Being among the top 5 exporters with its exports for the last 10 years, Aksan Kozmetik continues to make a difference in its field. Stating that the company is in constant development, Zafer Kutanoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Aksan Kozmetik, shared the new developments about the company with our readers.
Could you inform us about the activities of Aksan Kozmetik?
“Aksan Kozmetik is an industrial company which started its activities by being established in Hadımköy, Istanbul in 2008, and exports to 95 countries on an area of 30 thousand square meters today, and 50% of which is female employees. Export is our most important item, we operated export-oriented until 2020. As of 2022, we opened up to the domestic market in cooperation with Düzey Pazarlama, one of Koç Holding’s subsidiaries.”
What about your product range?
“As Aksan Kozmetik, we produce our Deep Fresh, Savon de Royal, Comfort Love, Ultra Fresh, L’Unique Paris, Bebe Royal and Savon de Luxe brands in our 30 thousand square meter integrated production facility in Hadımköy, Istanbul, in accordance with Sedex, ISO and GMP quality standards. We are one of the companies with the highest liquid filling capacity in Turkey. We also manufacture complementary products such as ear buds, plastic caps, pet bottles, cotton wicks in our integrated facility.
Within the scope of Deep Fresh, we have a wide range of products from hygiene products to baby care products, from personal care products to micellar products, from pet products to the new probiotics line. At Savon de Royal, we produce luxury solid soaps with Pearl, Touch, Provence, Savon Pur, Tropical, Nature, Olive Oil lines. Our Comfort Love products consist of baby, personal care and home care products.
We have reached 100 thousand tons per year in liquid production of general and personal cleaning products, 220 million packages per year in wet wipes production, and 50 million units in pet bottle production.”
Can you tell us about your export activities?
“Today, we export to 95 countries in 6 continents. We are among the top 5 exporters with our exports for the last 10 years. We are constantly in development. Our biggest export market is Europe, followed by Latin America and Russia. This year we opened our first branch in Romania, we will open a showroom and office in London in the coming months. Another leg will be in Panama. The most important reason for us to choose London is that England is the showcase of the world… That’s why we had to be visible in England, so we decided to open an office in London, thinking that we could manage our European footprint through London. Panama, on the other hand, is one of the world’s strategic countries… We can say that Panama, the center of North and South America, is the cornerstone of trade. Panama is a gateway to America for us.”
How did the pandemic process affect Aksan Kozmetik?
“We established our new factory at the beginning of 2020. Thus, while we were a team of 150 people at the beginning of 2019, we reached 500 people in 2020. We made our investments by foreseeing growth before the pandemic, and our growth doubled with the pandemic. The pandemic, especially in antibacterial products, made it easier for us to reach our business goals. When cases emerged in China in January 2020, our products began to spread all over the world, while targeting China. The outbreak of the pandemic in our country also enabled Aksan Kozmetik to operate in the domestic market. With the pandemic, Deep Fresh and Savon de Royal have reached a certain level of sales volume and consumer recognition in the past 2 years, and they will become accessible throughout Turkey in February with the cooperation of Düzey Pazarlama. With the momentum that Düzey Pazarlama will bring to us, we foresee 100% growth in 2022 compared to the previous year.”
What does the Russia-Ukraine war mean to you?
“Russia and Ukraine are among the big customers of Aksan Kozmetik. Russia’s share in our exports was around 10%, and Ukraine’s share was also at this level. Therefore, we are experiencing the serious effects of the war. We are not able to send products, especially since Ukraine, where we have agreements with large chains, is under fire. Another effect of the war is the uncertainty of our receivables from Russia, and Russia’s removal from the swift system has negatively affected many brands like us doing business with Russia. China’s CIPC or Russia’s own system can be used for money transfer, but these processes are not mature yet. Not only from Russia, but also from Ukraine, the flow of finance was cut off due to the war. Our expectation is that both countries can sit down and agree, otherwise we will lose the Ukrainian market.
Today, shipping products to overseas countries is very high due to energy and logistics costs. For example, we can send a container of product to Venezuela for 16 thousand dollars. Our products are not value-added products. If our unit prices come to the bands of 5-6 dollars, logistics and so on. details are not considered, but since our products are at the 1-2 dollar level today, we have to think about all the details.”
What are your expectations for the sector in 2022?
“Turkey is a country at the center of geopolitical risks… There is constant activity in its neighbors. While there is activity in these countries, efforts to gain a share in different markets come to the fore. Therefore, first of all, you should sell to countries that have reached prosperity in order to increase the price of the product. It is necessary to carry out B2B business meetings, participation in fairs, and trade delegation visits with these countries. In order to become a brand in these countries, it is necessary to get professional country support, Turquality, etc. so that you can become a brand in the target country. Thus, the products exported in the chemicals sector will become qualified and the contribution of these products to the economy will increase.”
IKMIB elections are approaching, what are your thoughts?
“The unions under the umbrella of the Turkish Exporters’ Association will hold elections at the beginning of April and determine their new boards of directors. We are candidates for the new management with the team we formed under the chairmanship of Tayfun Koçak. Our main motto is qualified export, and also to increase unit prices in exports, to teach exporters the details of exports and to increase the volume of exports by back to back. We are building a strong team, each name in the team consists of names that can touch the members in their own industry. Each of us will work to increase exports. In the current administration, 2 out of 51 people are women, but we are building an administration that can be touched by the hand of women.”
