Do you remember those football candy wrappers made from Turkish chewing gum? This is how they are connected with Ukraine

… Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally attended his funeral, in Turkey he was called the “chocolate king” and one of the richest citizens, and the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, reacted to the death of 92-year-old Sabri Yulker with a heartfelt farewell letter.

A very significant person for Turkey left behind a huge confectionery empire, and post-Soviet football fans will always remember Ülker chewing gum with bright candy wrappers depicting famous players from all over the world. On worn papers, we saw Belanov, Protasov, Kuznetsov next to Maradona, van Basten and Gullit. And this is not Sabri Yulker’s only connection with Ukraine.

“I believe that every person has the right to a happy childhood, no matter what country he lives in”
Sabri Ülker

Sometime, after the end of the war, in Alushta it will be necessary to erect his monument. It was here, in the suburban village of Korbek (now Izobilnoye), that the future great Turkish confectioner was born in 1920. His family, Crimean Tatars, lived quite hard. Dad, Haji Islam Efendi, was a Turkish teacher of Crimean Tatar origin – first he taught in Thrace, after the start of the Balkan wars he left Terkidag for Istanbul, and then for the Crimea.

The civil war, partial hunger strike, constant instability and the collapse of the NEP did not please those who tried to work honestly and raise children. In addition, the Soviet government actively fought against religion, and the father of the Yulker family did not want to renounce Islam.

In 1929, the Yulker family left the Soviet Union forever. At first, it was very difficult, but Sabri was a smart boy, quickly grabbed school subjects on the fly, and after a modest comprehensive school, Erkek managed to pass the exams for a free course at the more prestigious Bilecik school. Then he received a higher economic education at Sultan Ahmet University.

At the age of 24, Sabri Ülker and his brother Asim bought a small biscuit workshop in the Eminonu quarter of Istanbul. It was there, on a platform of 100 sq.m., that Sabri and Asim, with three subordinates, began to produce sweets. In 1953, when things went well, the brothers decided to change the name “Barksim” to the family name “Yulker”.

In order to develop the business, Sabri Ülker took the company public in the 70s, founded his own research and development department, and actively developed various areas in the production of sweets and snacks. Yulker was the first in Turkey to produce lactose-free milk, quickly caught the trend of chewing gum and carbonated drinks, and significantly diversified the sweets market with the best recipes from Europe, America and the East. The result of long work was the company Yıldız Holding – since 1989 it has united many factories and brands,

“Investing in the future of youth means investing in education and sports”
Sabri Ülker

Sabri Ülker quickly caught a trend that had appeared in the confectionery industry since the first half of the 20th century – children love sports and athletes, which means that sweets should unite this. On the jerseys of all the major sports clubs in Turkey over the years, you could see Ülker advertising, and the company itself willingly combined football with its products. The legendary Final series with bright Ülker chewing gum liners is one of the unforgettable impressions of those whose childhood was in the late 80s and early 90s.

Final’90, Final’92 and even Final’95 – many of them, for sure, had these candy wrappers somewhere in their school stash. But dozens, hundreds of brands of chewing gums – Bombibom, CinCin, Kent – came from Turkey to Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR in a huge stream … There were cars, transformers, tanks on wrappers, but also sports in all its representations. Youths from the post-Soviet space exchanged them like jewels. And many of us remember van Basten, Gullit, Maradona, Vialli, Del Piero just in the form of those photographs from candy wrappers and stickers with which we decorated our diaries, notebooks, family refrigerators and car torpedoes …

So, Sabri Ülker was one of the biggest enthusiasts for sports to be promoted next to sweets. His company spent many millions on supporting sports clubs.

And Sabri himself, having retired at the age of 80, spent the last years of his life on charity. He founded several foundations to support social projects, the opening of libraries and sports fields. In Turkey, but also looked across the sea at Ukraine, at his native Crimea.

Yulker left his will to his son Murat Sabri to revive the mosque in his native village. When Crimea returns to the legal field, once again begins to live in a civilized world, the name of Sabri Yulker will certainly be immortalized in his small homeland.

Bogdan Gryschuk