Sabri Ülker was born in 1920 in Crimea and had a difficult childhood after the Russian Revolution, which motivated his belief that all children deserve happiness. He and his family immigrated to Istanbul in 1929. After graduating university during World War II, Ülker and his brother established their own cookie workshop in 1944, which became the Ülker company. Ülker grew the company significantly, establishing factories around the world, and left it to future generations as a major food and beverage company upon his passing in 2012 at age 92.

1. SABRİ ÜLKER

2. Sabri Ülker was born in the Crimea in
1920. He grew up in the aftermath of the
Russian Revolution and had a quite
difficult childhood. The memory of these
years was behind his famous words “We
believe that no matter where in the world
people live, they have the right to a
happy childhood” when he founded Ülker.

3. As it was no longer possible for
his family to withstand the difficult
conditions in their homeland, they
immigrated to Istanbul in 1929.
The traces of those memories were
never erased from the mind of
Ülker. When at the age of nine
years old he registered at the
Kadırga Elementary School in
İstanbul .
After graduating from elementary school, Sabri Ülker registered at the
Istanbul Boys High School. While he was at the sixth grade, he passed
the examination of the boarding school and continued his education at
Bilecik High School. He went to middle school in Bilecik and high school in
Kütahya. When he had registered at the Sultanahmet Economics and
Commercial Sciences for his higher education, World War II had begun.

4. When Sabri Ülker graduated
from the university, Sabri Ülker
and his brother Asım Ülker
decided to establish their own
workshop in order to produce
their own cookies in the
Nohutçu Han which is located in
Eminönü. So they established
ÜLKER in 1944.
When we look at today, Ülker’s two week production is
enough to provide a cookie to everyone in the world which is
clear confirmation of how Sabri Ülker had succeeded at this
business

5. A happy and private life was also another element
behind the success of Sabri Ülker’s professional life.
He and his dear wife Güzide chose a modest life
together. They also encouraged their children and
their grandchildren to live modestly. The most painful
event in the lives of Güzide and Sabri was the loss of
their son, Ali Ülker, at a very early age. They made
sure the memory of their lost child lived on in their
grandson Ali Ülker, whom they named after him. Their
other children Ahsen Özokur and Murat Ülker
embraced both the family’s modest lifestyle and Sabri
Ülker’s business ethics and values.

6. Sabri Ülker left Yıldız Holding to future generations as a company
mainly active in the area of food and beverages. As of 2012, Yıldız
Holding has production facilities in 10 countries including Turkey;
has 55 factories; 300 brands and exports over 80 countries, making
an important contribution to the local and global economy. Yıldız
Holding is a family company of Ülker families…

7. Ülker placed 10th on the Global Top-2011 list prepared by
Candy Industry, the world’s leading chocolate and candy sector
publication. The list is created by assessing companies throughout
the world doing business in the chocolate and candy sectors on
the basis of turnover, number of employees and number of plants.
Ülker has been in the upper echelon of this list for years. While it
was in 15th place in 2007, it climbed to 12th in 2008 and then
11th in 2009. Ülker became one of the top ten producers of
chocolate and candy on the list in 2010 and 2011.

8. Honorary chairman of Yıldız
Holding Sabri Ülker passed away
at the age of 92 in 12 June 2012
. Information as to the cause of
his death was not immediately
available, but it is known that he
has been hospitalized for
multiple reasons related to his
age.

9. REFERENCES
 http://www.ulker.com.tr/
 http://www.sabriulker.com.tr/su/hayat-
hikayesi.html
 http://ismailsen.com/?p=1632
 http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail
_getNewsById.action?newsId=283304