We aim to fully complete the construction of our third factory, a production campus that will elevate Armada Gıda to the next level, by the end of 2025. As the first step toward becoming a regional player, we plan to establish an agricultural product processing facility in Kazakhstan. In the coming period, we will continue investing in line with our sustainable growth objectives.

Established in 1993 by the Sönmez Family, Armada Gıda is one of Türkiye’s largest industrial and export companies, operating in the food industry with 3 factories and 11 production lines spread across a total area of 137,123 square meters in Mersin. Soon planning to go public, Armada continues to pursue various investments, from the new factory and product category transformations to sustainability and R&D efforts. Fethi Kalıpçı Sönmez, Chairman of the Board of Armada Gıda, shared insights into the company’s new initiatives, public offering process, planned investments, and profitability targets. 

Fethi Kalıpçı Sönmez
Chairman | Armada Gıda

Can you provide information about Armada Gıda?

Armada Gıda operates across 137,163 square meters with 3 factories, processing and handling a diverse range of products in 9 main categories, including pulses, grains, bulgur, organic products, superfoods, pulse flours, rice, gluten-free products, and other items. The company is involved in activities such as processing, pre-cooking via extrusion methods, sales, imports and exports, as well as transit trading and/or sales. Armada conducts imports with a total of 45 countries and exports to 90 countries. As one of Türkiye’s largest food exporters, we recently held an analyst presentation ahead of our planned public offering, which is set to be led by Global Menkul Değerler in the near future.

“We export to over 90 countries”

With more than 30 years of experience, we have established Armada Gıda as one of Türkiye’s largest industrial and exporting companies. Today, we operate from three factories in Mersin, spanning a total area of 137,123 square meters, with 11 production lines dedicated to processing both conventional and organic products. We handle activities across nine main product categories, including pulses, grains, bulgur, organic products, superfoods, pulse flours, rice, gluten-free products, and others. Our total processing capacity across these factories is 725,000 tons per year, complemented by a storage capacity of 118,665 metric tons. Currently, we export to over 90 countries, with key markets including Germany, Italy, Egypt, Tunisia, and France. Approximately 70% of our annual revenue is derived from global markets. As of the financial year ending December 31, 2025, Armada Gıda accounted for 7.2% of Türkiye’s total exports in selected pulse products and 7.4% in grain products. We are a prominent player in both domestic and global markets for products such as red lentils, chickpeas, beans, bulgur, and rice. Moreover, we are among the market leaders in Europe for the export of organic lentils, organic beans, organic bulgur, and organic rice. Additionally, we maintain a leading position in the export of conventional products to major European markets.

When is the third factory investment expected to be completed?

Our investments aimed at elevating Armada Gıda’s global presence continue at full pace. We plan to increase the capacity of the bulgur processing line at our Central Factory from 483 tons/day to 966 tons/day with an investment of approximately $7 million. This project, initiated in 2024, is scheduled to become operational in 2025. In the third factory area, where investments are ongoing, we commissioned a 30,000 MT storage capacity in 2025. Construction of a 2,000 square-meter factory space was completed in February, and we plan to activate a functional food facility with a total production capacity of 40 tons/hour by the end of this year. Additionally, construction of 8,200 square-meter Lidaş warehouses and 8,800 square-meter second-phase warehouses, which began in 2025, is expected to be finalized by the year’s end. Following the completion of these investments, we plan to establish a pulses factory on the same premises, featuring a processing capacity of 4,800 tons/day and a storage capacity of 181,500 MT. The third factory project, envisioned as a production campus to mark a turning point for Armada Gıda, involves a total investment of $54 million, with $20 million already spent. We aim to fully complete this investment by the end of 2025.

Aiming to become a regional player with the Kazakhstan investment

As part of our strategy to become a regional player, we aim to establish an agricultural product processing facility in Kazakhstan. In line with this goal, we founded AC Agro LLP, a subsidiary of our company, on November 29, 2022. Negotiations for the land where we plan to establish the facility are ongoing. In the first phase, we plan to invest approximately $4 million to construct a storage area of 4,000–5,000 square meters and a pulses processing facility. Additionally, we are preparing to activate solar energy investments (SPP) with a total capacity of 28.8 MW in Viranşehir, Şanlıurfa and Antakya, Hatay.

Becoming one of the UN’s top 10 suppliers with Super Cereal

In addition to conventional and organic products, we have also planned the production of “Super Cereal” (Super Life Grain), also known as adult cereal, and baby food products. Super Cereal is a nutritional supplement designed to provide essential nutrients and energy, particularly in emergencies and food insecurity contexts, for vulnerable populations such as pregnant and lactating women, infants, and young children. Since 1995, we have been a registered supplier for the World Food Programme (WFP), which uses Super Cereal in various food aid programs worldwide. The aim is to prevent malnutrition, support recovery from malnutrition, and contribute to the overall health and well-being of individuals and communities facing crises or food insecurity. As Armada Gıda, we have invested in a production facility with an annual capacity of 144,000 tons to manufacture and ship this product for the UN. Our goal is to become one of the UN’s top 10 suppliers for this product, which will be delivered to famine-stricken regions worldwide. In the coming period, we will continue our investments in line with our sustainable growth objectives.

How do you aim to complete 2024?

Armada Gıda has a strong financial structure. Between 2021 and 2025, we increased our sales by 22% in tonnage and our revenue by 15% in dollar terms. Despite global uncertainties and increasingly challenging market conditions, we succeeded in increasing both our revenue and the share of exports in our total turnover in 2025. Our revenue reached 211 million USD in 2025, with exports accounting for 147 million USD. During the same period, we achieved an EBITDA of 32 million USD, with an EBITDA margin of 15%. Thanks to our strong financials, completed investments, and ongoing strategic investments, we aim to successfully complete 2024, just as we have in previous periods.

Could you share your thoughts on your upcoming IPO?

We view the initial public offering (IPO) as a strategic step to sustain our growth targets, strengthen our corporate structure, and enhance our level of transparency and accountability. For the past 1.5 years, we have been working on both technical and corporate aspects, as well as internal structuring, in preparation for the IPO. We will conduct the offering through a capital increase and share sales method. In the IPO, led by Global Menkul Değerler, the company’s issued capital will be increased from 219 million 984 thousand TRY to 274 million 980 thousand 53 TRY through a capital increase of 54 million 996 thousand 53 TRY.

We plan to channel the proceeds from the IPO into supporting investments aimed at strengthening our working capital, accelerating our ongoing factory and SPP investments, and boosting our capacity and efficiency.