Start from the list, not from the volume
The shelf here is two shelves at different stages, and the list should say so. On what Benin declared for 2024, sugar confectionery imports came to 1,423,533 US dollars with Türkiye sixth at 8.74 per cent; chocolate came to 1,288,315 US dollars with Türkiye sixth at 0.9 per cent, behind a French-supplied shelf at 67.9 per cent.
So confectionery lines join the list as product the market already understands, and chocolate lines as a small, named test placed beside what you sell today. One container carries both, so nothing has to be chosen yet.
Which lines go in
The range is chocolate, dragées, Turkish delight, wrapped confectionery and spreads in jars, and a first list usually draws from all five rather than one. The measured French search points at one group: the word dragée at 40 searches a month, a wedding-guest phrase at 30, the wedding-dragée phrasing at 20 written several ways over, which is one request rather than several.
Small figures, presented as small. What matters is that they match something made in Gaziantep, so occasion lines and everyday stock travel in the same load.
Format is a second decision, and it moves the price
Line and format are chosen separately. The same product exists as a bulk carton, a kilo bag for a counter, a printed retail box for a shelf, a single-portion wrap for the occasion trade, and a jar where the product is a spread.
Each format carries its own case weight, minimum and lead time, so each is quoted on its own row rather than folded into one price. Dragée colour is a production run and not a packing choice, which is why the minimum per colour belongs in the offer, not in a phone call.
What the carton has to carry
The mandatory information goes on in French, with English alongside if your shelf wants it: the name of the food, the ingredient list with allergens, metric net weight, storage conditions, the importer’s name and address, and the date marking. For lines in our standard packs we confirm what theexport pack already carries; for own-label lines the content comes from our technical data sheet and your artwork is checked before printing.
A line coated in vegetable fat is named a compound or a glaze on the data sheet, on the pack and in the price list, never chocolate. In the European Union such a coating may not be labelled chocolate at all, and we keep that discipline wherever the container goes.
Heat decides what can share the box
Chocolate and chocolate-coated lines are quoted in a reefer through the warm months, while Turkish delight, dragées and jellies travel dry, and both can still share one container. Say before we quote whether the last leg to your warehouse is cooled, because it changes which lines belong in the box.
Delivery terms quoted are FCA Gaziantep, FOB Mersin, CIF or DAP. Mersin port is about three hours from our factory by road, so consolidation and loading sit inside a short window.
Confirm these, then the container can be built
Five things settle it from your side: the lines you want priced, the format for each, an indicative quantity, the delivery point, and whether the pack stays in our standard pack or carries your brand. Name the importer of record too, since the entry sits there.
What comes back is written: price per line, case weight, lead time, delivery term, and the origin document with the rules in the form valid on the day. Certificates are issued for our factory. Couverture, bulk chocolate by the kilo, raw nuts, cocoa, tahini and baklava are sourced on request, with composition and format confirmed before quoting. Send thelist, and the first container gets built from it.
How small can a first order be if it has to fill a container?
The load is one full container, but the minimum sits per line rather than per container, so a first order can carry several categories in modest quantities instead of committing to one product. Send the lines and the formats you have in mind and the offer states the minimum, the case weight and the lead time for each of them separately.
Do we have to choose between chocolate and confectionery on the first load?
No, and on this market it would be the wrong call. Turkish sugar confectionery already holds 8.74 per cent of what Benin declared importing in 2024, while Turkish chocolate holds 0.9 per cent behind a French-supplied shelf at 67.9 per cent. The sensible first container carries confectionery lines the market knows alongside a small, named set of chocolate lines to test.
What do you need from us before you can quote?
The product references, the format for each line, an indicative quantity, the delivery point, the importer of record named on the pack, and whether the label keeps our standard pack or carries your brand. Tell us as well whether the last leg is temperature-controlled. The answer comes back in writing, line by line, with.
