Sunar Yatırım R&D Center Carries Corn's Potential into the Future

Operating within Sunar Yatırım, Sunar Mısır transforms corn, a strategic raw material, into value-added products, developing tailored solutions for numerous sectors including food, textiles, packaging, paper and chemicals. The company, which operates the first and only R&D Centre in its sector approved by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, continues to increase its investments and evaluates every corn kernel entering its production facility at 100 percent, expanding the applications of corn through the starch and derivatives it develops.

"We view corn not merely as a product, but as an ecosystem"
Emphasizing the importance of R&D work aimed at developing corn applications, Sunar Yatırım Chairman of the Board and CEO Mustafa Nuri Çomu made the following assessment:

"Corn, which constitutes a very large portion of our business, is a strategic product used as raw material in hundreds of products today, with a very broad industrial impact area. As Sunar Yatırım, we view corn not simply as a product we produce and process, but as an ecosystem integrated into new products and adding value to industry. Through our work ranging from starch-based solutions to biodegradable products, from sustainable production processes to innovative applications for different sectors, we continuously expand corn's potential. This approach advances both our country's production capacity and our competitiveness in global markets."

A strategic raw material used in hundreds of products
Corn, standing out as one of agriculture's most strategic products, is not merely a food raw material; it draws attention as a versatile resource used in the production of hundreds of different products. Sunar Mısır manages a broad value chain extending from corn production to processing and transformation into innovative products for different sectors.

Today corn starch and its derivatives are used intensively in food sector applications as well as textiles, packaging, paper, chemicals and bioplastic applications. The company's R&D approach focuses not only on product development; it also targets sustainability, efficiency and the creation of new markets.

Solutions spanning from biodegradable bags to industrial packaging
The Sunar Yatırım R&D Centre, approved by the T.C. Ministry of Industry and Technology in 2018, conducts work in the fields of starch-based products, biotechnology, process optimization and sustainable production.

Solutions developed for cosmetics, pharmaceutical and chemical sectors alongside the food sector demonstrate corn's multifaceted usage potential. The company is creating new application areas through work on the development of biodegradable products such as market bags, garbage bags, industrial packaging, agricultural films and pipettes.

R&D investments doubled
Sunar Mısır, which exports its products to more than 100 countries, continues to strengthen its R&D capacity through technology and human resources investments.

In 2025, new researchers were added to the R&D team, and a 60 percent increase was achieved in the number of employees pursuing master's degrees. The multidisciplinary structure was further strengthened with the addition of biotechnology specialists alongside chemistry and food engineers to the team.

During the same period, R&D expenditures were doubled, with a significant portion of the budget allocated to equipment investments and development of employee competencies. Thanks to investments in chemical analysis, texture and biotechnology fields, the centre's technical infrastructure was brought to an advanced level.

Growth targets focused on sustainability
Sustainability lies at the centre of Sunar Mısır's R&D strategy. Biodegradable products, processes that provide energy efficiency and work aimed at reducing carbon footprint are among the company's priority research areas.

Within the scope of 2026 targets; introducing sustainable and healthy products to the market, developing import-substituting solutions and increasing competitiveness in international markets are aimed for. At the same time, it is intended to contribute to a more sustainable industrial structure through production processes that provide energy savings and reduce environmental impacts.

About Sunar Yatırım
With a history spanning over half a century, Sunar Yatırım operates in agriculture, food and bioindustry sectors; producing corn starch-based industrial raw materials, vegetable oils, flour, animal feed and biodegradable plastics. The company reaches its products to over 100 countries across 6 continents.

Creating a broad value chain with more than 1,400 employees, farmers, business partners and other stakeholders, Sunar Yatırım focuses on environment-friendly and sustainable production practices through R&D and advanced technology investments.