Numan Kocaacar
A true admirer of Antalya, our founder Numan Celal Kocaacar was born in İbradı in 1951.
Having started working at the age of 17, Numan Kocaacar made it a lifelong principle to strive for excellence in everything he undertook. He began his career at Artaş İnş. A.Ş., a company engaged in port construction projects, where he worked for ten years.
Through his determination and hard work, he later established a nail and wire factory in İskenderun under his own companies, Mepa San. Mamulleri Ltd. and Acar San. Mam. Ltd. His investments earned him a respected position within the region’s business community.
Driven by his longing for his hometown, Antalya, he returned and settled there in 1989.
In Antalya, which was rapidly developing at the time, he founded Ansu Gıda Ltd. with the aim of filling a gap in the food supply and distribution sector. Until 1995, the company operated as one of the region’s leading distributors. From 1995 onward, it expanded its commercial identity by becoming a manufacturer as well, continuously increasing both its product range and production capacity year after year. Our founder, Numan Kocaacar, whose dedication can be felt in every brick of the production facility, became one of the respected veterans of the food industry through his passion for his work, industrious nature, commitment to his products and business, strong professional principles, and personal values.
Having served on the board of Antalyaspor for two terms, Numan Kocaacar was known by everyone who knew him—and even by many who did not—for his passion for the Red and White and for his hometown, Antalya. Our registered brands, Antalya Reçelcisi and Antalya Reçelleri, are reflections of this deep attachment.
A 1970 graduate of Antalya High School’s Literature D class, Numan Kocaacar recalled in an interview with the Antalya High School Alumni Association how he and his friends would meet at Karaalioğlu Park and, unable to afford a football, play matches using bitter oranges instead. He was a devoted Antalyaspor supporter from an early age.
That same love for Antalya would later lead him into food production, creating jams from a wide variety of fruits—particularly citrus fruits—that are closely associated with Antalya and reflect the city’s rich gastronomic heritage.
Numan Kocaacar served as Chairman of the Board of his beloved Antalya Reçelcisi brand until the evening of October 5, 2019. Entrusting the brand he cherished to his children and long-serving employees, he passed away on October 5, 2019.
We remember him with respect, gratitude, and deep affection.