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Soa Group Food Announces 2024 Food Preferences

SOA Toplu Yemek, which provides food service to 15 thousand people daily in 60 different cities by producing on-site in the production facilities and offices of leading companies in Turkey, announced its food trends for 2024. While the most preferred food by employees last year was tas kebab, healthy and sustainability-oriented preferences began to come to the fore in menu choices.

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Soa Toplu Yemek Announced Its 2024 Food Preferences | HORECA TREND

Stating that the work-from-home period is slowly coming to an end, SOA Toplu Yemek Board Vice President Melih Can Kocabaş said, “Employers have to offer attractive fringe benefits to attract employees to the office. Lunches come first. Options for special dietary needs such as vegan and gluten-free have increased.”

SOA Toplu Yemek, which provides food service to 60 thousand people daily by producing on-site in the production facilities and offices of Turkey's largest industrial enterprises, announced that the most preferred meal by employees in 2024 was tas kebab. Following tas kebab, the most preferred traditional dishes were Izmir meatballs, chicken roti, chickpeas with meat, potato oturtma, and moussaka, while chicken/meat wrap and hamburger from street food were among the most demanded options.

Expectations for Snacks and Treats Are Increasing

SOA Toplu Yemek announced that health preferences and sustainability are more prominent in menu choices, while the main dishes preferred by new generation employees are street flavors, bowl menus and grilled products. While flavors from world cuisines are included in special occasion food menus, it was observed that employees' expectations for snacks and treats in addition to meal services increased.

Offering a Variety of 'Personalized Meals' for the Return to the Office

Explaining that the concept of communal dining has evolved from traditional table d'hôte meals to restaurant-quality service after the pandemic period, SOA Mass Catering Board Vice Chairman Melih Can Kocabaş said, “The period of working from home is slowly coming to an end. Employers have to offer attractive fringe benefits to attract employees to the office. Lunch is at the forefront of these. Individuals' freedom of choice has also come to the fore. Instead of an imposed fixed menu type, multi-choice menus that suit personal nutritional needs make employees happier. Options for special dietary needs such as vegan and gluten-free have also increased. Flexible meal times and the architectural features of cafeterias have gained importance. Companies that continue with hybrid working arrangements have made meal service times and locations flexible according to the days and hours employees spend in the office.”

Weights Increased in Factories

Stating that the brand of the products used in the kitchens is becoming more and more important every day, Kocabaş said, “A period has begun in which the employment of personnel suitable for the dynamics of the project and versatile and innovative chefs have gained importance. In the factories; more filling, high-calorie meals have been added to the menus, and improvements have been made in the grams.”

'Those Who Adapt to Change Will Win in 2025'

SOA Toplu Yemek Vice Chairman Kocabaş said that while the commitment to traditional flavors continues in 2024, healthy and personalized nutrition trends are also gaining momentum. Stating that in their analyses as SOA Toplu Yemek, they have seen that sustainability-focused menus and flexible meal solutions are increasingly preferred, Kocabaş said, “As we enter 2025, new technologies, more innovative meal options and an employee-focused service approach await the sector. It is no longer enough to just offer a satisfying meal; brands that bring flexibility, variety and quality together are coming to the fore. In today’s world, the motto “those who keep up with change win” is also valid in the food sector! We will closely follow which flavors and trends will come to the fore in 2025.”

Source: HORECA TREND and SOA Mass Catering

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Catering

Catering Türkiye is on the World's Best Startups List

Catering Türkiye ranked 36th on the "Top 100 Catering Companies & Startups" list published by the global entrepreneurship platform F6S.

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Catering Türkiye is on the World's Best Startups List | HORECA TREND

Türkiye's largest catering-focused marketplace Catering Turkey, global entrepreneurship platform F6S's published “Top 100 Catering Companies & Startups" on the list 36th place took placeThis success of Catering Türkiye also attracted attention in the international arena.

F6S regularly evaluates innovative startups operating worldwide. This year, Türkiye's catering services company made the list. Catering Turkey, with its structure centered on digitalization, opens the door to a new era in the catering industry.

“Türkiye's Largest Catering Marketplace”

Catering Turkey, offers businesses and individuals the ability to access verified catering companies, receive quotes, and manage orders all from a single platform. Users can filter by city, capacity, and service type to find the perfect solution for their needs in seconds.

Orbis Media Information and Communication Technologies branded Catering Turkeystands out as one of the pioneers of digital transformation in the industry.

