Awael News Magazine رئيس التحرير: عادل سميا
مقالات مشابهة
Turkey’s Proud Brand: Arabica Coffee House 
Sertaç: “We aim to be a Turkish brand competing with global brands” Arabica Coffee House, a meeting point for coffee lovers, stands among the pioneers of the coffee industry in Turkey. Serving with the slogan “Make a Difference, Be a Pioneer” and emphasizing “Good Coffee,” Arabica Coffee House is proudly counted among Turkey’s leading brands. Arabica Coffee House CEO, Lawyer Sertaç Yalçın, emphasizing that Arabica Coffee House is a 100% local and national brand, said, “We aim to be a Turkish brand competing with global brands.”
Arabica Coffee House, one of the pioneers in the Turkish coffee sector, aims to be the industry leader. Founded in 2014 in Ankara, Arabica Coffee House has grown in 9 years, expanding its number of branches to approximately 160. Continuing its growth, Arabica Coffee House has become one of the favorite places for coffee lovers with its high-quality coffee beans, treats, menu, and prices. As a 100% local and national brand, Arabica Coffee House aims to compete globally with other brands. Arabica Coffee House CEO, Lawyer Sertaç Yalçın, made sincere statements about the company’s efforts and goals. Yalçın, explaining that they are progressing confidently toward their goals, emphasized that they will also enter the global arena very strongly.
“ARABICA IS THE NAME OF A PLANT”
Describing his start in business as a lawyer, Yalçın said, “In 2014, I entered the service sector by establishing the first branch of Arabica Coffee House. I am still actively operating as the founding partner and executive board chairman of Arabica Coffee House. I also continue to work as the owner of Yalçın Law and Consultancy Law Office, which I founded in 2010. Ankara has the highest number of Arabica Coffee House branches. Even there, many people think that we are Arab. It is important for me that the truth is known in this regard. The name Arabica actually comes from a plant. It is the name of a plant that provides 70% of the world’s coffee reserves, a plant that yields high-quality coffee beans, similar to a cherry tree with red fruit. The seed of this red fruit is coffee. There are other coffee plants, but the characteristic of the Arabica plant is that it yields high-quality coffee beans. Our name is inspired by this fact,” he said.
“WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 160 BRANCHES”
Stating that Arabica Coffee House is rapidly growing, Yalçın said, “Our growth in Istanbul will accelerate. We have always grown in waves, and we will continue to grow from where we are today. Istanbul is very valuable to us. Our growth will continue here. We are in approximately 48 cities, and we have about 160 branches. We have about 50 more branches to open. We provide service as a 100% local and national brand. It will continue to be so. Our only plan is to go public, invest, and create employment. Coffee culture in our country is advancing significantly. When we established our first branch in 2014, the per capita coffee consumption rate in Turkey was between 350-400 grams, and 80% of this was Turkish coffee. In the 10 years that have passed, today’s per capita coffee consumption rate in Turkey has approached 1.5 kilograms. The percentage of Turkish coffee in this has dropped to around 70%. The coffee consumption rate has increased fourfold in 10 years, but we are still far behind. According to the average of the European Union, the per capita coffee consumption rate is around 8 kilograms annually. Coffee consumption and culture will further develop in our country. Turkish coffee consumers are heading towards a very high-quality place. There is a very selective consumer group,” he said.
“WE ARE DOING OUR BEST REGARDING PRICES”
Providing information about coffee prices, Yalçın said, “We are trying to progress by giving back more in this regard. We attach great importance to the high quality of the product. We analyze many inputs, from the equipment we use to the water, the pH value of the water, the freshness of our coffee. We maintain our quality sensibly. While maintaining this and not compromising on our quality, we also try to follow a competitive pricing policy. But we don’t settle for that. We make positive distinctions in some places, and we run many campaigns. Our mobile application has been launched, providing users with extra benefits. There is a lot of balance in determining prices. There are balances that we do not control and cannot manage. But wherever we can manage, we do our best. As a company focused on reputation and continuity rather than money, we try to provide services that consumers can easily access,” he said.
“WE OPERATE LIKE AN ACADEMY”
Stating that they prepare the treats given with coffee themselves, Yalçın said, “In fact, we deal with many things behind the scenes. We are not just a Coffee House; we are a serious venture and R&D company. As a result of this, we sometimes carry out social responsibility projects and sometimes make investments. We establish solar power plants for our branches to use cheap electricity. We support both investors and green energy. We buy fields and practice good farming there. Also, being a barista has become a profession. When it was not defined, we defined it, wrote its curriculum. Now the Ministry of National Education has accepted it. Barista, like cooking, is taught as a course in vocational high schools. We wrote its curriculum and trained its teachers. We provide qualified employment training. In fact, we operate like an academy. Based on our slogan ‘Make a Difference, Be a Pioneer,’ we have established our own facility to produce our bread, sandwiches, desserts, and chocolate products. We have started production now, and we will gradually deliver them to our branches,” he said.
“WE HAVE EXPANSION PLANS”
Stating that they will continue to progress without stopping, Yalçın said, “We have goals. Among our top goals, we have a plan to go public and establish a boutique foundation. In addition, we plan to reduce our external dependence to 20% and below. We have 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year plan processes that we have set for ourselves. I hope that in 10 years, we will have done what we are talking about and will have given back what we have received in a fair manner. We have branches in Iraq and Ukraine. We have meetings with about 20 countries. But we are establishing business relationships with great sensitivity. We also think that these should be long-term. We don’t exclude money, but we look at it like a shadow. I’m not in a hurry about going abroad. It’s a process where we want to progress with the right relationships and the right people. We started this, and in our expansion plans, we target the Balkans, Turkic Republics, Ukraine, Russia, and Middle Eastern countries. We aim to be the strongest brand in our field in Turkey and to be a Turkish brand competing with global brands with this strength,” he said.
