On Saturday, the Turkish grocery store Alanya Market opened its newest location in the Helsinki shopping centre Itis in the eastern neighbourhood of Itäkeskus.
According to the store's manager Emin Gurmuc, the new Alanya Market is the largest ethnic grocery store in Finland at over 2,000 square metres.
"The aim is to double the number of customers. That's why we've moved to this big location," Gurmuc told Yle.
Alanya Market is replacing a former location of S-Group's Food Market Herkku, a high-end grocery chain that was previously situated in the Stockmann department store's basement. As Stockmann announced it was downsizing its operations at the mall to just one floor, S-Group said it was shutting down the supermarket.
S-Group and Kesko hold more than 80 percent of the market share of the Finnish grocery sector, with Lidl also having a sizable stake. Independent grocery stores are rare in Finland, except for niche ethnic stores, which are mostly located in Helsinki.
Last year, All Points North dove into the Finnish grocery duopoly. You can listen to the full podcast using the embedded player here, via Yle Areena or on Spotify.
Wide variety of products
Alanya Market is filled with a wide array of products, with nearly 70 different types of olives, 180 kinds of nuts and 300 different varieties of tea lining the shelves. By offering a larger assortment not seen at the big grocery chains, Alanya hopes to stand out from its competitors.
"We have handmade biscuits, herbs and spices here that are not available anywhere else in Finland," Gurmuc said.
Gurmuc also pointed to the hot meals the grocery store offers as another point differentiating the ethnic grocer from its competition.
"We serve Middle Eastern dishes, with a different selection every day. We try to offer a variety of dishes, such as fried aubergines, stuffed peppers and Turkish-style meat stew," Gurmuc said.
In addition to Turkish food, traditional Finnish staples from brands like Arla and Valio are also available. However, for religious reasons the store does not sell alcohol or pork, Gurmuc said.
Gurmuc noted that around 45 percent of the customer base are Finns without an immigrant background. The store has already been successful in eastern Helsinki for the past 12 years, with another location at the Puhos shopping centre in Puotinharju.
Besides its other outlet in Helsinki, the chain also has locations in Espoo and Tampere.
Alanya Market also plans to open an online retail shop in the coming months to deliver products throughout Finland.
Edited to note that the new supermarket is located in Stockmann's basement, the former site of Food Market Herkku. Also edited for clarity.
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