Çağdaş Savaşan, Marketing & Commercial Director
Eker

Gama spoke to Çağdaş Savaşan, Marketing & Commercial Director, Eker.

 

What makes innovation in the dairy industry particularly challenging? 

Innovation in dairy is far from easy, especially when you’re dealing with highly perishable products like yoghurt or ayran that have shelf lives of just 30 days. The entire process from production to shipping and selling must be completed within that tight window. That adds logistical pres-sure and makes it difficult to experiment, because returns and waste become real risks. Despite these hurdles, we prioritise innovation. It’s how we stay relevant. At Eker, we’ve focused especially on health and wellness, which we see as the intersection of technology and consumer need. During the pandemic, mental and physical health came into sharp focus, and we began developing products aligned with these concerns, particularly for a younger, health-conscious demo-graphic in Turkey. But we’re al-ways aware that not every innovation succeeds. For instance, high-protein dairy drinks never really caught on here, despite strong interest early on. 

 

How are Turkish consumers’ preferences shaping the dairy market? 

Turkey’s dairy culture is unique and deeply rooted in everyday life. For example, yogurt here is a staple, eaten with everything from meat to vegetables. We even sell large 2kg and 5kg buckets of yogurt, which would be unusual in many Western countries. Cheese, too, plays a central role, especially at breakfast. Our two key varieties are beyaz peynir (similar to feta) and kasar (similar to mozzarella). Ayran (a salty yoghurt drink) is another defining product. In Turkish restaurants, it competes directly with soft drinks like cola. It’s that popular. We treat it like a flagship product, and consumers consistently say our ayran is the best in the country. Kefir, however, is the rising star. During the pandemic, people began paying much more attention to gut health and immunity. This gave kefir a boost, and we saw demand grow rapidly, especially among families and health-conscious women. We responded with flavoured versions for children and sugar-free detox lines for adults, combining kefir with ingredients like beetroot, celery and turmeric.