Catering Türkiye is on the World's Best Startups List | HORECA TREND

“We Make Catering Services Faster and More Reliable”

Okan Yüksel, General Manager of Orbis Media Information and Communication Technologies, F6S's published “Top 100 Catering Companies & Startups" Catering Türkiye's list 36th place released a statement regarding its inclusion.

Okan Yüksel said, "Being ranked 36th on the F6S list demonstrates that our vision of digitizing Türkiye's catering sector is resonating internationally. At Orbis Media, we are making catering services more accessible, faster, and more reliable thanks to the technological infrastructure and digital marketing power we've developed." Yüksel also stated that Catering Türkiye's success is a significant achievement for the Turkish entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Catering Turkey (www.cateringturkiye.com), expanding its service network in the coming period, reaching more users across Türkiye, bringing together all stakeholders in the sector in the digital environment and “Quality catering service suitable for every budget” aims to spread the concept.

 

Source: HORECA TREND

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Catering Türkiye Supports Women Entrepreneurs

Catering Turkey, which brings together hundreds of companies under one roof, has launched a new campaign to support female entrepreneurs in the sector and increase female employment within the company. The campaign will offer a 50% discount on corporate and corporate extra packages to businesses owned by women or with at least 25% female ownership.

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Catering Türkiye Supports Women Entrepreneurs | HORECA TREND

Catering Turkey, Türkiye's largest catering-focused marketplace that meets individual and corporate food needs with Türkiye's leading, high-quality catering companies, announced its special campaign for women entrepreneurs.

Catering Türkiye, which brings together hundreds of companies under one roof, has launched a new campaign to support female entrepreneurs in the sector and increase female employment. According to the campaign, businesses owned by women or with at least 50% female partnerships will receive: Corporate ve corporate extra in packages 25% discount will be applied.

“A Step for the Success of Women in the Industry”

Catering Türkiye Marketing Director Elif Akın Yüksel emphasized the main purpose of the campaign, stating that their aim is to make women entrepreneurs more visible in the digital world.

Yüksel said, "We believe that women entrepreneurs should be more visible and powerful in the industry. This campaign isn't just a discount; it's a step we're taking to bring women's hard work, determination, and success to a wider audience. Our goal is to ensure that women-owned and -led businesses gain a greater presence in the industry and provide them with a stronger presence in the digital world."

More Customers Reachable

Companies participating in the campaign will be able to reach more customers and stand out in digital showcases based on their packages. free consultation, social media promotion, brand interview, detailed performance analyses It will also have many more special services such as.

To participate in the campaign www.cateringturkiye.com It will be sufficient to register a company or upgrade the existing package of the registered company.

With over 290 company reviews and over 20 customer referrals annually, Catering Türkiye continues to be the digital guide of the industry.

 

Source: HORECA TREND and Catering Türkiye

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The Place and Importance of Catering Companies in Public Tenders

Kılıç Corporate Consultancy Board Chairman İlyas Kılıç answered HORECA TREND's questions about the place and importance of catering companies in public tenders.

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The Place and Importance of Catering Companies in Public Tenders | HORECA TREND

How do public administrations meet food needs? 

Public administrations meet their food service needs with several different methods. The most basic and long-standing method is to purchase food from the market by tender, and to carry out the cooking and distribution processes with the administrations' own means. This method is still used in many military units.  

The other method is purchasing food services with ingredients. In other words, administrations purchase food supplies and cooking services from the same contractor. 

The least common form of food purchase is the purchase of rations. Food rations are purchased for short-term missions, such as AFAD officers, police, soldiers, etc.

How do the administrations determine the type and quality of the food they purchase through tender, either cooked or as rations?

Administrations determine the type, quantity and quality of the food they will purchase in their technical specifications and go out to tender. However, care is taken to ensure that the food in question is of a quality appropriate to the administration's duty. For example, law enforcement officers on operational duties need to take in the necessary calories or hospitals need to provide diet food for diabetic patients. For this reason, food lists are prepared by experts. Administrations assign dietitians or food engineers to this task. 

How do public administrations purchase food services?

Türkiye's public procurement market size reached 2023% of GDP in 6.  In 2024, public procurement increased to 2.5 trillion lira, of which 450 billion lira was made up of the service sector, including food service procurement. 

