TACCI Member Mr. Ercan Karabeyoglu of Gulluoglu was interviewed about their success in the US, as an all-Turkish brand, feeding NYC with signature desserts & pastries, as well as Turkish coffee.
Interview by Gulsun Turkmenogullari for TACCI
-Mr. Karabeyoglu, how did you decide to introduce Gulluoglu in the US? Were you already living here before Gulluoglu started?
I was here before Gulluoglu started. I settled in the USA 30 years ago. I have been working in food industry since 1985. I have been frequently traveling back and forth, keeping up with my work in Turkiye. I was importing Turkish goods, consulting with the FDA approvals here. I have a lot of experience in this industry. I was the main distributor of very prominent Turkish products such as Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi (Turkish Coffee) and packed products of Gulluoglu. We have been distributing preserved Gulluoglu products like Turkish delight, pismaniye and vacuumed baklava.
-How did you go from distributing to cafes?
After years of bilateral trust and friendship with the Gulluoglu family, we became accustomed to each other's businesses. Gulluoglu is a strictly family-owned enterprise. We are working with the eldest brother Nejat Gullu. Not only internationally but also in Turkiye, we are the first and only branch that is not owned by a member of the family.
-How many shops do you have?
We started out with Brooklyn four years ago, our Manhattan store is around a year old and now we are preparing to open our third store in Astoria by mid January. (Editor's note: The store is open currently)
-How do you produce the products in here?
All the baklavas, yufkas (Turkish phyllo dough) and many of the pastries come from Turkiye, from the main production unit of Gulluoglu in Kagithane, Istanbul. They are totally genuine and no different than what you have in Turkiye. All the products are fresh-frozen right after they are produced and transferred to here. They don't lose their texture and flakiness not even a bit due to the advancement of freezing process. We often joke about the products being fresher than the ones sold in Istanbul because they wait at the shelf for less time here than in Istanbul.
-How about the pastries?
Simit (Turkish sesame-bagels) and milky desserts are produced here, some of the cakes are baked here, some come from Turkiye.
-Your business appears on many websites. How do you feel about this?
We appear in Urban Spoon, Yelp and many other rating sites. We have very good ratings in many of these places. We have appeared in New York Times, New York magazine, food magazines. We don't pay special efforts to do so, but we are glad they they notice us.
-What kind of difficulties have you had in this business?
Our biggest obstacle is being a well-known brand back home. When you run a well-known brand, everybody expects the best from you. Any random cafe would not have such troubles. The expectations are formed out of excellence and they are rightful.
-What is the most surprisingly demanded product here?
I have never known that Turkish coffee was such a demanded product before we started. Almost every person walking into the store orders Turkish coffee. I always emphasize that our products are 100% Turkish. Doner is different than Gyro; Coban Salad is different than Greek salad.
-How is the profile of your usual customer base?
Very interestingly we have lots of foreign and local customers frequently coming in. Although it is Turkish oriented some of the time, it is mostly a wide mixture. It is more like United Nations in a sense. Now there is a strong anticipation towards our opening in Astoria. People are stopping by to ask when we will be opening all the time.
-Are there any special occasions?
People know our products from Turkiye, from Greece. There are many surprising occasions that make us proud. For example; The pastor of the church nearby came and said that they used to buy baklava from Turkiye all the time, now they don't need to; the baklava has come to them. Very recently Trump had a reception for 100 people, they insisted on our baklava. Many of our Greek friends sent our baklava instead of Greek baklava in their Christmas gift baskets. Our desserts show up in any Turkish reception. A very recent one of them is Muhtar Kent's (Turkish CEO of the Coca Cola Company) home reception.
-How much do you sell daily?
You never know. Usually a lot.
-How long have you been a TACCI member?
I have started with Gulluoglu. My business partner got involved first, I guess. Then I took over the activities. Our membership is as old as Gulluoglu is.
-What do you think about the activities of TACCI so far?
I think everything carried out here is very rewarding to business owners and the Turkish community. My main concern is that I can't spare enough time for meetings and events. I hope I will have more time to attend such functions in the upcoming year. This is a great occasion to reach out to new places, and to meet people to enhance ones business.
-Thank you for your time Mr. Karabeyoglu. Hope you have a wonderful year!
It was my pleasure.
Visit TACCI Member GULLUOGLU's Website to find out about the products/locations