Professional Food Engineer Dr. Aslı Elif Tanuğur Samancı, Agricultural Engineer and Beekeeping Specialist Taylan Samancı and Prof. Dr. Dilek Boyacıoğlu established BEE’O Propolis as a start-up in 2013 to initiate domestic propolis production with the “Contracted Beekeeping Model” for the first time in Türkiye.
Direct Impact SDGs:
The success story of BEE’O Propolis started with Tanuğur’s efforts to find alternative ways to boost his son’s immune system. Relying on many scientific publications, Tanuğur found that royal jelly contains many proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins while propolis, collected by bees from plant stems, leaves and buds, has strong antibacterial and antioxidant effects. Together with his husband Taylan Samacı and his professor Dilek Boyacıoğlu, she established the BEE’O team to find methods to utilize these natural ingredients which offer natural alternative support to medical immune boosters. The project was started with 10 beekeepers 8 years ago at İTU Arıkent with the support of KOSGEB and today BEE’O is working with 5000 contracted producers and 550,000 beehives.
BEE’O Propolis has been producing 100% natural products in the form of propolis, royal jelly, raw honey, pollen, bee bread and mixtures containing bee products, spray, syrup, tablets and skin care products.
Currently, BEE’O’s products, with the brand BEE’O Propolis, are on their e-commerce site “www.beeo.com.tr” and at over 15,000 retail outlets such as Migros, Macro Center, Joker, Rossman, Gratis, Carrefour Gourmet in Türkiye. Products under the brand BEE’O UP are also available in 35,000 pharmacies.
In the USA, BEE’O’s “BEE&YOU” brand line products are sold through their own e commerce site www.beeandyou.com, as well as at Amazon, Walmart, E-bay, CVS pharmacy chains and 3,500 retail outlets. The products are further exported to numerous other countries including South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, England, France, Austria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.
BEE’O was established by a women entrepreneur who further formulated a women dominated team. It inspires women to not only participate as a labour force in the Turkish economy but also to take an initiative on their ideas and establish their own start-ups.
BEE’O’s system of production and the line of service is completely transparent. In this sense, BEE’O prioritizes the protection of both nature and bee existence. To ensure the sustainability of nature combined with the happiness of the consumer, BEE’O gathers together an expert team of 30 people consisting of Food, Agriculture and Chemical Engineers, Pharmacists, Biologists and Dietitians. 100% natural BEE’O propolis, which is patented and rewarded by Tübitak as an innovative propolis extraction method, contains at least 3 times more active ingredients than similar products on the market. Additionally, BEE’O ensures that none of the final products contains added sugar, oil, additives or preservatives.
BEE’O was deemed worthy of 38 different national and international awards in a period of approximately 8 years. Some of which are listed below.
National:
• Borsa İstanbul, Private Market 2014 Fastest Growing New Startup Company Award (KOBİ Award)
• ITU Arı Teknokent BEETECH Award ITO Teknokent BEETECH Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights, Incubation Firm Category
• XII. Technology Awards – TÜBİTAK-TTGV-TÜSİAD Innovation Award Micro-Scale Firm Process Award
• KAGIDER, Economist Magazine and Garanti Bank – Türkiye’s Women Entrepreneur Award
• Design Week Türkiye Design Award
• Denizli Business Women’s Association – Innovative Business Women Award
• Turkish Exporters Assembly Stars of Export E-Export Champion
• Türkiye Entrepreneurship Summit Money Entrepreneurs Award Ceremony- Türkiye Entrepreneurship Summit E-Commerce Award
• TIM Türkiye Exporters Assembly – Inovalig 2017- Türkiye Innovation Leaders 2nd in Innovation Results 23.JCI TOYP Türkiye 10 Successful Young People of Türkiye
• Business World Economy and/or Entrepreneurship Category 1st- International Young Leaders and Entrepreneurs Association – Türkiye’s Top 10 Most Successful Youth Award
• Elele Avon Women’s Awards Entrepreneur Category – Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• 2nd Istanbul Economic Summit – Istanbul Golden Values Award – Innovation Category Awards
• 5th Sustainable Business Awards- 5th Sustainable Business Awards – Sustainable Innovation
• Kosgeb 5th SME and Entrepreneurship Awards- Innovative Entrepreneur Award
• IBS Awards – Beeo Propolis Royal Jelly Hambal Child Friendly Product Award
• İnovaLİG 2018 Certificate of Excellence
• IBS Beeo Up Syrup with Propolis Mothers’ Choice Product of the Year Award- IBS Awards – İBS Mother Baby Child Fair – Child Friendly Product of the Year Award 2018
• 2020 – TOBB Türkiye’s Fast Growing Companies – Türkiye 100 competition 5th place
• SUCCESSFUL EXPORTERS AWARD CEREMONY 7th in 2017, 10th in 2018, 7th in 2019 – Istanbul Exporters’ Association
