#moderndiplomacy

There are many successes to be reported about Turkish Dutch economic co-operation. The Dutch newspaper NRC recently published an article by Marloes de Koning on Simit Sarayi, a Turkish chain of over 300 cafetaria’s/restaurants selling Simits and other bread products.

The Turkish economy is globalizing and investing abroad is part of this. There are many considerations to invest in a country. The Netherlands will not always be the first choice, but, as I always tell Turkish companies, you do yourselves a disfavour if you do not put The Netherlands on your short list.

The time of Frank Sinitra is gone with his “if you can make it in New York, you can make it everywhere”; Simit Sarayi has modernised it: “if you can make in the Netherlands, you can make it everywhere”. Yes, just as Sony first tried the Dutch market in Europe so has Simit Sarayi decided to expand its first European branches in the Netherlands. The German market would at first glance have been a more logic decision with over 2 million Turks living in Germany. Simit Sarayi however has European ambitions: “test the Dutch and if it works go for the rest”. This decision turned out to be the start of a success story. In the Netherlands the 10th Simit Sarayi has been opened in just over a year;the goal is to finally have 50 establishments in the Netherlands in the coming few years and a few hunderd in Europe.

Simits are popular in Turkey. A simit is a ring of white bread, dipped in sesam seeds. Personnaly I only like them when they are very fresh; most people however eat them all the time. Just walk through Istanbul and you see the small simitci cars every where. 1 Turkish Lira only. We Dutch love these kind of prices. I go for the fresh acma myself, but at times a good simit with some cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers does taste very well.

Were we involved in this Turkish investment? Yes. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) Turkey, with its office in Istanbul, accompanied the investment proces. The official launching of the chain in the Netherlands took place during a reception at the Dutch Consulate and the company is now using the Orange Carpet Facility in order to facilitate the visa process. The NFIA assisted Simit Sarayı together with the Hague Municipality to find a site for production and to set up their European Distribution Centre also in the Hague. And, perhaps most important, they have become our friends.