Japanese company to make Turkey a regional hub

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Company photo

Ajinomoto Co. has signed an agreement to acquire a 50 percent stake in Turkey-based Kükre, a premium brand food company, for approximately 60 million Turkish Lira (approximately $29.3 million), planning to focus on Turkey as a regional hub, Ajinnomoto representatives said yesterday during a press meeting.

“Turkey has been of such great importance to us in terms of both its geographical position and commercial development potential. We aim at reaching some three-fold growth in the coming five years in the Turkish market. Our plan is to make Turkey a hub in a 500-million populated surrounding region,” said Vice President of Ajinomoto, Makoto Murabayashi.

For the last 100 years, Kükre has been selling seasonings (vinegars, fruit sauces), pickles among other products, its main “Kemal Kükrer” product lineup recognized as a premium brand throughout Turkey. Moreover, the company has a distribution network covering more than 30,000 retailers in Turkey who market and sell 37,000 tons of its products annually.

Ajinomoto Group employs some 27,500 people in 26 countries across the world. The group has 105 production facilities that distribute to the 130 countries that sell Ajinomoto Group products (the figure to be on the rise according to the company’s corporate website).