Turkey's first private company Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir Sweet Shop is one of the companies that have shown the importance of branding throughout its history of 239 years... The following lines are from one of the episodes of the famous American TV series Law and Order: “The best sweets in the world, Haci Bekir. I brought them from Istanbul.” It is possible to hear of Hacı Bekir which is the first private company in Turkey and one of the oldest 100 brands in the world in many international platforms suchlike. With an experience of about two and a half centurylong knowledge and experience, today Haci Bekir exports sweets to five different continents and is one of the worldwide known sweet shops especially known for Turkish delight. The success story of this well-known family company starts with Haci Bekir Efendi who came to Istanbul from Arac district of Kastamonu in 1777 and opened a small sweet shop in Bahçekapı Neighborhood. Haci Bekir who was manufacturing various sweets such as hard candy in this small shop developed his own technique for producing Turkish delight by using a combination of sugar and starch (discovered by the German scientist Kirchhoff in 1811) instead of flour. So, the Turkish delight legend starts by this way. Efforts for imitating the Turkish delight created by Haci Bekir led to the invention of jelly candies in West. Haci Bekir who created a legendary brand of over two centuries not only through Turkish delight, but also the sugared almond produced in shaking boilers and almond paste prepared by kneading boiled almonds with sugar syrup was awarded the title of Şekercibaşı (Head Confectioner) by 2nd Mahmud in the Ottoman period. All the sweets for the Ottoman palace were made by him. After Haci Bekir passed away, first his son Mehmed Muhiddin Efendi and then his grandson Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir took over and continued to protect the title “Head Confectioner” and expand the business through the same sense of responsibility. Mehmed Muhiddin Efendi was assigned by the palace to introduce Ottoman sweets in international fairs. During these fairs, he recognized that the participants of western countries use a brand and he created the first brand of the Ottoman and his company when he returned back home. The company which created and used the first logo in Turkey became the first company in Turkey in terms of branding. Mehmed Muhiddin Efendi’s younger son Ali Muhiddin took steps on an international scale in the early 1900’s and turned the company into a world company. Branches of Haci Bekir were opened in Cairo and Alexandria (two big cities in Egypt). Promotional activities aimed at various markets such as Paris, New York, North Africa, Moscow, Cologne, London and Baku were accelerated in the Republican Period and the foundations of today’s global success were laid. Let’s look at the current development of this rooted Turkish brand which its name has been changed as “Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir Sweet Shop” at the present time involving the three generations… The company which is managed by the members of the fourth and fifth generation of the family is continuing to grow and develop through four shops of their own, one franchise establishment and various branches and representatives in foreign countries. The fourth generation representative of Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir Sweet Shop and the Chairman of the Board Doğan Sahin’s daughter Hande Celalyan (member of the 5th generation of the family) answered our questions regarding the approach of the company towards modernization and innovation as follows: “We are producing traditional sweets within the scope of our commercial activities for centuries (we are also providing modern products such as chocolate, cake and macaron). These are compiled of anonymous recipes used in our geography for centuries and are partially composed of original recipes that have been made perfect within the structure of Haci Bekir through innovations. While traditional methods are used in production, we are passing through a modernization process within the frame of technological developments and legal regulations. This may be considered as the combination of Turkish style cooking system with the requirements and opportunities of the modern era”. What kind of a path will the oldest family company in Turkey follow in the upcoming period in terms of institutionalization and growth? Hande Celalyan emphasizes that they have experienced the advantages of being a family company in this sense until today and that they will protect this structure: “Reflecting the dynamics within the family (authority, control, solidarity and motivation) onto the business life in the correct way leads to success. Our great grandfather’s principles and mission is still providing an insight for us while running our family company for six generations. At this point, it is very important to stick to the same principles for generations. We are lucky that the new generation has also adopted the same principles in terms of career.” Celalyan emphasizes that modernization is very significant for a company structure that will satisfy all the family members considering the fact that the family will expand in the future and believes that the corporate culture would be enriched with the participation of professional executives in the company.