Kraft Heinz to acquire Turkish sauce manufacturer Assan Foods for $100m

Kraft Heinz has signed a deal worth around $100 million to acquire Assan Foods from Turkish conglomerate Kibar Holding, in a move to expand its global footprint with a focus on taste elevation and foodservice.

Assan Foods is focused on manufacturing sauces and has local manufacturing plants in Balikesir and Izmir in Turkey.

The company has been Kraft Heinz’s certified production partner since 2019.

Assan Foods, which is headquartered in Istanbul, was established in 1998 in Balikesir as an investment of Kibar Holding in the food industry.

The Turkish food company manufactures and sells ketchup, tomato paste, mayonnaise, and pasta and meat sauces among other products under brands such as Kingtom, Colorado, and Oba, and also as private label.

Assan Foods, which has a workforce of nearly 400 employees, caters to the domestic Turkish market and exports to approximately 50 countries across four continents.

Its acquisition will give the American food and beverage company the scope to build its retail and foodservice business in Europe, the Middle East, and also Africa.

Rafael Oliveira – International Zone President at Kraft Heinz said: “This is a great opportunity to accelerate our international growth strategy centered on Taste Elevation.

“We believe Assan Foods is a high-performance organization that brings best-in-class local innovation and production of sauces and tomato products, as well as a significant distribution network in the fast-growing foodservice channel, enabling us to further build our scale and agility by expanding the Heinz brand in Turkey, as well as our International Taste Elevation platform more broadly.”

The deal, which is subject to merger control approval and customary closing conditions, is anticipated to close in the latter half of this year.

Recently, Kraft Heinz closed its previously announced sale of its nuts business to Hormel Foods for $3.35 billion.