New development in the 'moldy chocolate' crisis: Patiswiss CEO Elif Aslı Yıldız Tunaoğlu, who threatened a consumer, has resigned

Patiswiss CEO Elif Aslı Yıldız Tunaoğlu's threat against a customer who shared a photo of moldy chocolate led Migros and Carrefour to remove the brand's products from their mobile applications.

In addition to the sanctions from these companies, Patiswiss CEO Elif Aslı Yıldız Tunaoğlu, who was at the center of social media backlash, announced her resignation in a post on her own social media account.

Tunaoğlu included the following statements in her announcement:

"I upset one of our consumers, whom I place above everything else, with a faulty response. As someone who has made it a mission to increase female employment every year and defend equality in business life, I certainly know that there is no defense for the faulty response I gave to a fellow woman. I accept that this was a very wrong behavior, and I sincerely apologize to her first, and then to all our consumers and the valued public for this unpleasant incident.

As a reflection of my sincere apology, I am stepping down from my position as Chairperson of the Board of Directors as of today.

The change in duty will be announced quickly by the decision of the board of directors.”

WHAT HAPPENED?

A consumer shared a post on the social media platform LinkedIn regarding moldy chocolates from the brand, writing, “I am witnessing moldy chocolate for the first time. Moreover, it is still before its expiration date. There is likely a problem with the storage conditions in the supply chain process.” The consumer also tagged Patiswiss CEO Elif Aslı Yıldız Tunaoğlu in the post.

THREATENED THE CONSUMER

In her response to the consumer who shared the moldy chocolate, Tunaoğlu used threatening language.

Telling the consumer, “You are facing us and the giant MIGROS,” Tunaoğlu stated the following:

“Do you know that these products never get moldy in real life? Let's say you're right. I think you should urgently check the humidity level in your home or something. And how sad that you have no other content to share on LinkedIn. You're right, everyone needs us to gain clout. Look at those writing ‘trash’ and such below. Everyone is unaware of what our lawyers will demand for brand defamation, lowering brand value, etc. Also! If such a situation happens to us, you tell us and ask for compensation! You are facing the giant MIGROS and us. Everyone stands behind their product! Good luck to you. Our lawyers will contact you, but I like to solve my own problems.”

DELETED POST AFTER BACKLASH

Tunaoğlu, who faced backlash on social media for the message she sent, deleted her comment.

In a message she shared on her Instagram account, Tunaoğlu claimed that she was ‘not like other CEOs’.

Tunaoğlu made the following statements on her social media account regarding the reactions:

News Source: 12punto