Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Deniz Konukoglu, founder of Ancient Greens, located in Gaziantep, Sazgin, Turkey.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We, at Ancient Greens, produce wheatgrass juice powder from heirloom Anatolian seeds with natural sunlight and our permaculture soil in our greenhouse, which we designed. Our indoor design allows us to have better-controlled conditions, providing an organic system without the use of pesticides or any harmful chemicals. Our controlled water irrigation, calculated air circulation, and daily maintenance ensures quality wheatgrass plants grow. With these arrangements, we harvest the most quality wheatgrass and its juice from the motherland of wheat.
The innovation that we made are:
1- Greenhouse: there was no special greenhouse design for wheatgrass production. We use natural sunlight and soil with our design and minimize the source.
2- Freezing method: Our freezing method is not a regular freeze. It freezes in equal time from the outside towards the center so that the nutritional values are not damaged.
3- Making the powder form: After we freeze the juice with that method, we lyophilize the juice, so the juice powder come up with an easy and healthy way to consume.
4- Zero waste production: We do upcycle and down cycle facilities. We make straws from the rest of the wheat we plant to get the seeds. With the fiber, we make soap which is a dermatologically approved formula.
Tell us about yourself
I grow up with a larger consideration for the environment and biological farming practices. Growing up on my family farm called Teofarm, descending from a generation of long-standing prestigious farmers based in Hatay, Antakya (specializing in cotton and wheat production), helped to prepare me for a professional career path later in life. After attending Koç University and completing her Bachelor's Degree in Economics, I continued my education in Milan, obtaining a Masters in Business Design.
It was there where I gained an understanding of the nutritional properties of wheatgrass and pursued this research and certification at the Ann Wigmore Institution in Puerto Rico. Once I completed it, I returned to my family farm for a year to gain more experience in natural and sustaining farming practices. At the same time, I designed the greenhouse focusing on wheatgrass production.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am the first one in the country which produces wheatgrass, so I get all the licenses for the first time, which needs lots of preparation. Legal issues and building a production like this have many obstacles. Planting wheatgrass has many different problems, such as:
1-Mold- The temperature is very unique and fragile for the grass. Soil and seed can easily make the mold, and people can not realize it, so they can have mold juice if they drink it, which is quite dangerous for their health.
2-Finding quality seeds- Finding real heirloom seeds is mostly the biggest problem for the people who can not have seeds and raise them. To get the heirloom seeds, we plant and harvest them by ourselves, only to get the seeds, so we keep them safe. People can not differentiate seeds’ quality until they raise them.
3-Juicer issue: Wheatgrass fiber is different than the other greens. So classic juicers don’t work with the wheatgrass. People need a special juicer machine to get the juice if they plant the wheatgrass.
4-Storing the juice: Wheatgrass juice has live cells, so it is not recommended to drink it 1 or 2 hours later after you juice it. So every time you need to drink, you need to harvest and juice it at that time. We develop a freezing system that protects the wheatgrass chlorophyll cells from damage when you freeze them. So we can have live, frozen wheatgrass juice cells. After that freezing process, we lyophilize them.
With our products, we contribute by producing value-added products such as natural food supplements protecting the heirloom seeds and maintaining them, contributing to local employment.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Responsibility is the most fragile part. When you start a business and build a team, it means you are responsible for yourself and the people who believe in you and work with you. So you always think twice and build a backup plan for the people who believe in you.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The first thing I want to highlight is to go with your own ideas. Building a business and maintaining it only work with your ideas and your plans. If you start with someone's ideas, you can not continue with obstacles because sometimes it doesn't match your mindset.
The second one is always to think about the worst scenario in the background. Because if you build a business, it means you are alone, and if you fall, you are the only ones who save you from the situation, so always think twice and make a plan B while taking risks.
The third one is always listening. I always listen to people. It doesn't mean that you have to make their suggestions but listen. I believe everything you see new or listen to opens a new window in your mind. It connects in a while.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I am really happy and thankful for this connection. Sometimes I work at the farm and think that nobody knows what I am doing even though they don’t know what wheatgrass is and its benefits. In the beginning, I had lots of hesitations about success. But you give a huge motivation with your communication. Thank you again for finding me from far away. Lots of good energy from my greenhouse to all the readers.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://ancientgreens.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stayrootedsproutwell/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ancientgreens/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ancient-greens/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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