• 2020 Women Entrepreneur Award-Entrepreneur who Adds Value to Human Award
International:
• Winner Certificate – SBS Bilim Bio Çözümler San ve Tic AŞ – 3rd Place in the 1st Euro MedHackathon Eco Efficiency in the Agro-Food Chain (EU-Funded Project Med Spring – Jordan)
• Winner Certificate – Mustafa Bayraktar – 3rd Place in the 1st Euro-MedHackathon Eco Efficiency in the Agro-Food Chain (EU-Funded Project Med Spring – Jordan)
• Apimondia World Bee Keeping Awards
• America Sofi Awards New Product Category 1st Place
• Natural Products Insider – The 2018 Supply Side Editor’s Coice Awards Finalist- Antioxidants: Bee&You Propolis Raw Honey Cough Syrup
• Natural Products Insider – The 2018 Supply Side Editor’s Coice Awards Finalist- Children Products: Bee&You Propolis Royal Jelly Raw Honey for Kids
• Eco Excellence Awards – Nutrition: Raw & Fermented Food, SBS Americas Inc Propolis Raw Honey USA-California
• Eco Excellence Awards – Wellness: Alternative Remedies, SBS Americas Inc Royal Jelly Raw Honey for Kids USA-California
• Gamechanger Awards- Best New Brand
• Gamechanger Awards- Best Tech Innovation
• Gamechanger Awards- Best Game Changer
• Nutra Ingredients Awards – Finalist Editors Award for Innovation – Anatolian Propolis in Geneva!
• 46th Apimondia 2019 – International Beekeeping Congress (APIMONDIA 2019)
• Sustainable Food Awards
• Euro Woman Business Awards- Eurowoman Global Businesswomen Forum “Business Award
• London International Honey Awards- London Honey Awards
• London Honey Contest Gold Medal- London Honey Awards
• London International Honey Awards Bee & You Raw Chestnut honey – London International
• Honey Awards – Results 2021 – SBS Americas Inc. Quality Awards 2021 Gold
BEE’O Propolis:
BEE’O Propolis works with the “Contracted Beekeeping Model”, which is an eco-friendly business model. With the “Contracted Beekeeping Model” that protects beekeeping and bees, we make a significant contribution to the protection of green vegetation in the world and sustainability in food production. With “Contracted Beekeeping Model”, BEE’O collect 1% of each of products sold in a fund and send it to beekeepers as equipment. Thus, BEE’O enable all of our contracted beekeepers to grow their businesses. With this model, we contribute economically to the beekeeping industry in our country and also to the ecosystem. In addition, with the innovative bee products we produce, we touch people’s lives and provide healing.
AK Portföy – Domestic Production:
Göktürk Işıkpınar, Deputy General Manager of Ak Portfolio, said the following about the Ak Portfolio GDP investment: “The fact that our country is the second-largest producer of bee products in the world pointed to a great opportunity for us to achieve value-added production in this sector. At this point, the fact that BEE’O Propolis is a company that can compete in the global market by making 100% domestic production, with the vision and effort of its founding partners, with the support of DCP’s capital and knowledge, has been an important factor in our investment. BEE’O Propolis also produced “Anatolian Propolis”, which has unique nutritional and protective qualities from the endemic vegetation of Anatolia, and became a company that competes with its value-added products
in the global market with its exports to 17 countries and has achieved a tremendous success story. We are proud to be a part of this success story with the investment of our fund and to be a part of the team that will carry this success story further by aiming to grow BEE’O Propolis 3 times more in the next five years. We aim for BEE’O Propolis to rise to a leadership position in the global market as well as in Türkiye.”
TIKAD:
Emine Sabancı Kamışlı, Vice Chairman of Tikad Investment Board and Deputy Chairman of ESAS Holding; “Women’s participation in the economy and the workforce is of great importance. Unfortunately, there is a very serious difference between men and women in the labor force participation rate in our country. Only 3 out of 10 women can participate in employment. In order to evaluate such an important potential and add it to the economy, we should work more together with the state, civil society and private sector. As TIKAD, we established TIKAD Investment to support women and pave the way for women’s entrepreneurship. With our investment fund, which can be described as a lifeline given from woman to woman, we aim to support women entrepreneurs and increase the number of women who own businesses in the business world. In this context, we supported BEE’O Propolis and its founder Aslı Elif Tanuğur Samancı by investing in her to expand her brand and business capacity. We were encouraged even more by Ak Portfolio GSYF’s investment in BEE’O Propolis, which we believe will achieve significant success abroad as well. We will continue to provide opportunities for more women entrepreneurs and to work to increase women’s entrepreneurship in our country.