Kinds of producer
Importers asking for Turkish dragées usually mean one of two products. The first is the classic sugared almond, a roasted almond under a hard sugar shell. The second is the chocolate-coated nut or fruit centre, also sold as a dragée. They are made by different methods and often by different producers.
In practice you will meet three kinds of supplier. The first is the large factory with an export department, which sells mixed confectionery and offers dragées as one line among many. The second is the specialist coating plant, which makes dragées in volume and often supplies repackers and private labels. The third is the small local workshop, often making one traditional sweet for the home market, sometimes with no export desk. The three do not answer a foreign inquiry in the same way, and their minimum orders differ.
Regional centres and what each is known for
No single city is the sole centre of Turkish dragée production, so it is more accurate to look at what each place is known for. We list only what we could confirm from public sources.
- Mardin. Mardin's blue sugared almond, called İmlebbes, is coloured with a plant dye, and was registered with a geographical indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office on 23 December 2009. The blue comes from a root dye from the lahor tree. This is a small-batch, local product tied to the name Mardin.
- Bodrum. Badem şekeri is described as a traditional almond candy made in Bodrum for generations, shaped and decorated by hand. It is a local craft, not an export industry.
- Edirne. Edirne is known for almond sweets, but of a different kind. Almond paste is described as one of its most famous delicacies. It is marzipan-style, not a dragée.
- Afyon and Safranbolu. These are the two cities known for lokum. Lokum production stands out in Afyon and Safranbolu, and the lokum made there has been registered with geographical indications. They matter if you buy lokum alongside dragées.
- Istanbul. Lokum is traditionally linked to a confectioner to the imperial court in Istanbul in the late 1700s. Istanbul is also where many national confectionery companies are based.
- Gaziantep. See the next section.
Across Türkiye the sugared almond is also a custom. Badem şekeri is traditionally given to wedding guests in small bags. That is why the product exists in many places in a small, local form.
What Gaziantep makes
Gaziantep is the pistachio province. Antep pistachios are grown around Gaziantep in southeastern Türkiye. TürkPatent registered Antep Fıstığı as a protected geographical indication in 2000. Gaziantep baklava received EU PGI status in 2013, and Gaziantep Fıstık Ezmesi, the pistachio paste, has also been granted EU PGI status.
These protected names cover baklava and pistachio paste. They do not cover dragées, and we do not use them as claims for our dragées. They do show why pistachio-based confectionery is concentrated in this city.
Our factory in Gaziantep makes dragées in several groups: coated almonds and hazelnuts, pistachio, walnut and cashew, coffee bean and caramel centres, fruit centres, freeze-dried fruit, crunch and biscuit centres, pebbles and buttons, and coated novelty shapes such as mushrooms and quail eggs. The classic sugar-coated almond, in white and in colours, is part of the range. Every product on our dragée page is a running item in our factory.
How an importer reaches them
The large exporters can be reached through their export departments. Local workshops are harder: many have no English-speaking desk and sell mainly at home.
A manufacturer-exporter sits between the two. We make the products in our own factory in Gaziantep, quote in English and ship on our own account. The unit of sale is one full container (20 ft or 40 ft) or one full truck, and it can be mixed across lines. If you also want other Gaziantep products in the same shipment, see mixed container.
Importers in different markets buy the same sugared almond for different trades. It is known as Jordan almonds in the United States and confetti in Malta and Italy. It is bought for the door-gift and favour trade in Malaysia and Singapore, and in the Nordic trade it goes to the pick-and-mix walls in Sweden and Denmark.
What to check with any Turkish producer
- Which product is quoted. A sugared almond, a chocolate-coated almond and a compound-coated almond are different products with different labels and different transport needs. Ask for the coating composition.
- Technical data sheet. Ask for ingredients, allergens and shelf life, issued for the plant that makes the goods.
- Maker or trader. Ask who produces the goods and whose certificates you receive. Certificates belong to the plant.
- Colours. Ask which colourants are used and check them against your destination market's rules. Traditional Mardin blue uses a plant dye; industrial colours differ.
- Geographical names. If a supplier uses a name such as Mardin İmlebbes, Antep or Safranbolu, ask whether the product is registered under it and where it is made.
- Minimums and pack data. Ask for the minimum per colour or per line, pieces or weight per carton, and the pallet layout.
- Samples. Ask whether samples come from running production.
A producer should answer all of this on one page.
What an offer from Antep Foods contains
Send us a list of the lines you want. Within two working days you receive a written offer in US dollars, FOB Mersin, or CIF on request. Each line carries its technical data sheet and its pack data.
- Bulk formats: for example 3 kg or 2.5 kg bulk boxes, six per case (18 kg or 15 kg), and bulk bags in several weights. Case weight and pieces per carton are stated per line.
- Sugared almond: white and coloured, single colour or mixed, in bulk cartons. The minimum counts per colour.
- Shelf formats: doypacks and pyramid boxes that can carry your label.
- Coating details: the composition of the coating is stated on the technical sheet.
- Certificates: issued for our factory.
- Samples: from running production.
Prices are given in the written offer only. See the full dragée range.
Is Antep Foods a dragée manufacturer in Türkiye?
Yes. Antep Foods is a manufacturer and exporter in Gaziantep. Our dragées are made in our own factory, and certificates and data sheets are issued for it.
Is the Turkish sugared almond the same as a Jordan almond?
It is the same family of product: a roasted almond under a hard sugar shell. The name changes by market: Jordan almonds in the United States, confetti in Malta and Italy. In Türkiye it is badem şekeri, traditionally given to wedding guests.
What is the unit of sale and the delivery term?
One full container (20 ft or 40 ft) or one full truck, which can be mixed across lines. Terms are FOB Mersin, with CIF on request, quoted in US dollars. A written offer follows within two working days.
