Our 2010 Business Administration graduate, Volkan Akkaş, who made it onto last year's list of Turkey's 40 Most Powerful CEOs Under 40, emphasized the importance of gastronomy in sustainability strategies in an interview with Oksijen Newspaper.
The full text of the article titled "Gastronomy is One of the Leading Sectors That Must Protect the World's Resources and the Future of the Planet with Sustainable Strategies":
The story of Aziz Ebay Holding began 30 years ago with a small restaurant opened in a villa in the Levent area. The restaurant business, which started in a 50m2 space, has continued under the name Akkomarka Restaurant Group, encompassing 14 brands and more than 50 restaurants. Another subsidiary of the holding, Akkol Catering Group, provides daily meals to over 100,000 employees in the ready-meal sector. As one of the largest players in the gastronomy sector, the group strives to produce only sustainable projects in the Technology and Energy sectors in which it invests beyond gastronomy. Through its technological initiatives supporting the gastronomy sector, it creates added value and shares its knowledge and expertise with the industry. With its solar power plants, the company produces the energy consumed across all its sectors from sustainable sources. The group, which continues its sustainability efforts in the field of gastronomy without interruption, is also proud to have achieved its zero food waste goal, which it prioritized in 2020. We spoke with Volkan Akkaş, Member of the Board and CEO of Aziz Ebay Holding, about these topics and more.
Could you briefly talk about yourself and how you started your career?
I was born in Istanbul in 1984, and I am married with three children. I am a graduate of Yeditepe University with a degree in Business Administration, and I also completed a Master's degree in Marketing Communication at Maltepe University. Throughout my university years, I took on various roles at the restaurant where my father was a partner, and I decided to develop myself in the field of gastronomy to diversify and differentiate the sector.
In which sectors does Aziz Ebay Holding continue its operations?
We primarily operate in the gastronomy sector, particularly in restaurants and catering. In addition to these, we diversify our business areas with ongoing activities in the technology and energy sectors.
Are there any new sectors that Aziz Ebay Holding plans to enter?
We have been exploring the tourism sector for a long time, especially looking for opportunities to invest in personalized boutique and budget-friendly hotels. As with everything we do, we aim to differentiate ourselves by developing unique concepts, and we are in discussions both domestically and internationally. Additionally, we are evaluating investment opportunities in waste-to-energy projects to diversify our investments in the sustainable energy sector and support the low-carbon economy. With this investment, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint across all our operations while also decreasing our energy dependence.
Could you provide more details about your ongoing activities in the gastronomy sector?
As Akkomarka Restaurant Group, we continue our operations with 14 brands and more than 50 restaurants in Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. By promoting Anatolian cuisine and hospitality both domestically and internationally, we contribute to our country. We have the experience and capability to manage various types of cuisine, from sushi to meze, burgers to kebabs, and many more. As Akkol Catering Group, we provide meals for over 100,000 employees daily in Turkey and Azerbaijan. We provide all kinds of food and beverage services, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, lunch boxes, night meals, and special occasion meals, to the largest factories, schools, holdings, banks, business centers, technology companies, and all kinds of company employees known both in Turkey and around the world.
Can you give us an update on the sustainability initiative you started in the gastronomy sector?
We are making a concerted effort to expand our sustainability initiative, which we started without any commercial purpose, but rather to avoid depleting the planet's resources more than necessary, across all the areas in which we operate. Through the responsible restaurant movement we initiated for the gastronomy sector, we aim to provide food and beverage services that adhere to ethical values, avoid polluting resources, and do not use them excessively. We are continuing to invest in facilities and training to spread this movement to a wider audience.
Can you talk about your international activities in the gastronomy sector and your future investment goals?
While we are currently operating in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Spain, and the Netherlands, we are also exploring investment opportunities in other countries. We are making significant efforts to invest in countries such as Mexico, the United States, Germany, Sweden, France, and Poland in the near future. In addition to the countries where we are considering making our own investments, we are also in talks with Gulf countries that are interested in acquiring our master franchise rights and know-how.
Can you provide information about your investments in the technology sector?
In the new world order, where all business sectors are becoming digitalized and artificial intelligence is becoming integrated into every aspect of our lives, we have developed a super application that manages restaurant sales channels. With this application, it will be easy to design methods for increasing sales through order management, reservations, loyalty campaigns, and content notifications. To solidify our technological infrastructure, we achieved a major success by acquiring REZTORAN, Turkey's most widely used reservation technology, founded in 2015. REZTORAN will now serve its users with functions such as order delivery, take-away orders, reservations, loyalty programs, campaigns, and sales management.
Can you provide information about your investments in the energy sector?
With two solar power plants in Sivas and one more under construction, we produce far more energy from renewable sources than we consume in all our sectors, thereby contributing to reducing our country's energy dependency without creating a carbon footprint. In addition, we are continuing our work on renewable energy investments from wind and waste sources.