About Us

Click to Contact

MISSION STATEMENT, PURPOSE AND VISION

 

Our Mission

At Ekofood, our mission is to spread the excellence of the finest semi-dried vegetables worldwide. We’ve cultivated a supportive environment for our team, ensuring exceptional service for our valued customers.

 

Our purpose

Empowering global well-being through enhanced food quality for people worldwide.

 

Our Vision

At the heart of our company, the customer holds paramount importance – a key and sensitive component guiding our every effort.

 

Financial

Aspire to lead the industry and emerge as the most profitable company in our field.

 

Team Members

Striving to be the industry’s premier workplace, determined by the invaluable feedback and satisfaction of our dedicated team members.

WHO ARE WE?

 

Welcome to Ekofood, where innovation harmonizes with exceptional quality in the world of semi-dried tomatoes.

 

Askin: Co-founder and Sales & Marketing Director (TR)

 

Meet Askin, our Co-founder and dynamic Sales & Marketing Director
based in Turkey, driving our vision forward.Originally from Ankara, Askin proudly holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from ODTU (METU). Before diving into the food industry, Askin worked with telecom giants Nokia and ZTE. His telecom career took him to 53 countries, shaping his global perspective. Now, he’s on an exciting journey in food innovation!”

 

In 2009, while in Sweden, Askin had the idea for Ekofood. He officially founded the company in 2010, making it his full-time commitment in 2013. With 15 years of valuable experience marked by professionalism and dedication, Askin’s vision turned into reality.

 

Under the leadership of Askin, Ekofood has become a leading semi-dried tomato producer in Turkey. Join us as we continue to grow and make our mark in the Turkish semi-dried tomato market.

 

Aydin: Co-Founder, Honorary President (TR)

 

Meet Aydin, the Co-founder and Honorary President of our dynamic team, originating from the lively city of Izmir.

Aydin played a crucial role in the inception of our dried tomato enterprise when Askin shared the business idea with him in 2009. Undertaking extensive research to assess the project’s feasibility, Aydin made a significant career shift, leaving behind 15 years in supplying energy to food facilities.

 

Taking the lead, Aydin orchestrated the establishment of the first Eko site and autonomously guided the company from 2010 to 2013. Collaborating with Askin as the General Manager until 2018, Aydin’s unwavering determination played a crucial role in driving the company’s growth to five times its size within an remarkable five-year period.

 

Aydin, a symbol of passion, perseverance, and commitment, remains an invaluable asset as a longstanding member of our board of directors. Let us come together to honor Aydin’s unwavering dedication to our journey of success and growth in the dried tomato industry.

 

Serdar : Shareholder and Technical VP (TR)

 

Introducing Serdar Eraslan, our esteemed Shareholder and Technical Vice President. Serdar earned his electrical engineering degrees from Istanbul Technical University. Serdar’s association with Ekofood commenced during his encounter with Askin in Ukraine around 2006, as both were engaged in the telecom industry. Their professional partnership in Ukraine evolved into a enduring friendship, forged through shared experiences such as military service.

 

Askin had a vision to invest in the food industry, particularly tomatoes. Serdar, transitioning from telecom, joined Ekofood in 2015, turning the vision into reality from start to finish.

 

Serdar’s skills and dedication have been key to Ekofood’s success. Join us in recognizing his vital role as we prosper in quality food production.

 

Ali : Shareholder (TR)

 

Meet Ali, our dedicated shareholder from Turkey, whose story intersects with Askin and Serdar in the lively telecommunications field.

 

Ali, Askin, and Serdar first met while working together on a significant telecom project in Ukraine. It was during these telecom projects that Ali and Askin began discussing the possibility of investing in the food industry alongside their telecom careers. In 2011, while already lending his expertise to telecom giant ZTE in Istanbul, Ali recognized the potential in Ekofood. Two years later, he made a definitive transition, devoting himself entirely to Ekofood. Although he briefly returned to the telecom sector after 2014, Ali
remained a key figure within Ekofood.

 

Ali’s strong belief in Askin confirmed his choice to invest in Ekofood, making it an obvious and exciting decision. Currently, Ali is leading efforts to grow Ekofood in the lively Southeast Asian food market, contributing to our ongoing success and expansion.

 

Peter: Shareholder (UK)

 

Meet Peter, a respected investor from the UK, who first connected with Askin and EkoFood through the semi-dried tomato industry.

 

Peter, an ex-farmer with deep agricultural knowledge, was impressed by the enthusiasm of the EkoFood team. As an investment fund owner, he has backed 18 companies in food, tech, and construction.

 

His involvement and support contribute to the rich tapestry of EkoFood, as we benefit from Peter’s agricultural wisdom and experience in navigating various industries. Join us in celebrating Peter’s integral role in our journey of growth and success.

