Pepsico Turkey GM says Turkish consumers love variety

By Andrew Jay Rosenbaum

ISTANBUL

 The cost of food and beverages has been rising in Turkey, but that is not deterring Turkish consumers from trying new things, Pepsico Turkey General Manager Neil Pryor told The Anadolu Agency.

In Turkey, food inflation was 14.12 percent in March, up from 13.70 in February.

“We don’t pass these increases on to our customers, but they affect consumer choices,” Pryor said. “Still, the Turkish consumer maintains a healthy spend on food and beverages.”

As the largest producer of snack foods in Turkey, Pepsico continues to offer new products, Pryor said.

“The Turkish domestic offer in foods and beverages is quite homogeneous,” Pryor explained. “Turkish consumers produce a great deal of food from scratch. But, as an increasing number of Turks move to cities, they become more interested both in variety and convenience.”   

Traditional Turkish ‘bakkals,’ small family-owned shops produce traditional ready meals for consumers and they retain about 50 percent of the Turkish food market. But international brands are making headway, Pryor said.

“The problem is that an international brand can cast a shadow,” Pryor said. “People can have fixed ideas about it.” 

Pepsico runs social responsibility campaigns targeted at teenagers, children and young adults, and industry analysts say that this has supported its growing reputation in Turkey.  

In Turkey, curiosity is usually what drives the consumer to try well-known brands. 

“An effective marketing strategy can tap this curiosity,” he said.

Well-known brands also must compete with private labeled foods sold in larger retail stores. 

In 2014, Pepsico’s Frito-Lay division continued to be the market leader in snacks, according to researcher Euromonitor, through its well-known brands Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos and Lay’s.