I should probably have written this article in Turkish, but I chose English for a reason. The audience I aim to reach in Turkey is unlikely to read it anyway. They will look for solutions elsewhere. And to be honest, I am not the only one raising these issues—though apart from a few exceptions, I rarely see anyone addressing them.

Turkey is a global leader in certain agricultural products. Take hazelnuts, for example. Turkey produces 70% of the world’s supply, yet the market is controlled by Germany and Italy (Ferrero). Even though higher-quality products exist in Turkey, no strong local brand emerges to challenge Nutella on the global stage. Another example is olive oil. My personal connection with olive oil began after I got married. My family grows hazelnuts, so for us, olive oil was just something you picked up from the supermarket among the standard brands. But for my wife’s family, olive oil holds the same place as hazelnuts do for mine. Over the past 15 years, I’ve learned a lot about this market simply by observing.