Alanya Market is expanding. The latest store opens to Turku.
Red carpets are led to the Helsinki store. Outi Järvinen
Ethnic grocery store Alanya Market has become a phenomenon. The first store opened to Puhos in Itäkeskus in Helsinki in 2009. Since 2023, growth has been fierce.
Alanya Market, opened in Itis shopping center in Helsinki in 2023, caused a real shopping rush. More than 20,000 customers went to the store during the opening weekend and the queue time was 1.5 hours.
Alanya Market Merchant Emin gürmüc says they are Finland’s largest ethnic grocery store. There are no other chains of multiple stores. In addition, growth has been rapid. Two new Alanya Markets will open this year, followed by a total of seven.
The merchant Emin Gürmüc (left) posed at the opening of the Hervanta store, along with Alanya Market’s own soma Robble. Alanya Market
Gürmüc estimates that in about one and a half months, the Turku store will open.
The Turku store opens to Lauste, it will be the third big business in the chain. The selection is the same in all stores, but the specialty of Turku is a restaurant that opens there.
– The restaurant is open during the opening hours of the store. There will be Turkish food and breakfast. I have noticed that clients are more interested in Turkish food, says Gürmüc.
After that, Alanya Markets are in Helsinki (Itis and Puhos), Tampere (Hervanta and the center), Espoo and Turku.
Bakery products are of interest to customers. Outi Järvinen
What is the cause of this phenomenon?
– Quality, price and brand name. However, we have been on Puhos for a long time. This is not a new deal for people, Gürmüc estimates.
According to him, it is important that the customer can rely on the quality of the products. Gürmüc notes that their quality is largely based on its own Elatukku wholesale trade, led by Gürmüc’s big brother.
The best -selling products vary in different cities, but the three most popular categories are meat, vegetables, bakery products.
– There are a lot of them every day. We sell cattle, chicken and sheep in the meat, Gürmüc lists.
According to him, 80 % of the flesh is Finnish. If Finnish meat is not obtained, the meat comes from Denmark. Meat is also sold to large Finnish restaurant chains.
Alanya Market meat comes from Finland and Denmark. Inka Soveri
Most of the fruits come from Turkey, although there are usually Spanish fruits in Finnish shops. Occasionally, fruit comes from Morocco or Azerbaijan. According to Gürmüc, the imported country varies flexibly according to the situation.
He emphasizes that there are no middlemen in the fruits and vegetables, but are bought directly from the shelter to movement.
– Paprika is bought from a farmer from Turkey. It tastes quite different.
Many times the fruit selection of Finnish shops and the fruit eating mature are criticized, but Gürmüc sees good. He boasts that K-citymarkets in particular are good on the fruit side.