07.11.2026 10:39
Çise Ulus (32), who worked as a digital marketing and brand expert in Istanbul, left her corporate career during the pandemic and returned to the mandarin orchard inherited from her grandmother in Seferihisar, Izmir. In 6 years, Ulus turned the orchard into a brand and produces mandarin chips and flour from the peel; she received the 'Food Hero' award from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Çise Ulus (32), who left her corporate career during the pandemic in the Seferihisar district of İzmir, turned the mandarins she inherited from her grandmother into a brand value in 6 years.
Çise Ulus, living in the Seferihisar district, left her corporate career in Istanbul during the pandemic and turned the mandarins inherited from her grandmother into a brand value. Ulus, a management information systems graduate who worked in digital marketing and brand expertise at international companies, transferred her corporate experience to her ancestral lands. Çise Ulus developed her mandarin orchard with natural methods over 6 years; she uses her geese and chickens to fight weeds and her bees to fight insects. Ulus, who carries out value-added production with products such as mandarin chips and flour, said, “I branded our heirloom orchard in İzmir Seferihisar, which my grandmother planted. I define myself as ‘a white-collar farmer who resigned from her corporate career and branded her grandmother’s labor.’”
LEFT CORPORATE CAREER AND RETURNED TO THE GARDEN
Stating that she increased the quality of her products by trying natural methods on mandarins, Çise Ulus said she had the opportunity to understand nature’s teachings in the garden very closely, and said, “This place had been established with great labor. I wanted to advance my grandmother’s labor. Even if I continued my corporate life, my mind was always here. Because I knew that Seferihisar mandarin was very valuable and that I could enrich it, I ended my corporate career by showing a different sign of courage. I said; I will produce mandarins in Seferihisar, and it will be said in foreign markets that our mandarin was produced in Turkey. We achieved this, and I am very happy that we have established our labor in international and national markets,” she said.
SHE MAKES FLOUR FROM MANDARIN PEELS
Ulus, who said, “We do not offer our mandarins for sale only fresh; we carry out value-added production,” continued as follows:
“I think that unless it is value-added, it is not possible to make use of the product. Because fresh produce is difficult to preserve and very prone to waste. I conducted trials to make mandarins value-added. I came across mandarin chips that could find a place in international markets and enriched it. We made chocolate snacks. We use the mandarin down to its peel. We make mandarin flour from its peel. We produce zero waste; nothing in the garden goes to waste. The branches and leaves we prune become fertilizer in the soil. We do not buy any product from outside; our geese and chickens provide active fertilization. We do not mow the grass; our animals consume it. In this way, we have built a garden where we carry out self-sufficient and completely natural, truly sustainable agriculture.”
Çise Ulus, who said she carries out voluntary work so that mandarins are not only consumed fresh but can also be made into different products, used the following statements: “We are role models for young farmers and women around us in branding and digital marketing, and we plan their processes. My dream is to see the days when every garden in these lands is a brand. I am fighting hard for this.”
BROUGHT A UNITED NATIONS AWARD
Ulus, who said she recently received the ‘Food Hero’ award from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said, “It is an award with different components in terms of producing clean food worldwide, working zero waste, quality production, and social impact. Bringing this award to our country together with three friends from around the world is of great value. We spread this mission to everyone around me who says, ‘I want to protect my lands.’ I hope our dreams will come true and we will see the days when every garden is a brand,” she said.