Interview with Onur Özyurt, General Manager of Kopaş Kozmetik

We conducted an enjoyable interview with Onur Özyurt, General Manager of Kopaş Kozmetik, discussing the company's development process, areas of operation, and the success secret behind the Dalin brand.

Could you tell us about yourself and your professional background?

I am General Manager of Kopaş Kozmetik. I graduated from the Management Department of Boğaziçi University, completed a master's degree in Finance at the same university, and then completed Harvard Business School's GMP business program. I joined Kopaş Kozmetik as a Board Member in 2013, and have served as General Manager since 2014. Before joining Kopaş Kozmetik, I worked for 13 years in the private equity and investment banking sectors on numerous projects in Turkey, the Balkans, and the Middle East, and held various board-level positions in the entertainment, retail, and pharmaceutical industries.

Could you share with our readers the success story of Kopaş Kozmetik from its founding to today?

Founded in 1974 by pharmacist Adil Karaağaç, Kopaş Kozmetik stands as one of the leading domestic companies pioneering the cosmetics and personal care products sector with 44 years of experience. Operating with 10 brands in baby care, personal care, and household care categories, Kopaş Kozmetik stands out as Turkey's number one brand in baby care and hair removal products. We operate with 500 employees in our 24,000-square-meter production facility. We have achieved rapid growth since our establishment. Looking at the milestones of Kopaş Kozmetik, as a company we introduced the Dalin brand to consumers in 1983, began operations in the professional hair care products category in 1994, took over the distribution of the Voila brand in 1995, and entered the color cosmetics category with the Alix Avien brand in 1997. Entering a new momentum phase in the 2000s, we launched our Romanian subsidiary in 2001, acquired the Sesu brand in 2004, launched our perfume and deodorant brand XO in 2005, and began distribution of Dr. Beckmann products in Turkey and Romania in 2008. As we entered the 2010s, we launched the Alix Natura hair color brand in 2012, renewed the Dalin and Sesu brands in 2015, took over distribution of Humana baby formula and tea products in 2016, and assumed distribution of Spanish hair care brand Montibello in Turkey in 2017. In 2018, we introduced Goo.N, one of Japan's leading baby diaper brands, to Turkish consumers in the baby diaper category.

What are your products and which sectors do you serve?

Kopaş Kozmetik, with a broad product range, offers products that appeal to consumers of all ages and backgrounds. The Dalin brand of Kopaş Kozmetik has been the number one choice of mothers and babies for years. The Sesu hair removal brand is the best-selling hair removal brand in Turkey. Our XO, Alix Natura, and Foot Doctor brands are also among the products appreciated and preferred by consumers.

What is the secret behind the success of Dalin, which has maintained its shelf space since 1983 in particular?

Dalin offers consumers strong confidence along with a wide product range. Under the Dalin brand, we offer mothers a wide range of products in hair care, skin care, laundry care, and paper care (wet wipes) categories specially designed for babies. While the Dalin baby shampoo is the most well-known product in the hair care category, we have in our portfolio hair and body shampoo in a microphone-shaped toy bottle and easy-comb spray; in skin care, baby oil, diaper rash cream, baby soap and foam soap, baby cologne, powder, vaseline; in laundry care, liquid laundry detergent, granule soap, and fabric softener; and in paper care, wet wipes, changing pads, and pocket tissues.

We closely follow new technologies in producing our products, both in terms of equipment and raw materials.

Could you tell us about the "Fun Times with Dalin Project"? What is the purpose here and how do you evaluate the feedback received?

As Dalin, in cooperation with PACE Child Art Center, we have been organizing this event free of charge every month since 2017, supporting children in transforming their dreams into art. Within the scope of the event, children enjoy themselves while showcasing their talents with special materials and coloring pencils. With the "Fun Times with Dalin" workshop, which received the FELİS Award last year, children accompanied by special trainers engage in different activities designed for them each month, living their creativity to the fullest and transforming their dreams into works of art with Dalin.

Your project titled "Mothers Tell Dalin" was very much loved by mothers. Could you tell us about this project that helps mothers in baby care?

As Dalin, asking mothers the questions they are curious about as they seek to make the best and most correct choices for their children, we transformed mother experiences composed entirely of real experiences into short video content. We convey messages from other mothers who have gone through the same processes to mothers who are caught unprepared for most of the difficulties faced from pregnancy onwards. With the "Mothers Tell Dalin" film series consisting of more than ten episodes, we share the experiences of mothers in many areas from hand washing to bathing, which often become fun memories with other mothers. Our greatest desire is to help mothers forget all their worries about being the perfect mother and remind them that the truly perfect thing is being a mother.

What are your domestic and international sales activities? Which regions in Turkey and around the world do you serve, and which factors do you consider when determining these services?

In Turkey, our main market, we grow 25 to 30 percent annually in terms of sales. We have doubled our sales in the last three years. We plan to close this year with TRY 400 million. Our competitors in Turkey are world brands. Nevertheless, we are market leaders. Internationally, we export to nearly 30 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. At our Romanian subsidiary, which we established in 2001, we employ 35 people and offer our complete product portfolio from Turkey to consumers in Romania as well. As part of our export development activities, in 2018 we listed our Dalin brand products in leading retail chains in Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia in Eastern Europe. In September, we will reach consumers with our television advertisement in Serbia and Romania. In the final quarter of this year, we aim to begin operations in Albania, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In North Africa, we are evaluating licensed production opportunities with local partners in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt. When entering these markets, we certainly take into account market dynamics, consumer expectations, and competitive conditions.

Could you tell us about the latest technologies you use in your products? What benefits have these technologies brought to your brand and products?

When producing our products, we closely follow new technologies in both equipment and raw materials. We consider any work that will facilitate production and accelerate our pace. Additionally, in recent years we have been working on eco-labeling. In this way, by conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) of our products, we see what improvements we can make in which areas of our production and formulations, and we try to adapt new technological developments to the benefits they will provide to the environment. Could you tell us about the social responsibility projects you have undertaken to contribute to the future? As Dalin, in cooperation with AÇEV, we have taken a step towards a brand new project to ensure that every young child is safe, healthy, happy, and learning. With the mission of being mothers' secret helper, using the fun language of the Dalin world, we are launching our fairy tale book project to help children aged 4-7 learn to take care of themselves. Through our project aiming to instill hand washing habits with the first book in the series, we want to reach many schools and more than 20,000 children throughout Turkey and support their development. We also support this project with Dalin Foam Soap, which makes hand washing both practical and fun and has received full marks from mothers.