Is Arko a subsidiary of Evyap?

Arko is a brand division of Evyap, not a separately incorporated subsidiary. There is no independent Arko company. All trademark rights, manufacturing, and distribution are owned and operated by Evyap.

Is Arko publicly traded?

Arko is not publicly traded. Evyap is privately held and not listed on any stock exchange. No public shareholding information is available.

When was Arko first introduced?

Evyap introduced Arko in 1957 as a men's shaving soap. The brand expanded to shaving cream, foam, and aftershave through the 1980s and 1990s.

What is Arko's market position?

Arko is a budget-positioned mass-market shaving brand. It holds market leadership in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and several Central Asian countries. It is also available through specialty wet shaving channels in the United States and United Kingdom, where traditional wet shaving has a growing hobbyist consumer base.

Arko is manufactured at Evyap's facilities in Turkey (Istanbul), Egypt, and Malaysia. Turkey is the primary production site. Egypt serves Middle Eastern and African markets; Malaysia serves Asian markets.

Beauty & Personal Care

Who Owns Arko?

Arko is owned by Evyap, a privately held Turkish personal care company founded in 1927. Arko was introduced in the 1950s as a men's grooming brand specializing in shaving soaps and pre-shave products. The brand is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, and has become a global leader in affordable men's shaving products.

Parent Company

Evyap

Founded

1957

Status

Private

Headquarters

Istanbul, Turkey

Arko Timeline

1927

Evyap

Parent company established in Istanbul, Turkey

Company Founded

1957

Arko

Founded by Evyap (internal development)

Founded

budgetmass marketEuropemensOfficial Website

Who Owns Arko?

Parent Company: Evyap
Ownership Type: Brand division
Company Type: Privately Held

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
Arko	Evyap	Brand division

Where to Buy

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Arko on Amazon

History of Arko

Founded: 1957
Founders: Evyap (internal development)

Evyap introduced Arko in 1957, positioning it as an affordable shaving soap for men. The original product was a pressed shaving stick wrapped in the brand's distinctive red packaging. The formulation used a tallow-based hard soap that lathered effectively with a shaving brush, consistent with traditional wet shaving practice. Arko's pricing was set well below premium imported alternatives.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, Arko expanded across Turkey and into the Middle East and Eastern European markets, where Evyap's distribution reach was already established. The brand grew into the number-one shaving soap in Turkey and achieved leading positions in several Central Asian and Balkan markets.

In the 1980s, Arko extended beyond shaving sticks into shaving cream, foam, and aftershave products, broadening its appeal beyond traditional wet shavers. By the 1990s, the brand was distributed in more than 40 countries.

Arko gained a secondary wave of popularity in Western Europe and North America in the 2000s and 2010s as traditional wet shaving re-emerged as a consumer hobby, particularly among men interested in straight-razor and double-edge safety razor shaving. The brand's shaving stick became a recommended product in wet shaving forums and specialty grooming retailers, reaching consumers who had not previously encountered the brand.

In 2025, Evyap undertook a full brand refresh for Arko, updating its logo and packaging while retaining the brand's heritage positioning. The updated visual identity maintained the red color scheme but modernized typography and label design. As of June 2026, the refreshed packaging is in distribution across primary markets.

About Evyap

What does Evyap own?
Evyap owns and operates 15 personal care brands including Duru, Arko, Activex, Evy Baby, Gibbs, Fax, and Sanino. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and also operates Evyapport, Turkey's fourth largest private port. Evyap Life Chemistry, the oleochemical division, serves more than 600 customers across 55 countries. Evyap provides contracted manufacturing services for leading international brands.

Is Evyap publicly traded?
No, Evyap is a privately held company owned and controlled by the Evyap family. The company does not have publicly traded shares and is not listed on any stock exchange, allowing it to maintain long-term strategic focus without public market pressures.

Who founded Evyap?
Evyap was founded in 1927 by Mehmet Rıfat Evyap in Erzurum, Turkey. The company started as a small soap atelier and has grown into one of the world's leading personal care manufacturers under nearly a century of family leadership.

Where is Evyap headquartered?
Evyap is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, where the company maintains its corporate offices, research and development center, and primary strategic operations. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

How many brands does Evyap own?
Evyap owns 15 brands across personal care categories, including Duru, Arko, Activex, Evy Baby, Gibbs, Fax, and Sanino. Together, these brands offer more than 500 products serving consumers in over 100 countries worldwide.

Who owns Evyap?
Evyap is owned by the Evyap family, descendants of founder Mehmet Rıfat Evyap. The company has remained under family ownership and control since its founding in 1927, with no external shareholders or public trading.

What is Evyap's market position?
Evyap ranks among the top 100 industrial companies in Turkey and holds dominant positions in soap markets across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The company ranks among the top two soap brands in countries including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Poland, and Azerbaijan. Activex is the clear leader in Turkey's liquid soap category.

