For the former basketball club see Ülkerspor

Ülkerspor

-History:Ülkerspor had been founded in 1975 but its basketball department was created in 1993 by buying a Turkish League spot from Nasaşspor. It won Turkish League titles in 1995, 1998, 2001 and 2006 with greats including Harun Erdenay, İbrahim Kutluay, Michael Anderson, Orhun Ene, Kevin Rankin and...

.

Ülker (ISE

Istanbul Stock Exchange

The Istanbul Stock Exchange is the only corporation in Turkey for securities exchange established to provide trading in equities, bonds and bills, revenue-sharing certificates, private sector bonds, foreign securities and real estate certificates as well as international securities. The ISE was...

: ULKER.E) is a major Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 manufacturer of food products, which are exported internationally, to 110 countries.

The company's core products are cookies, crackers, and chocolates, although Ülker has expanded to other product categories.
One of its newer products is Cola Turka

Cola Turka

Cola Turka is a cola brand from Turkish company Ülker that is also sold in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Denmark.The two television commercials feature American actor Chevy Chase playing a confused American who notices his friend, wearing a stereotypically American cowboy...

, introduced in the Turkish market in 2003. The advertisement of Cola Turka featured actor Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...

 and according to local sources Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 cut 10% off its prices due to the success of the Cola Turka launch.

Ülker received the "Candy Company of the Year in Europe" award from the European Candy Kettle Club in 2004. In December 2007 the company agreed to acquire Godiva Chocolatier from Campbell Soup Co. for $850 million.

History

Ülker was founded in 1944 by Sabri Ülker, commencing operations in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 as a small bakery. A factory was opened in 1948. Ülker expanded in the 1970s to exporting to the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 market, chocolate manufacturing, and packaging. By the end of the 20th century, Ülker was manufacturing margarine, vegetable oil and dairy products. In 2002, Ülker diversified into carbonated beverages, and in 2003, added Turkish coffee

Turkish coffee

Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee where finely powdered roast coffee beans are boiled in a pot , with sugar according to taste, before being served into a cup where the dregs settle...

, ice cream and baby food to its product range.

The company employs more than 11,000 people and was the 5th on the list of the most successful manufacturers in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 in 2001, while Coca Cola dropped back to ninth. Ülker sales reach $1.5 billion internationally.

Ülker Group

This Group of the Ülker Group focuses on the production, sales and marketing of the Ülker branded food products. The categories included are chocolates, bars, biscuits, wafers, confectionaries, chewing gums, baby food, baby diapers and personal care. This is the largest business area of the Ülker Group.


Note: Ülker Group is a Group of Yıldız Holding

Yıldız Holding

Yıldız Holding is a major Turkish manufacturer of food products.- Yıldız Holding at a glance :*Yıldız Holding acquisition Godiva Chocolatier*Yıldız Holding has 65 companies.*Yıldız Holding's foreign revenue is $1.3 Billion USD,...

External links

• Official website Moody's rating raised