The story
Founded by Sabri Ülker in 1944.1
Ülker was founded in 1944 by Sabri and Asım Ülker, two brothers whose parents immigrated to Turkey from Crimea, commencing operations in Istanbul as a small bakery. A factory was opened in 1948. Ülker expanded in the 1970s to exporting to the Middle East market, chocolate manufacturing, and packaging. By the end of the 20th century, Ülker was manufacturing margarine, vegetable oil, and dairy products. In 2002, Ülker diversified into carbonated beverages and in 2003 added Turkish coffee, ice cream, and baby food to its product range. In 2003, it introduced Cola Turka, a competitor to Coca-Cola. The advertisement for Cola Turka featured actor Chevy Chase, and according to local sources Coca-Cola cut 10% off its prices due to the success of the Cola Turka launch. In 2015 Ülker disposed of its drinks business.
Parent company Yıldız Holding employed more than 41,000 people and was the fifth on the list of the most successful manufacturers in Turkey in 2001. Ülker sales reach $1.5 billion internationally.
Fulya Banu Sürücü was appointed as the CFO of the company on January 3, 2022.
From Wikipedia’s article on Ülker, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6