Esra Ünlüaslan Becomes Yemeksepeti CEO, and What Restaurant Partners Should Watch
Esra Ünlüaslan has become CEO of Yemeksepeti, the Turkish food and grocery delivery platform, and took up the role on 28 September 2026 (Perakende Türkiye, 29 September 2026). She joins from Amazon Türkiye, where she was general manager responsible for the marketplace, exports and delivery. She lists her priorities as user experience, faster innovation and growing the ecosystem. The appointment lands in the middle of an ownership change that will move Yemeksepeti from Delivery Hero to SSW Partners.
What it means for you: restaurants and grocery stores taking orders on Yemeksepeti now face a change in both management and ownership at the same time. No decision on commissions or platform rules has been announced, so this is a time for measuring, not guessing. In autumn 2026, every business in Türkiye that takes orders through a platform should track its own numbers and review how much it depends on a single channel.
What experience does Esra Ünlüaslan bring to the Yemeksepeti CEO role?
Marketplace, delivery and strategy experience. According to Perakende Türkiye and Webrazzi, a Turkish tech news site, her most recent role was general manager at Amazon Türkiye, responsible for the marketplace, exports and delivery. Before that, she held strategy roles across consulting, finance and industry. Neither report says whom she replaces.
How does the Uber and Delivery Hero deal change Yemeksepeti’s ownership?
Yemeksepeti goes to SSW Partners, not to Uber. According to the joint Uber and Delivery Hero press release of 16 July 2026, Uber is offering €41.50 per share for Delivery Hero. The same release says SSW Partners will buy Delivery Hero’s business in 14 markets for about $1.6 billion, and the list includes Yemeksepeti (Türkiye).
How does the change at Yemeksepeti affect restaurant and grocery partners?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Most exposed: the neighbourhood restaurant tied to one platform
- More resilient: multi-channel chains and cafés
- Indirect: grocery stores, couriers and the delivery ecosystem
The direction of any impact has not been announced, but exposure differs from business to business. A small restaurant that earns most of its revenue from one platform is the most exposed. A business that takes orders through several channels and keeps its own customer list is more resilient. Couriers, packaging and ordering software are affected indirectly.
Most exposed: the neighbourhood restaurant tied to one platform
For a kebab shop, a pide bakery or a home-cooking kitchen whose orders mostly come from one app, every platform setting shows up straight in revenue. When visibility in the app drops, the kitchen sits idle and no money comes in.
More resilient: multi-channel chains and cafés
A business that takes orders on several platforms, on its own website and by phone can balance a change in one channel with the others. We look at how mall dining is shifting in our article on Shake Shack’s two new Istanbul stores.
Indirect: grocery stores, couriers and the delivery ecosystem
Grocery stores selling on Yemeksepeti and the delivery side also fall under the “ecosystem” heading. For how management changes can feed into shipping agreements, see our article on Aras Kargo’s new chief commercial officer.
Which numbers should restaurant and grocery partners track on Yemeksepeti?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Order count and average order value
- Platform cost as a share of revenue
- Cancellations, complaints and review score
- Contract and notifications
Five numbers are enough: weekly orders, average order value, cancellation and complaint rate, platform cost as a share of revenue, and in-app visibility. Compare these five with the period before the leadership change. Then you will see any real change in data, not in guesswork.
Order count and average order value
Compare the same days of the same week. If orders hold steady but average order value falls, look at menu pricing. If average order value holds but orders fall, look at visibility.
Platform cost as a share of revenue
Add commission, campaign participation and ad spend into one line. Seeing how this ratio moves each month lets you sit down at the contract table with data.
Cancellations, complaints and review score
User experience is the first priority the new CEO names. Your rating and cancellation rate are among the data points that affect where the platform places you in the list. Delivery time and packaging quality decide a lot here.
Contract and notifications
Here’s something most people don’t know: platform emails and dashboard notices are often where a rule change shows up first. Make one person responsible for reading them. An unread notice is a cost you never notice.
