ASLANOBA YATIRIM

Our founder deceased Hasan Aslanoba was born in Thessaloniki in 1908 to a family who emigrated from the Seigniory of Evrenosoğlu based in Konyato Thessaloniki.

He completed his Primary and Secondary education in Thessaloniki and came to Turkey as the result of the population exchange at the age of 18 leaving his family behind. He moved in the house of his relatives who also came to Sarıyer, Istanbul as the result of the population exchange. While thinking about what to do as business, he decided to be a cook, a profession which he is skilled and capable of and began to work as a Sous Chef in the dining hall of the Faculty of Forestry; in short time he was rewarded and became the Chef of the Faculty of Forestry.

In the meantime, a significant part of the family also came to Turkey as the result of the population exchange. Some of the family members are settled in Sarıyer and some in Bursa.

Deceased Hasan Aslanoba settled in Bursa where a major part of his family had settled in 1930. He opened a diner that reflected Turkish cuisine culture near Bursa Ulucami both to meet the dining requirements of his family and earn money and named it Lezzet Lokantası. He became famous in short time and queues began in front of the diner especially for Pilaf with Chickpea and Albanian Style Fried Diced Liver. When the diner overgrew, he moved to a larger place in Atatürk Street in the same region and left the other diner to his brother. The business grew more in his new place and he gained reputation in real terms.

Mean while, the Devrengeç Spring Water enterprise owned by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality was put out to tender and deceased Hasan Aslanoba and a few friends of his began to operate and develop by investment the facility located on the feet of Uludağ, Bursa. His two sons, Ali Fuat Aslanoba and Nuri Nihat Aslanoba, start to work with their father and they take the flag further by embracing the business. Devrengeç spring water turns into Erikli Spring Water, one of Turkey's most popular brands.

Hasan Aslanoba deceased in Istanbul in1965 as early as at the age of 57 and his grave is located in Pınarbaşı Cemetery, Bursa.

After his decease, his sons, Ali Fuat Aslanoba and Nuri Nihat Aslanoba, rebuilt a building on Atatürk Street in herited from their father and established Oba Business Center and opened a diner for 350 people on the ground floor. This diner became a frequent destination for the most important invitation dinners, meetings, representatives of state officials and artists who came to Bursa. The reputation of Lezzet Lokantası goes beyond Bursa.

After his death, his eldest son Ali Fuat Aslanoba became the head of the diner and food business; Nuri Nihat Aslanoba became the head of the water business (Devrengeç – Erikli Group). Both of his sons became leaders and connoisseurs in their own sectors. In Aslanoba family, food is a culture and tradition maintained from one generation to another.

The two big enterprises of the family continue their development within a corporate structure and realize successful mergers with the largest organizations of their sectors in the world; Erikli Groupmerging with Nestle Group and Obasan Group merging with Compass Group (Sofra Group), continue to contribute to the national economy as leading brands by creating great synergies.

Aslanoba family is an extended family from Thessaloniki who emigrated to Turkey during the population exchange. Deceased Hasan Aslanoba started dining business which was one of the professions he knew best both as a business and with the thought of meeting his extended family's dining requirements.

Lezzet Lokantası, established by deceased Hasan Aslanoba on Bursa Atatürk Street in 1930, became famous in short time and its reputation started to spread throughout the city. It particularly became famous of its Albanian Style Fried Diced Liver and Rice Pilaf and therefore the family began to be called ‘the Pilaf Makers’. Due to the growing demand, Hasan Aslanoba opened and moved to a new diner with a capacity of 300 seats again on Bursa Atatürk Street. So were laid in the Industrial Catering sector the foundations of the famous Lezzet Lokantası with a reputation beyond Bursa where then elite people dined and high level meetings were organized.

The Central Bank opened a branch in Bursa by the beginning of the 60s. With the increasing number of employees as the result of growing branches of other banks, the diner became unable to meet the incoming huge demand, the customers adopted a new idea of “deliver to the customers instead of them coming to the diner” and soan “industrial catering and service business” was started. When services provided to contracted banks expanded to home deliveries, a decision was made to switch from dining business to catering industrialism because of the growing demand.

As the first step of this transformation, at the beginning of 70’s Lezzet Catering Industry was incorporated and designed with a diner in the front and a production area at the back on the Yalova Highway. As the result of the strong demand from the industry in addition to the banks and workplaces, food production reached at full capacity in short time following its commencement. In 1990, it is decided to establish a modern food factory with high capacity where technology and experience are combined in Bursa Demirtaş Organized Industrial Zone. This progress made Lezzet Catering Industry the first food factory in real terms in Turkey while making our founder Ali Fuat Aslanoba the first person who has created the industrial catering sector in our country. In addition, the company was also a pioneer in receiving an incentive within the sector. In time, Lezzet Catering Industry became a company with a corporate structure and became Obasan Gıda A.Ş. and operations in connection with food and service were gathered under the roof of this company and so Obasan Group was born. As the 3rd generation of the Family, the brothers Faruk Aslanoba, Ferruh Aslanoba and Fatih Aslanoba, combined the knowledge and experience of the family from the past with innovation and ensured the production in much better conditions in the sector. Obasan Group achieved to be among the first three companies in Turkish catering sector with advanced production conditions at 3 factories and many satellite kitchens.

In 2011, as a result of the merger of Sofra Group,the Turkish affiliate of Compass Group Plc, who is the world's largest catering establishment, foreign capital inflows were provided to our country and thesector with the largest ready-made food investment in the history of Turkey. The company's 3rd generation CEO and Chairman of the Board, Ö. Faruk Aslanoba gathered companies within Aslanoba Yatırım Gıda A.Ş. and Emre Aslanoba, the 4th generation representative of the family, taking over the management as CEO, they continue to work with their new brands in the field of food, together with real estate development, portfolio management and venture capital investment. Melez Tea brand, which Liliana L. Aslanoba shares the co-founding partnership and managed as creative director, is one of the important initiatives of the group with its global goals as a "lifestyle" tea brand. The Sand & Blue brand, which emerged as a result of another initiative of the group and progressed as the founding partner and CEO of Dilek Aslanoba, has gained an important place in the swimwear, bikini and beachwear sector.

Fatih Aslanoba, one of the 3rd generation representatives of the family, who achieved many successes with his older brother Ö. Faruk Aslanoba and managed the Istanbul operations of the Obasan Group, took his sister Ferah Aslanoba with him in 2020 and joined Obadan A.Ş. They have created their brand and continue their successful work in the field of fresh and frozen bakery products in Bursa Industrial Zone.

The 4th generation representatives of the Aslanoba family are advancing with determination and passion on the path opened by the deceased Hasan Aslanoba in 1930.