Is Evyap sustainable?
Evyap maintains comprehensive sustainability practices with ISO 9001 quality management certification, GMP certification for cosmetics manufacturing, ISO 27001 information security certification, and RSPO certification for sustainable palm oil sourcing (Evyap Malaysia). The company focuses on environmental responsibility, resource efficiency, and regulatory compliance across its operations.

What is the new Evyap Indonesia plant?
In February 2026, Evyap opened a $130 million manufacturing facility in Indonesia's Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone, North Sumatra. Operated by PT Evyap Sabun Indonesia, the plant produces palm oil-derived products including fatty acids, glycerin, soap noodles, and finished soap products. It has three production lines with a combined annual capacity of 650,000 tonnes and benefits from tax exemptions of up to 20 years.

Founded: 1927
Headquarters: Istanbul, Turkey
Company Type: Privately Held
Revenue: not publicly disclosed (private); Evyap Malaysia revenue RM2.3 billion (2025)
Employees: Approximately 3,000+

Visit Evyap website

View full company profile for Evyap

Where Is Arko Made / Based?

Headquarters: Istanbul, Turkey
Manufacturing / Operations: Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia

Arko Categories & Tags

Shaving Soap Mens Grooming American Brand Shaving Products

Arko Sustainability & Ethics

Arko is not certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny or listed on PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies database as of June 2026. Evyap does not publicly disclose whether Arko products are tested on animals. Consumers in markets where cruelty-free certification is a purchasing factor should consult the Leaping Bunny database directly.

Evyap's manufacturing operations comply with Turkish environmental regulations and EU cosmetics regulations for products exported to European markets. The company publishes general sustainability commitments on its corporate website but does not publish an independently audited sustainability report.

Arko's packaging uses minimal plastic; the core shaving stick format is a pressed soap in paper-backed foil or cardboard, which is more easily recyclable than multi-component aerosol foam products.

Evyap holds the Turquality certification for Arko and its Duru brand, a Turkish government-backed program for qualifying export brands that meet quality and management standards.

Awards & Recognition

Turquality Certification (2006): Arko received Turquality certification from the Turkish Ministry of Trade in 2006, recognizing it as a qualifying export brand meeting Turkish government quality and management standards.

Market Leadership Recognition: Arko holds publicly stated market leadership positions in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Belarus, and several Central Asian markets, according to Evyap's marketing materials. These positions have not been independently audited by a third-party research firm in publicly available reports.

Cultural Recognition in Turkey: The Turkish phrase "to smell like Arko" (Arko gibi kokmak) is in widespread colloquial use and is documented in Turkish dictionaries and cultural references as a phrase denoting cleanliness and good grooming.

Arko Recalls & Controversies

No product safety recalls for Arko have been recorded in the FDA's recall database or the European Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products (RAPEX) as of June 2026.

Cruelty-Free Certification Gap: Arko is not certified cruelty-free by any independent third-party organization as of June 2026. Evyap has not published a policy statement on animal testing for Arko. This is a meaningful gap in markets such as the UK and Germany, where cruelty-free certification is a purchasing consideration.

Limited Sustainability Transparency: Evyap does not publish an independently audited ESG or sustainability report. Published corporate sustainability commitments on the Evyap website are not verified by a third party. This limits the ability of consumers and retailers to assess Arko's environmental performance against independently verified standards.

Arko Ownership: Pros & Cons

Advantages

+Nearly 70 years of brand heritage with strong consumer recognition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
+Evyap's three-continent manufacturing footprint supports efficient global supply
+Budget price positioning gives Arko access to a large addressable consumer base
+Traditional wet shaving revival has expanded Western market awareness without advertising spend
+Turquality certification supports distribution partnerships in export markets

Considerations

-Evyap is private with no publicly disclosed financial statements, limiting transparency
-No cruelty-free certification from Leaping Bunny or PETA as of June 2026
-No independently audited sustainability report
-Distribution in U.S. and Western European grocery and drug channels is limited
-Smaller marketing budget relative to multinationals like Gillette (P&G) or Wilkinson Sword (Edgewell)

Frequently Asked Questions About Arko

Sources & Further Reading

Competitors to Arko

These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.

Brand	Parent Company	Country	Founded	Market Position	Primary Market	Gender Target
Gillette	Procter Gamble	USA	1901	Market leader-declining-share	Global	Mens
Schick	Edgewell Personal Care	USA	1926	Number two	Global	Male
Dollar Shave Club	Nexus Capital Management	USA	2011	Premium	United states	Mens
Venus	Procter Gamble	USA	2001	Market leader	Global	Female
Wilkinson Sword	Edgewell Personal Care	United States	1772	Mass market	Europe	All Genders
GibbsSister Brand	Evyap	Turkey	1985	Mass market	Europe	Mens