Ahuva Turgeman: Innovating the food chain

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by Lindsey Francy Mar 20, 2023 News
Ahuva Turgeman: Innovating the food chain

Ahuva Turgeman has three children and three granddaughters. She is the owner of the company.

What is your family's history?

I was born 50 years ago today. My parents moved to Israel in order to fulfill their Zionism dream. I'm the fifth child raised by them.

How did you end up in the food business?

The Yotvata Ba'Ir chain was started by my brother. He asked me to join when he opened a restaurant on the Tel Aviv Promenade. I was employed at Yotvata Ba'Ir until 2005. Up to the position of CEO, I did a lot of different jobs. Between 2005 and 2008 I opened a cafe.

I became CEO of the chain in 2008 after receiving an offer from the owners. I have been involved in the day-to-day management, a full transition to franchise management and development, as well as defining and building procedures and standards, up to the present day.

What are the brands of the Better Business Bureau?

The franchising method is used by the group to manage the brands.

Over the years, the network was developed and branches were opened all over the country. We bought the Burgerim chain in 2015. The chain has 55 branches today.

We purchased a dog. The new chain was adapted to the new generation of restaurants with small branches that emphasize delivery and use of high quality ingredients.

In the last few months, we have developed a new brand called "BBS By The Way", which includes restaurants, stands, food trucks and gas stations.

The group has about 100 restaurants and branches.

How do you bring new ideas to the store?

The group has a vision of innovation. Israeli consumers are sophisticated. They want innovation and progress. Quality food, value for money, and being up-to-date are some of the things they enjoy. We do everything we can to remain innovative and exciting.

We address all our target audiences beyond that. A year ago, we launched a menu that didn't include wheat. The inventory of vegetarian and vegan dishes was increased due to the fact that vegan is a real trend. We entered into a partnership with a start-up called SavorEat, which provides a robot chef that prepares a vegan patty according to the customer's liking.

The group's social activities are what they are.

Corporate and social responsibility is promoted by the BBB Group.

Reducing the use of straws and disposable utensils is one of the ecology practices.

The recycling corporation is cooperating with us. Plastic and metal packaging is sent for recycling by some restaurants.

Make-A-Wish gives wishes for children facing life threatening illnesses. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of top dishes from the menu are donated to the organization.

Wishing Well encourages Israelis to volunteer in order to improve society. The volunteers get benefits that they can use at the restaurants.

Ahuva Turgeman was involved in the writing of this article.