TURKEY
Sastas Tapasmar specialises in marinated anchovy, and their popularity is growing
Sending Black Sea anchovy around the world Sastas Tapasmar's exports of anchovy have increased 6.5 times since 2011. The company sells an estimated 450 million portions of anchovies and sardines annually. Filleting and marinating is the main added value the company provides.
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ocated in Samsun, a major Black Sea port on the north coast of Turkey, Sastas Tapasmar specialises in anchovies, smoked and salted, but especially marinated. Because the Turkish demand for processed anchovies and sardines is limited, the company’s entire production of processed fish is exported worldwide: to European countries, including Belgium, France, Spain, and the UK, and to the United States, Canada, Russia, and countries in Asia. In Turkey, however, there is demand for fresh anchovy, which makes up nearly half of production.
Focus on anchovies and sardines Sastas Tapasmar is a production facility that employs nearly 250 people. Its main exports are anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus), 75
per cent of production, and sardines (Sardina pilchardus), 25 per cent of production. The company’s clients are mainly the food service sector and supermarkets. Products are typically sold under private labels, but the company also has its own brands, Tapasmar and North Point. Five generations ago, the DemircioÚlu family started a business trading in fish products. Later, they diversified into sea bass and trout farming, and in 1915, they moved the operation from Trabzon to Samsun. In 2001, an office was opened in Brussels, to handle distribution to their largely international market. Sastas Tapasmar has become an ultra-modern processing centre for processed fish. International quality certification labels include the MSC label for sustainable
Sastas Tapasmar specialises in processing anchovies and sardines for markets in Europe, North America, and Asia. 40
Anchovies from the Black Sea (left) are not only smaller and a different colour, but also have a different taste and consistency compared with those from the Sea of Marmara or the Aegean Sea.
fishing. The company outsources its supply of fish to local vessels operating on the Black Sea. Of the approximately 150 vessels operating there, nearly 50 produce fish for Sastas Tapasmar. Seventy per cent of the catch is anchovy. Frozen raw material is also imported from abroad, for example from Spain. Raw material is purchased for the whole year during the anchovy-fishing season and is frozen immediately. It is not processed immediately for three reasons. First, freezing kills all possible parasites. Second, freezing the catches ensures a constant supply of raw materials, even outside the fishing season, which runs from 1 September to 30 January. Finally, freezing ensures the products’ consistency and high quality.
Today, the company employs nearly 250 people. Its main exports are anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus), 75 per cent of production, and sardines (Sardina pilchardus), 25 per cent of production. The company’s clients are mainly the food service sector and supermarkets. Products are typically sold under private labels, but the company also has its own brands, Tapasmar and North Point.
Expanding the range of products Other products include herring, horse mackerel, bonito, and 3–4 tonnes farmed Black Sea salmon, which is sold in Japan and Russia. A new venture for the company is the sale of trout to Japan and
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