A husband-and-wife olive oil producing team in southern Türkiye has earned international recognition for their single-variety Kilis olive oil, winning 26 medals over the past six years and helping raise the global profile of the region’s geographically indicated product.

Ali and Ayşegül Hayta have collected 22 gold and 4 silver medals since 2020 in competitions held in countries including Japan, Italy, the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Their most recent gold medal came in March at a competition in Milan.

The couple says their success is rooted in a focus on a single olive variety known as "Kilis yağlık zeytini,” an oil-producing olive cultivar native to Türkiye’s Kilis region, which they believe best represents the area’s quality and flavor profile.

"This competition required olive oil made from a single variety,” Ali Hayta told the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA). "Winning a gold medal with oil produced only from Kilis yağlık olives demonstrates the quality of our product.”

Long agricultural heritage

Ali Hayta said Kilis has a deep olive-growing history, noting archaeological findings in the region that include 4,000-year-old olive seeds.

He added that historical research suggests olive cultivation spread from Mesopotamia toward Europe through routes that include the Kilis and Afrin corridor. He also pointed to Kilis olive oil’s protected geographical indication status, saying the region sits along what he described as an "olive route” into Europe.

Expanding product range

Fourth-generation olive producer Ayşegül Hayta said the couple has built a brand centered on Kilis’ native olive variety while expanding into flavored olive oils.

During international visits, she said, they found strong references to Mesopotamia as the birthplace of olives. Inspired by those connections, the couple developed infused olive oils using herbs grown in their own groves, including thyme, rosemary and lavender.

"These results show that Kilis yağlık olives deliver high quality not only in natural olive oil, but also in flavored products,” she said.