EKOFOOD FACILITIES

 

Ekofood has 4 sites in Turkey. The frozen & chilled (site 1) product factory is 11000m2 including a 4000m2 closed area. Second one is Ekofoods’s canned & ambient food factory with pasteurization and sterilization abilities in addition to packing jars, tins, cans, pouches, doypack, PP Trays as well as other packing options. Third site is Ekofood’s logistics center which has a 15 000m2 capacity where we use only 3000-4000 m2 at this moment. The fourth site is Ekofood’s frozen warehouse located in Ercili, Turkey. This site is over 15000m2, and is where our frozen products are stored.

 

All facilities are built as per global HACCP norms (explained below) and all of them BRC certified.

 

What does BRC mean?

 

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is a trade association for the UK food retail industry created in 1992. The BRC has published standards for best practices for the food and manufacturing industries for two decades, and also publishes the On-Pack recycling standards for the UK.

 

With rapidly growing expectations from regulators, consumers, and retail outlets, companies must be more proactive in their approach to food safety practices. Food safety is of critical importance when working at any stage of the food supply chain to protect consumers, meet customer requirements, and to safeguard your brand. This is most important for Gurme212 products. They are BRC certified which assures safety of the product you consume. #eatsafe #livesafe

 

What is HACCP?

 

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is an internationally recognized method of identifying and managing food safety related risk and, when central to an active food safety program, can provide your customers, the public, and regulatory agencies assurance that a food safety program is well managed. The HACCP system is used in all four of Ekofood’s sites.

These procedures also adhere to our farmers and suppliers. Ekofood’s food engineers audit all farms and suppliers to ensure that all products / ingredients used in our products have the accredited certifications.

Which products are HALAL?

 

Market research has shown that the demand for Halal products is increasing globally. This is also true in the Turkish food market. The major religion is Turkey is Islam which requires food products to be labelled as halal. Here at Ekofood we have over 50 products labelled as Halal, including our vegetable and fruit ranges. We particularly focus our certification for our products sold within the United States of America, as well as locally.

The term Halal is best translated to “permissible or lawful” and is particularly associated with dietary laws, with specific accordance to meat processing. Essentially, vegetarian cuisine is halal is if does not contain any alcohol.

At Ekofood, special ingredients are used in order to produce Halal products. For example, when adding vinegar to pickles or tomatoes, non-alcoholic vinegar is added.


Which products are KOSHER?

 

There are three main kosher food categories; Meat, Dairy and Pareve (neutral) for foods that are not meat or dairy, including fish, eggs, and plant-based foods.

As of 2020, Ekofood has over 25 products that have received Kosher certification.

Pareve food items are considered neutral and may be eaten alongside either meat or dairy. However, if a pareve food item is prepared or processed using any equipment used to process meat or dairy, it may be reclassified as meat, dairy, or non-kosher. There is a restricted rule about using the Kosher Logo on the labels. The process of having a product labelled as kosher is an extraneous process that relies heavily by an onsite audit of the facility / site in question, followed by external testing. Yearly audits are also performed in order for the products to maintain Kosher certification.

How to get EU ORGANIC?

 

Since Ekofood sells its products globally, we are interested in the food regulations and systems of each country. But selling organic products is requiring of special certifications. Organic food is the product of a farming system which avoids the use of man-made fertilizers, pesticides; growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Irradiation and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or products produced from or by GMOs are generally prohibited by organic legislation. Organic certification has different rules for each country. From seed to plant, from plant to fruit, you should save the organic chain to achieve organic product.

What is special with USDA ORGANIC?

 

If you want to sell Organic Products to the USA, you have to obey certain rules while producing them. The National Organic Program (NOP) develops these rules & regulations for the production, handling, labeling, and enforcement of all USDA organic products. This process, referred to as rulemaking, involves input from the National Organic Standards Board and the public.

 

Here at Ekofood, we have obtained both the EU Organic Certificate, as well as the USDA Organic Certificate. We have over 20 products with both certifications.

What is SEDEX and social responsibility?

 

Both large and developing companies have to obey some rules related to labor rights, social and environmental responsibilities. Ekofood has a system that regulates these manners called Smeta 4 Pillar (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and we are well implementing these rules for our workers.

SMETA is an audit methodology, providing a compilation of best practice ethical audit techniques. It is designed to help auditors conduct high quality audits that encompass all aspects of responsible business practice, covering Sedex’s four pillars of Labour, Health and Safety, Environment and Business Ethics.

We try to teach this system to all our supply chain, from farmers to packaging suppliers, to maintenance services.

DELIMATOES BRAND

 

Delimatoes, the fusion of ‘Delicatessen’ (Deli) and ‘Tomatoes’ (matoes), stands as the distinctive brand encompassing a wide array of Ekofood’s products. From our renowned tomato offerings to our innovative IQF fruit range, Delimatoes embodies our commitment to quality and flavor. Explore our diverse product range on the Products page to discover more!