Every year, more than 700 companies sign contracts with public administrations, either individually or through partnerships, within the scope of food services.  In this context, it makes an average of more than 2.500 food service contracts every year. The most important of these contracts are carried out by companies operating in Ankara. The most important reason for this is that the administrations within the scope of the central government are located in Ankara. 

Can you say that the competition among companies operating in the food sector is quite intense in tenders? 

Food service procurement tenders are an area where there is a lot of competition. I would like to explain this by giving an example. In 2024, more than 2.000 objection complaints were made to the Public Procurement Authority for food service procurement tenders, citing various reasons. In other words, companies that wanted to compete under more favorable conditions in food service procurement tenders did not hesitate to take the issue to the Authority. Again, in a tender held in Ankara in 2024, 22 people submitted bids, and the margin of error was as high as 55%. In other words, there is fierce competition. However, tender competition can also be at more reasonable levels due to reasons such as the location of the tender, the nature of the administration, and the feasibility of the specifications.   

The Place and Importance of Catering Companies in Public Tenders | HORECA TRENDIn an environment where there is so much competition, how do public administrations ensure that the food is produced to the specifications and quality they want?

This is a very important question. Especially today, as a result of the inspections carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, food products that are understood to be counterfeit or adulterated are disclosed. It is very difficult for the administration to inspect the ingredients used in food in detail and to identify such foods. For this reason, it is important to control companies that sign contracts with high deduction rates by offering prices well below the approximate cost. 

What do you think companies that want to get a share from the highly competitive food service procurement but have not participated in a tender before should do?

Recently, there have been important developments in our public procurement system. For example, e-tenders have become widespread. Tenders are now being held in a more secure environment. In other words, a company operating in Edirne can participate in a food tender in Kars using the computer on its desk.   

However, the real problem stems from not being familiar with the tender legislation and not being able to read the tender documents prepared by the administrations sufficiently. Currently, dozens of food companies have been banned from tenders due to their lack of tender literacy. 

As someone who has been a tender consultant to the most important food companies in Türkiye, I must say that all companies that make high profits in tenders definitely receive consultancy from professionals. In short, there is no point in participating in food service tenders without knowing the tender legislation.

There are many companies across Türkiye that have problems with food service procurement tenders. What are the main services you provide to these companies as a corporate entity? 

Public tenders are conducted with complicated legislation that is difficult to understand and whose implementation is based on experience. In addition, tender practices are an area with definitive provisions in terms of form and duration, which have restrictive rules. Not only the tender, but also the inspection and acceptance procedures, price difference and entitlement procedures are areas where almost all contractor companies have disagreements with the administration during the execution of the contract. 

Public procurement legislation consists of two separate laws, dozens of secondary legislations and countless regulatory decisions. It is not possible for a food company to know the legislation to the letter and follow it on a daily basis. For this reason, companies that do not want to make mistakes work with us. 

What advice would you give to food companies to access detailed information within the scope of tenders? 

Today, “knowledge” is the most important power! For this reason, we produce content on hesap.tv to share the knowledge and experience we have gained over the last 30 years with the public. I recommend that you review the “Public Procurement Law and Practices”, “Public Procurement Contracts Law” and “Service Procurement and Labor Law Practices” sections on this channel. 

Similarly, I recommend our 3 books that companies that will participate in tenders within the scope of food service procurement can benefit from. The first of these is our work called “Documents Showing Work Experience in Public Tenders”, which contains important information on participating in tenders. The second is our work called “Determination, Questioning and Explanation of Extremely Low Bids in Public Tenders”. The last book I can recommend is our work called “Procedures for Prohibition in the Public Tender Process”. This book is an important book that compiles the issues regarding not being banned during the tender process or what kind of procedures should be done in case of a ban.

The Place and Importance of Catering Companies in Public Tenders | HORECA TRENDWho is Ilyas Kilic?

İlyas Kılıç completed his undergraduate and graduate education at the Military Academy and Selçuk University. Kılıç is a public administration specialist and also a tender consultant. After working for 20 years in public institutions within the scope of tender and contract law, he retired in 2010 at his own request. He wrote articles on tenders in many newspapers and magazines. He edited tender books published by Kılıç Academy Publications. 

Ilyas Kilic, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of Kilic Corporate Consultancy Inc., provides consultancy services to various public institutions and corporate companies within the scope of tenders. Kilic Corporate Consultancy includes tender experts, lawyers, expert auditors and solution partners. Together with his team, he informs the public within the scope of tenders via the tender.tv YouTube channel. 

Source: HORECA TREND 

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