More than a year after acquiring frozen seafood product specialist Kallimanis out of insolvency, Turkish seafood firm Dardanel is leaning on the firm’s assets to help reach its growth targets.
Founded in 1984 and based in Çanakkale, Turkey, Dardanel, a producer and marketer of canned and frozen seafood, is a big name in Turkish retail. Following its absorption of Kallimanis, Dardanel has invested USD 30 million (EUR 29.4 million) into improving existing products and launching new ones, according to Dardanel Board Member Ayse Onen Ozoguz.
"I am confident that this agreement will usher in a new era in the international seafood market," he told Turkish news site TRT World.
At the recent SIAL Paris exhibition, which ran from 15 to 19 October, 2022, Dardanel exhibited new tuna products, new products in its Sushida packaged sushi brand line, frozen stuffed mussels, and new packaged seafood meals. The stuffed mussels were first exhibited at the 2022 Seafood Expo Global in April in Barcelona, Spain.
Dardanel Founder Niyazi Onen said the new products are all focused on an aligned marketing message touting seafood’s nutritional and health benefits, as well as the company’s sustainability efforts.
Onen said Dardanel’s sales doubled in the first half of 2022 year-over-year, and he added that the company’s sales have risen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which stimulated public demand for immunity-boosting foods.
Dardanel’s exports totaled USD 40 million (EUR 39.2 million) in 2021 and Onen said the company’s growth plan is now export-focused, with an eye on becoming a “prominent global seafood firm.”
"We aim to generate 50 percent of our revenues from exports in 2025," he said.
Photo courtesy of Dardanel
