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Paper Opportunity — UK Wholesale Platform

Status

  • Source: Can Turkmenoglu (PoutineAI JV partner, Dieu du Vin founder) introduced this opportunity on 2026-03-06
  • Context: Eren Holding-backed UK paper/packaging group with fragmented sales operations
  • Current ask: WhatsApp-first sales + ordering + invoicing + analytics for cash-and-carry customers
  • Pilot scope: Natsons Midland Packaging (Leicester) — ~200-250 customers

Key People

Can Turkmenoglu

  • Role: Right-hand man to the Eren Holding principal (billionaire). Says "my factory" — internal champion with decision-making influence.
  • Background: Turkish-Canadian entrepreneur. Founded Dieu du Vin (dieuduvin.com) in Montreal, 2017 — boutique wine import from 25+ countries. Still listed as Fondateur with GM and Sales Director running day-to-day.
  • Athletics: Ultra marathon runner (UTMB Index 364, Ephesus Ultra Marathon 2024 — 42km)
  • Relationship to Steve: PoutineAI JV partner. Met serendipitously at an airport.
  • LinkedIn: canturkmenoglu

Eren Holding Principal

  • Billionaire. Trusts Can. UK operations expanding rapidly.
  • Exact identity TBC — likely Eren family (Ahmet Eren or family member).

Entity Map (confirmed by Can, 6 March 2026)

Eren Holding (Turkey)
  └── Modern Paper (UK parent)
       ├── Natsons Midland Packaging ← PILOT TARGET
       ├── Diamond Box (acquired via Nova Paper, June 2025)
       └── Shotton Mill (Wales — £1bn+, biggest paper mill in Europe, under construction)

Natsons Midland Packaging — Verified Details

Detail Value
Location 24 New Star Road, Leicester, UK
Type Family business, ~20 years operating
Employees 30 full-time
Shifts 2 × 12-hour shifts, 5 days/week
Facility 158,000 sq ft manufacturing + 6,000 sq ft offices
Production lines 7 (upgraded from 5 after relocation)
Products Toilet rolls, kitchen towels, facial tissues, industrial rolls, baby wipes, janitorial hygiene
Customers UK blue-chip retailers + wholesalers (branded + private label)
Growth phase Actively seeking new clients, increasing volumes, improving internal procedures
Website natsons.net

Implications for our platform

  • 30 employees = lean operation, likely manual processes
  • 2-shift pattern = need for system that works across shifts without handoff gaps
  • "Substantially increase profitability" = open to tech investment that drives margin
  • Private label + branded = complex catalogue/pricing structure
  • Supermarket chain customers = future compliance/traceability requirements

Current Deliverables

Tech Recommendation

Build custom (pi-agent architecture), not GoHighLevel.

GHL is a marketing-agency CRM — doesn't do ordering, catalogues, credit terms, or Sage integration. We'd be fighting the platform within a month.

Pi-agent pattern (same as Curious Health / AgentFlow build): - WhatsApp as primary channel (Twilio / Meta Cloud API) - LLM-driven dispatch for ordering, catalogue queries, account status - SQLite hot state for orders/customers, Sage as cold state/ERP - Admin dashboard for factory managers (offer management, analytics) - Multi-factory routing as Phase 2 module

Own the IP, own the data. Repeatable for any B2B wholesale vertical.

Working Feature Spec (v0.1)

Phase 1 — MVP (4-6 weeks)

  1. WhatsApp ordering bot (catalogue browse, order placement, confirmation)
  2. Customer account management (credit terms, order history, payment status)
  3. Invoice generation + email/WhatsApp delivery
  4. Basic Sage export/integration
  5. Weekly sales analytics report (auto-generated)
  6. Admin panel for catalogue/pricing/offers
  7. Pay-now (card link) and pay-later (30-day terms)

Phase 2 — Scale

  1. Multi-factory routing + account deduplication
  2. Proactive deal push (targeted offers with expiry)
  3. Payment collection automation (card links, reminders)
  4. Full Sage bidirectional sync
  5. Segmented offer targeting by customer behaviour

Phase 3 — Intelligence

  1. AI sales copilot (predict churn, recommend upsells, optimise pricing)
  2. Voice ordering (WhatsApp voice → transcription → order)
  3. Multi-language support (Turkish/English)
  4. Forecasting and account-risk signals

Validation Still Needed

  1. ~~Exact legal entity map~~ ✅ Confirmed by Can
  2. ~~Pilot factory~~ ✅ Natsons Midland Packaging
  3. Who signs and controls budget (Natsons MD? Modern Paper level?)
  4. Can's exact role/title at Natsons
  5. Customer count at Natsons specifically
  6. Current systems (Sage version? Index? Excel? Mixed?)
  7. Pilot success metrics (order cycle time, DSO, conversion rate)

Next Steps

  1. Send Can scoping questionnaire (drafted, ready to go)
  2. Can confirms customer count + current systems + budget owner
  3. Draft commercial proposal (fractional CTO rate for build + ongoing managed service)
  4. Three-way call with Can + owner if needed for sign-off