EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | FRANCHISE & INVESTMENT
Göksal İzci: From Traditional Business Acumen to Next-Generation F&B Engineering
Göksal İzci, Chairman of the Board at GİZCİ A.Ş., discussed the business vision behind the Kahven Gelsin franchise model, its technology-driven operational system, and the next-generation business model they offer to investors.
The industry has known you for years for your academic and consulting background; however, today you are here with us as part of an industrial investment under the GİZCİ A.Ş. umbrella. Where do Göksal İzci’s business roots lie?
I grew up among the shelves in my father’s grocery store at the age of 4; therefore, the math of retail, buying and selling, and small business is second nature to me from childhood. I’m originally from Kayseri; I learned the discipline of keeping accurate accounts in business from that culture.
However, I didn’t limit my first steps in business to just working alongside my father; my very first venture, which I launched at a young age, was also a franchise brand. As a result, I personally experienced firsthand—right from the start—what it’s like to be both a franchisee, a founder, and the one implementing the system on the ground.
I built upon this grassroots background in field operations and retail with my undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Political Science at Istanbul University, my master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, and my study abroad programs at the University of Vienna.
I have participated in training programs for major international operations such as the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). In the coffee sector, we have built a massive and unique ecosystem that goes beyond simply training baristas—one that encompasses everything from education to shop owners, suppliers, wholesalers, coffee roasters, and industrial chefs.
“Being a business owner doesn’t mean being tied to the workplace. If the business runs smoothly even when you’re not there, you’ve truly built a system; otherwise, what you’re doing isn’t running a business—it’s just minding your own shop.”
— GÖKSAL İZCİ
Today, under the GİZCİ A.Ş. umbrella, what we’ve done is transform all our accumulated experience—from that first franchise experience to our retail background, from our academic supply chain knowledge to this multifaceted coffee ecosystem—into a corporate F&B model that offers peace of mind.
How has this broad ecosystem—ranging from the store owners you’ve mentored to suppliers—and your educational background given you a competitive edge in foresight compared to a business owner looking at the F&B retail sector from the outside?
Our training program didn’t just produce baristas working behind the counter; it has also produced business owners running shops in the industry today, suppliers providing raw materials, coffee roasters, and professionals in industrial kitchen manufacturing.
Consequently, we have personally guided and analyzed the entire value chain of Turkey’s food and beverage sector—from production to machinery, from the coffee bean to the point-of-sale—from the inside out.
Years ago, as the industry was growing rapidly, we made an observation:
“Business models that leave everything up to the barista’s and baker’s discretion will ultimately succumb to a staffing crisis.”
Time has proven us right. Today, no matter which F&B owner you speak with, the topic isn’t coffee beans; it’s baristas who don’t show up for work, capricious master bakers, and fluctuating flavor standards. At GİZCİ A.Ş., we identified the problem before this crisis hit our doorstep and built the “Kahven Gelsin” model entirely on this foresight.
While “staff management” has become a chronic problem in the food and beverage industry, how did Kahven Gelsin solve this equation?
The industry’s fundamental mistake is is that it makes the shop a prisoner to individuals rather than integrating the shop owner or employees into the system. If a shop’s profitability depends on the barista’s mood that day, the shop owner is forced to stand guard at the counter morning and night.
We don’t disregard staff; on the contrary, we take the pressure of human error off their shoulders. Precise recipe adjustments are ready on our smart system, which operates with a single touch.
On the oven side, 4:00 a.m. shifts and the search for master bakers are a thing of the past; thanks to our frozen food architecture and smart oven technology, even an employee with no kitchen experience can provide flawless service after just a short orientation.
In short, we’ve designed a system-driven, streamlined, and simplified operation that frees the owner from being tied to the store.
How did you combine traditional small business principles with a modern franchising system?
Speaking as someone who has been in retail since the age of 4 and whose first venture was establishing a franchise brand: Traditional small business has cost discipline and authenticity, but its scalability is weak.
In franchise models designed for shopping mall environments, there are massive software systems, but they’re disconnected from the realities of the field and the supply chain. We’ve hybridized these two approaches using our Political Science and Supply Chain infrastructure.
Drawing on our small-business roots, we’ve eliminated raw material waste, logistics losses, and unnecessary square-meter costs to zero. By adding global industrial water technology partners like BWT and our telemetry tracking systems, we’ve equipped the business with a global corporate armor.
