The youth population (up to 15.6 percent of the entire population) in Turkey makes the market for cosmetics and personal care brands attractive and filled with many opportunities. The Ministry of Health of Turkey has stated that there are more than 5000 cosmetic brands that are registered for operations in Turkey. The Turkish Cosmetic Regulation came into force when it was published in the Official Gazette as no. 25823 on 5 May 2005
The high rate of imported cosmetics products into Turkey, 3 out of 5, provides an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to create products that can compete with imported cosmetic products in terms of quality and price.
Being an entrepreneur-investor, Uğur Aslan saw an opportunity to go into the cosmetics treatment business when his wife Alsi Tarcan’s clinic started to need cosmetics products for beauty and aesthetic patients after their treatment and operation. The discovery of this attractive opportunity in the cosmetic industry led the entrepreneur-investor to co-found Proterra Cosmetics brand with his wife, who is also a successful businesswoman.
As someone who loves to add value, Uğur Aslan saw the need in his wife’s clinic as an opportunity to attend to people’s needs and also add value to them through the products. He did this by providing clinically tested products from a company they have, Pretorra Cosmetics Brand, that was closely related to the cosmetics industry, leaving the people who use the products satisfied and happy.
Seizing opportunities and using them to create things that can add value to other people make the entrepreneur-investor, Uğur Aslan, a successful businessman in Turkey. Starting Proterra Cosmetic Brand in 2008, three years after the Turkish Cosmetic Regulation came into force, was not a walk in the park for the entrepreneur. But because of his attitude to creating value, he has been able to scale the brand and now exports to more than 18 countries around the world.
