New opening times

The new year has brought a few changes is national law. One that might interest you most is that now there are no regulations about opening times for shops and hair dressers anymore since January 1. Shop owners can now decide on their opening times completely on their own.

E.g. the S-market at Sokos is now open 24/7. It might make sense to check out your local shops and supermarkets for extended opening times.

Have a good start into the first working week of the new year!

Living in Finland gets cheaper

Have you realized that prices dropped in many Finnish supermarkets from Sunday to yesterday? This is due to a price war between the big supermarket chains active here. The S-Group, the K-Group and Lidl all announced over the weekend that they would lower the price for many of their products.

The stronger competition on the market led the companies to that step. As a cutomer you can now benefit from that. Read more about on topic from YleNews and enjoy your grocery shopping!

Superfood everywhere

Superfood is a huge trend around the world. The food additions support a healthy life. If you live in Finland you don't even have to go to special shops to find them. You can get them right from the supermarket. And not just big Citymarkets or Prismas but even the small supermarkets around the corner tend to have them.

Obviously you pay a little more for the extra health kick. But take a look and maybe try out a few of them.

The Christmas chocolate is already here

Yes, it's already time. The supermarkets have put the Christmas chocolates, candies and sweets on the shelves. This will of course annoy some. But if you plan on travelling abroad or are just here as a visitor at the moment you now have the chance to already take some of the good stuff with you. Maybe as a nice souvenir or for your Christmas abroad.

Check it our - or ignore it for a few more weeks :)

Milk, butter and some Iittala

There are serveral small Iittala shops in and around Helsinki offering the companies wonderful glassware. But did you know that you can also get most of Iittala's classic products at many bigger supermarkets? Prisma, K-Citymarket and also Antilla have Iittala shelfs where you can actually get the same products much cheaper.

Not only do they often have special offers. Also the regular prices are usually a few euros less. Take a look when you go to buy your groceries next time.

Fruits for 1 €

Who doesn't like fresh fruits? Today and tomorrow you can still get a wide selection of fruits for a price as low as 1 € at all K-Supermarkets. This exceptional price is part of K-Markets Super Päivät and just valid until Wednesday.

You can find everything from mangos and bananas to blueberries, raspberries and much much more. The offer is just available at K-Supermarkets (no K-Extra or K-Citymarket). Check it out.

The 24/7 supermarket

There are several supermarkets around Helsinki that are open till late at night, seven days a week. So far there hasn't been any though where you could really go any time.

But now there is one. Siwa was clever enough to open the first 24/7 supermarket. And it's not anywhere but located right in the city center on Esplanadi. So no matter what time you leave the bar, club or pub you can still by your groceries for the next days. A genius idea. Check it out!

Got everything for Easter?

Maybe check your fridge and your cupboards if you still need something for the upcoming weekend. During the Easter holidays most shops and supermarkets are closed. Well, at least on Friday, Sunday and Monday. So there is still a chance on Saturday if you realize you forgot something.

And then there is always still the K-Market inside Kamppi that is open every day of the year and can help you out if you figure out that something is still missing from your shopping list.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Chips with dip

The weekend is close. Maybe you are planning on going out tonight. Or maybe you just want to spend a relaxed evening at home and watch a good movie with a big bowl of chips right next to you.

Don't just stick to the plain chips. Enjoy them with those great dips you can get in every Finnish supermarket. They have a wide variety of flavors that taste great with chips or if you like it a big healthier with some veggies. Just mix the powder from the package with a cup of kermaviili (sour cream) and enjoy.

Have a nice weekend!

Alcohol from 9 till 9

As you might know in Finland any alcohol above 4.7 percent can only be bought from the state owned Alko shops. Anything below like beer and cider is also available at the normal supermarket. But also here you have to face some restrictions.

All alcoholic beverages are just allowed to be sold between 9 am and 9 pm. For the rest of the time the shelves are being covered or even locked and even if you find a bottle hidden somewhere between the milk and the sausages it won’t help you since the staff is not allowed to sell it to you anymore.

So keep those times in mind when you plan your next party. Don’t run out of booze after nine!

Super Days at K-Supermarket

K-Supermarket has the Superpäivät at the moment. That means that lots of products are considerably cheaper. Till September 8 you can find pretty good deals.

Check out their website to find all special offers for the upcoming days. But be aware that Superpäivät just take place in K-Supermarkets, not in K-Citymarkets or K-Extras.

Shopping for singles

All the lonely hearts in and around Helsinki should consider doing their next grocery shopping at Iso Omena in Espoo. The K-Citymarket there just introduced the single baskets.

 

The concept is pretty simple but genius. If you are single and are searching for someone to share your life with you just pick up one of the yellow Sinkkukorit instead of the normal red or blue ones. That way you can spot other singles while taking care of your groceries. If someone looks interesting just start a chat. A look into the other ones basket should provide you with enough topics to talk about. And maybe soon you'll be doing your grocery shopping together.

The service is of course for free. So far the K-Citymarket in Iso Omena is the only place that offers it. But maybe more supermarkets will follow soon.

Non-allergic paradise

Finland is probably one of the best prepared countries for allergic sufferers in the world. Restaurants, cafés and supermarkets are all prepared for all kinds of allergies their customers could have. Especially with common allergies against lactose and gluten you don’t have to worry about accidentally buying the wrong product. Information if it’s suitable for you are not just printed on the product but also marked on the price sign at the shelf.

A reason for that is that allergies are pretty common in Finland. According to allergia.fi every second Finn suffers from some kind of allergy at some point in their life. 2 to 8 percent have some kind of food-allergy and 8 percent suffer from asthma.