Ajinomoto has bought an additional 50% of the stock of Kükre A.Ş., a food company in Turkey, for approximately 181 million Turkish Lira (US$51.73 million) and made it a wholly owned subsidiary.
With this acquisition, Ajinomoto Co. will accelerate business expansion in Turkey with the intention of further strengthening its operations in the Middle East.
The population of Turkey was about 80 million as of 2016, and the economic growth rate was firm at 5.2% in 2014 and 6.1% in 2015.
In 2016, despite the impact of terrorist attacks, a slump in tourism and other factors, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan states the growth was 2.9%, and is expected to continue.
In 2011, Ajinomoto established wholly owned subsidiary Ajinomoto Istanbul Food Sales in Turkey and began sales of seasonings to restaurants.
In 2013, Ajinomoto Co. acquired a 50% stake in premium brand food company Kükre A.Ş.
In 2017, Ajinomoto Co. acquired all shares of Örgen Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (Örgen), a major food company in Turkey, and has been enhancing its business portfolio in Turkey and rolling out its operations into the Middle East.
As a result of steady growth in sales of vinegars and fruit sauces and enhanced initiatives for growing small-outlet retail chains since Ajinomoto Co.’s 2013 capital participation, net sales of Kükre A.Ş. in 2016 were approximately TRY 70 million, nearly doubling from 2014.
Making Kükre A.Ş. a wholly owned subsidiary will enable the Ajinomoto Group to act as a comprehensive food manufacturer in Turkey, adding Kükre A.Ş.’s KEMAL KÜKRER brand liquid seasoning business to Örgen’s Bizim Mutfak brand business for bouillon, powdered soups and other products.