A 50 m² next-generation operational model: The result is a structure backed by GİZCİ A.Ş., operating with zero waste across a 50 m² area, where control remains firmly in the investor’s hands.
When designing the “Kahven Gelsin” model, what did you gain from actually running your own store rather than just staying in the theoretical realm?
The biggest scam in the industry is feasibility studies drawn up at a desk. We don’t sell franchises from our ivory tower.
We stood behind the register ourselves at our own concept store, measured customer behavior, tested the morning opening bakery cycle, and built a massive organic following on our social media.
When an investor sits down at our table, we don’t present them with hypothetical projections; we offer a living, breathing, bill-paying, foolproof, and personally tested real-world proof of concept. This instills confidence in the investor at the table and gives us flawless operational self-confidence.
What does the “Dual-Engine Revenue” approach—which you frequently emphasize in your model—mean?
Relying solely on cup coffee sales to cover the rent, staff, and high operating costs of a 50-square-meter store is a major risk in today’s economy.
We didn’t make our revenue dependent on a single source. Our first engine is our high-standard coffee station, and our second engine is our bakery concept, which bakes fresh goods all day long.
THE “BRING ON THE COFFEE” FRANCHISE MODEL
Dual-Source Revenue: Coffee and Bakery Products
Kahven Gelsin brings together coffee and baked goods under a single operation through a franchise model that doesn’t rely on a single product category for revenue.
1st Revenue Driver: Coffee
Sustainable service throughout the day with a high-standard coffee station and smart automation
technology.
2nd Revenue Driver: Bakery Products
Freshly baked products all day long,
thanks to smart oven technology and a frozen food infrastructure.
This dual-pronged sales approach aims to increase spending per customer and shorten the return on investment period.
You’ve set your investment budget in the range of 165,000–180,000 USD, and the naming rights fee at 7,500 USD. Why did you choose these figures?
We are not a marketing company looking to make a quick buck by selling signage. We are an organization that provides investors with the full support of BWT’s global infrastructure, smart oven technology, and turnkey industrial engineering solutions.
The $165,000–$180,000 range is a rational budget that guarantees a branch can open expenses and opening to the highest quality standards .
The 7,500 USD franchise fee and 4% royalty are the industry’s most fair and sustainable rates, which finance the system’s continuity, central logistics capabilities, and the R&D operations behind the brand.
We do not promise low-budget adventures; we promise a well-oiled corporate machine that protects your capital and runs like clockwork.
FRANCHISE INVESTMENT INFORMATION
Kahven Gelsin Investment Model
Total Investment Budget
165,000 – 180,000 USD
Franchise Name Rights
7,500 USD
Royalty Fee
4%
Concept Area
50 m²
You’ll be participating in the Bayim Olur musun Fair on October 15–18 and you’ll also be a speaker on the same panel as industry leaders. What will you showcase to investors and the industry at the fair?
We didn’t set up a traditional booth where we just handed out brochures; we’ve brought a live operational simulation.
Under our transparent counter, we’ll clearly showcase the entire closed-loop system—from BWT filtration technology to our baking station.
During the panel discussion, we’ll confront the harsh reality that the F&B industry tends to avoid: the labor shortage and operational engineering.
We’ll use data to explain how to build a sustainable system we’ll explain, backed by data, how to establish a sustainable system.
We’re committed to growth in controlled and strategic locations; we invite our investor partners who share our vision to see the live system at our booth.
A MESSAGE TO INVESTORS FROM GÖKSAL İZCİ
“Being a business owner doesn’t mean being tied to the office. If the business runs smoothly even when you’re not there, then you’ve truly built a system.”
Göksal İzci
Chairman of the Board, GİZCİ A.Ş.
NEW-GENERATION FRANCHISE INVESTMENT
Discover Franchise Opportunities with Kahven Gelsin
Get to know the Kahven Gelsin franchise system, developed with smart automation, standardized operations, and a dual-revenue model.
October 15–18 | Bayim Olur musun Fair
GİZCİ A.Ş. and the Kahven Gelsin franchise model
Interview: Göksal İzci – Chairman of the Board, GİZCİ A.Ş.
Topic: The Kahven Gelsin Franchise Model, F&B Operational
Engineering, and Next-Generation Franchise Investments