How can a restaurant tied to one platform build its own ordering channel?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Business profile and map visibility
- An ordering page on your own site
- Bringing loyal customers onto your own list
Start with local visibility. Your Google Business Profile, an ordering page on your own site and a contact list for loyal customers are the three legs of your own channel. According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade, retail e-commerce reached TL 2.457 trillion and about 2 billion transactions in 2025. Part of that demand can come straight to your door.
Business profile and map visibility
Keep your menu, opening hours and photos up to date. A customer searching “pide near me” checks the map before opening any app. If the details are missing, the customer walks away.
An ordering page on your own site
A simple page that loads fast on mobile and points customers to order by phone or message is enough. Whether you show the same prices as on the platform or offer a different bundle is a call for your own cost sheet.
Bringing loyal customers onto your own list
A card in the bag, a discount valid on the second order and an opt-in contact list move the relationship beyond the platform. Follow the consent and personal data rules.
What should a Yemeksepeti partner business do this week?
Do three things. Download the last three months of platform data into a spreadsheet, record today’s value for the five numbers and take the first step toward your own ordering channel. That sheet becomes the baseline you compare against if anything changes later.
Quick Summary
- Esra Ünlüaslan started as Yemeksepeti CEO on 28 September 2026 (Perakende Türkiye, Webrazzi).
- She joins from Amazon Türkiye, where she was general manager for the marketplace, exports and delivery.
- According to the Uber and Delivery Hero release of 16 July 2026, Yemeksepeti is among the 14 markets going to SSW Partners.
- The price of about $1.6 billion covers all 14 markets, not Yemeksepeti alone (Uber and Delivery Hero release).
- No commission or rule change has been announced, so a partner business should track its own numbers.
Short Glossary
- Gross order value
- Gross order value is the measure used for the total amount of orders placed on a platform before discounts and returns.
- Average order value
- Average order value is the measure used to show spend per order, found by dividing total revenue by the number of orders.
- Equity value
- Equity value is the term used for the total market or offer value of a company’s shares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to read your platform data together and plan your own ordering channel, fill in the consult your expert form.
Sources: Perakende Türkiye, 29 September 2026 · Webrazzi, 28 September 2026 · Uber and Delivery Hero joint release, 16 July 2026 · Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade, 2025 e-commerce data
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
According to the reports, Ünlüaslan worked as strategy general manager at CPF Türkiye and as director of strategy, growth and innovation at Borusan Cat Türkiye. Webrazzi describes her Goldman Sachs role as a foreign exchange markets analyst in the New York office. It lists her Boston Consulting Group role as management consultant.
According to Perakende Türkiye, she studied economics and industrial engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School. She also has a doctorate in management sciences from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.
User experience, faster innovation and a growing ecosystem. These three themes point to the app, the technology and the partner side of the business. No concrete product or rule change has been announced yet.
No. That figure is the total price for 14 markets, not for Yemeksepeti alone. According to the release, those 14 markets generate $11 billion in gross order value, while the 50 markets going to Uber generate $42 billion.
The primary source for the deal is the joint release dated 16 July 2026, so use that document for the date. According to the release, Uber’s offer values Delivery Hero’s equity at $14.8 billion. This is context for understanding the ownership chain. This is not investment advice.
The reports do not give a closing date for the transfer to SSW Partners or the status of competition approval. Perakende Türkiye writes that Yemeksepeti was sold to Delivery Hero in 2015 for $589 million; that figure has not been confirmed by a primary source. Check the current status in official statements.
When management and ownership change, dashboard and report formats may change too. Keeping your history in your own file leaves the comparison under your control.
Test a second platform or your own ordering page with a small menu. The goal is not to drop your main channel but to cut your dependence on it in a way you can measure.
We read platform data and build your own channel with you in our e-commerce consulting service. Our retail page, where we interpret the Turkish retail agenda for you, collects other developments too.
The new management has not announced any decision on commissions or rules. Check dashboard notices and contract updates regularly.
No. According to the Uber and Delivery Hero release, Yemeksepeti is among Delivery Hero’s businesses in 14 markets going to SSW Partners.
The Perakende Türkiye and Webrazzi reports do not say whom Ünlüaslan replaced. Watch Yemeksepeti’s official statements for this information.