operation for 5-10 minutes and offer the product cozily to their customers.”

Entered into Turkey’s baked goods market in 2013 and opened a factory in an organized industrial zone in Manisa in 2016, Belgium’s world-famous brand La Lorraine continues to grow steadily with new investments. Being active in the sector of baked goods, pastry, and bakery for 79 years, La Lorraine Baked Good Group has 13 production facilities around the world. Nine of these production facilities are in Belgium while the rest is in Turkey, Czechia, Romania, and Poland. Speaking to BBM Magazine, Can Karakuş, Turkish Marketing Manager of La Lorraine, said that the facility installed thanks to advanced technology in Manisa industrial zone has become the favorite factory in the group.

The company delivers its products by reaching 6500 points via the hotel, restaurant, cafeteria, café chains, and supermarkets called HORACE. The company brought mobility to Turkey’s frozen product market. Can Karakuş said that the company is assertive particularly in bread and baked goods sector, adding that the company wants to realize export to the Middle East via Turkey.

Here is QA with Can Karakuş, Turkish Marketing Manager of La Lorraine. Mr. Karakus, could you tell us about La Lorraine’s investment decisions and works in Turkey? The company, which stepped into Turkey in 2013, aims to develop and extend the market by leading the sector. We will double our bread production with our new machinery investments that will be operational within a year. We will provide more employment for 70 people with our building and fixture investments; in this way, we will increase the total number of employees of La Lorraine and its partners to 450 people. We achieved 100 percent growth in 2018 as in 2017 with the new investments we made.

Can you tell us about the technology used in the factory installed in Manisa that your company has invested more than 50 million Euros? The facility in Manisa has been established on 40 hectares and has 20,000 square meters of closed space. It has advanced technology. It is the favorite production facility of the group. By investing 33 million Euros to this factory, we opened the factory in 2013 and entered into the baked goods market of Turkey. La Lorraine that had planned and stable growth in the market made an additional investment of 20 million Euros in 2018.

Why did you choose Manisa? We plan to export to different countries, particularly the Middle East through maritime from our production facility in Manisa. Thus, we chose Manisa because of its advantageous geographical place. We can reach all around of the country through distribution channels like İstanbul, Ankara, Antalya, İzmir, Bursa, Adana, Çanakkale, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Alanya, Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris, and Konya.

Turkey is a big market in terms of food, and baked goods are consumed very much. There are high-interest products baked in stone ovens. Do you pay special attention to this in your production? The size of the market is already the biggest factor in making this investment. In this environment, we have met Turkish consumers in the right place at the right time with our wide product range and our product quality which makes us special. If we look at Turkey bread consumption per capita consumption is 180 kg. Most of this is still the standard white loaf of bread; therefore, we vary in terms of product and quality and fill a very important gap. We closely follow the developments in the market and respond to the expectations in the areas of consumer interest. Our launch plans are ready for this year and next year.

What kind of technology do you use for the frozen product market? As La Lorraine, we use a technology called BAKE OFF. We prepare the bread with all its special ingredients and bake it 80 percent and then deep-freeze it at - 30 degrees. Then, we store the product. Without breaking the cold chain, we deliver it to the sale point. It has one year consumption period. Quality hotels, restaurants or retail stores carry out the last baking operation for 5-10 minutes and offer the product cozily to their customers.

What are the advantages of using the frozen product at home and in businesses? Companies offer products cozily to their customers or shoppers after 5-10 minutes of the last baking period at their ovens. Another advantage of this concept is that companies can bake the desired product at the desired amount; thus, they prevent waste. While preventing waste, we also contribute to our customers’ economies.

Can you give us some information about your product categories? La Lorraine’s product categories are Breads (Baguettes, Sourdough Artisan Breads, Kaiser Roll, Ciabatta, Round Bread, etc.), Croissants and Muffins, Traditional Flavors (Börek, Bagels, Donut varieties), and Desserts (Pastry, Cheesecake, Cookie, Donut, etc. varieties).

Do you have any export as La Lorraine Turkey? We just started our export to the Middle Eastern countries. We plan to increase this export network in coming years.

Do you have any new investment plans for 2019 as La Lorraine? We will double our bread production with our new machinery investments that will be operational within a year. We will provide more employment for 70 people with our building and fixture investments; in this way, we will increase the total number of employees of La Lorraine and its partners to 450 people. We achieved 100 percent growth in 2018 as in 2017 with the new investments we made.

Where can final customers reach your products? As La Lorraine brand, we delivered our products by reaching 6500 points via the hotel, restaurant, cafeteria, café chains, and supermarkets called HORACE and offered our quality, value added, and qualified products to customers. On the side of retail, we supply all of our products to Migros since 2013. At this point, our products are baked and put on shelves at around 750 branches of Migros and Macro.