# Mevsimi (2020 – 2023)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/mevsimi/
- Sector: E-commerce
- Country: Turkey
- Total funding: unknown
- Cause of closure: Macroeconomic crisis

## What did it do?

Mevsimi was a start-up that began operating in Istanbul in April 2020 and delivered fruit and vegetables from growers to consumers, cutting out the middlemen. Users ordered boxes put together to cover 10 days' needs via Mevsimi.com, and most of the produce was sourced daily. Its warehouse was in Karacabey, in the province of Bursa.

## Why did it shut down?

Founder Can Kağıtçıbaşı explained the decision to suspend operations in September 2023 by economic conditions. In his view, costs were multiplying while revenue was not growing at the same rate, and inflation had made planning impossible. Because of falling domestic production, they sometimes struggled even to find produce. The climate was not right for investing in marketing or finding new funding, and 2024 was expected to be even harder. Kağıtçıbaşı described the decision as temporary, but there has been no report of the business restarting since then.

## The story

Can Kağıtçıbaşı's father had farmed for more than 30 years. Knowing agriculture at first hand, Kağıtçıbaşı saw that fruit and vegetables passed through many middlemen on their way from field to table, losing freshness and getting more expensive along the way, while the grower still failed to make money. Mevsimi set out as a solution to this problem on 2 April 2020, in the first weeks of the pandemic.

According to the launch report by egirişim, a Turkish start-up news site, the start-up first began serving the Istanbul districts of Ümraniye and Ataşehir, with plans to expand soon to Üsküdar and Kadıköy and then to the whole city. Its warehouse was in Karacabey, in the province of Bursa. Users ordered boxes put together to cover 10 days' needs via Mevsimi.com; according to the founder, 90 per cent of the produce was sourced daily, and care was taken over the cold chain.

Mevsimi kept this model going for more than three years. According to a post Kağıtçıbaşı later shared, it became a brand that many families trusted and ordered from hundreds of times. But the steep inflation in the Turkish economy hit a thin-margin business such as fresh food head-on.

On 20 September 2023 Kağıtçıbaşı announced on his LinkedIn account that Mevsimi had suspended its operations. In the statement reported by egirişim, he summed up the reason: “While costs are multiplying, our revenue is not growing at the same rate.” According to the founder, inflation had made planning impossible, and because of the decline in production in the country they sometimes had trouble even finding produce. According to a Swipeline report, the climate was not right for investing in marketing or raising funds either.

Kağıtçıbaşı said he did not see the decision as a farewell and that he was open to reviving the project if suitable investment came along. There has been no report of Mevsimi restarting since. Mevsimi's story shows how vulnerable even a start-up that solves a real problem can be in the face of a macroeconomic storm.

## Lessons

- Margins in fresh food are thin; in high inflation, the gap between price and cost closes fast.
- Shortening the supply chain is a good idea, but the model comes under strain if supply itself shrinks.
- Plan a cash buffer and a clear path to profit for periods when raising funds will get harder.

## Sources

- [Mevsimi founder Can Kağıtçıbaşı: “As of this week we have suspended our operations” (in Turkish)](https://egirisim.com/2023/09/20/mevsimi-kurucusu-can-kagitcibasi-bu-hafta-itibariyle-faaliyetlerimizi-askiya-aldik/)
- [Turkish start-up Mevsimi halts operations because of economic conditions (in Turkish)](https://swipeline.co/yerli-girisim-mevsimi-ekonomik-kosullar-sebebiyle-faaliyetlerini-durdurdu/)
- [Mevsimi: the start-up taking fruit and vegetables from field to consumer (in Turkish)](https://egirisim.com/2020/04/02/mevsimi-meyve-ve-sebzeleri-tarladan-tuketiciye-ulastiran-girisim/)