About Our Founder

Dilara Aslın, ​​founder of the Urtica brand, was born in Izmir in 1987 as the daughter of a botanist mother and a doctor father. She completed her primary and secondary education in this city. She studied high school at Bornova Anatolian High School and won a place in Yıldız Technical University's Department of Surveying Engineering in 2005 .

He completed his internships and education, but never practiced the profession of surveying engineer. While studying at university in Istanbul, he started working as a waiter to earn extra income and worked throughout his university life, rising to a managerial position.

Wanting to continue her career in this sector, Dilara took the university entrance exam again in 2012 and was accepted to Izmir University of Economics, Department of Culinary Arts and Management.

In 2014, he decided to leave his job where he had been working for 7 years and focus on the kitchen. He went to France twice in 2015 and 2016 and gained experience in Michelin star kitchens in Lyon and Aix en Provence. He graduated from university again in 2016.

After a short break, he started working as a Restaurant Manager in a restaurant group in Izmir in 2017 and continued in this position until March 2022. During the pandemic period, he completed his studies on “Medical and Aromatic Plant Cultivation”, “Herbalism”, “Anatomy and Physiology”, plant and spice trainings and functional nutrition on online platforms.

In March 2022, she left her job because she wanted to establish her own venture. She completed her research, necessary permits and formulations with doctors and founded the Urtica brand with the inspiration she received from her entire journey.