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Groceries in Finland

Metric conversions: Weight, Volume, Oven temperatures for US / Imperial recipes!

  • Liquid & Volume (approx)
    teaspoon = tsp tablespoon = tblsp
  • ¼ tsp
  • = 1 ml
  •  
  • ½ tsp
  • = 2 ml
  •  
  • 1 tsp
  • = 5 ml
  •  
  • 1 tblsp
  • = ½ fluid oz
  • = 15 ml
  • 2 tblsp
  • = 1 fluid oz
  • = 30 ml
  • ¼ cup
  • = 2 fluid oz
  • = 60 ml
  • ⅓ cup
  • = 75 ml
  •  
  • ½ cup
  • = 4 fluid oz
  • = 125 ml
  • ¾ cup
  • = 175 ml
  •  
  • 1 cup
  • = 8 fluid oz
  • = 250 ml
  • 2 cups
  • = 1 pint
  • = 500 ml
  • 3 cups
  • = 750 ml
  •  
  • 4 cups
  • = 1 quart
  • = 1 litre
  • Weight (approx)
  • ½ oz
  • = 15 g
  •  
  • 1 oz
  • = 30 g
  •  
  • 3 oz
  • = 90 g
  •  
  • 4 oz
  • = ¼ lb
  • = 120 g
  • 8 oz
  • = ½ lb
  • = 225 g
  • 10 oz
  • = 285 g
  •  
  • 12 oz
  • = 360 g
  •  
  • 16 oz
  • = 1 lb
  • = 450 g
  • Temperatures (approx)
  • 250 F
  • = 120 C
  • 300 F
  • = 150 C
  • 325 F
  • = 160 C
  • 350 F
  • = 180 C
  • 375 F
  • = 190 C
  • 400 F
  • = 200 C
  • 425 F
  • = 220 C
  • 450 F
  • = 230 C
  • 480 F
  • = 250 C

Close conversion tables

Introduction
Groceries constitute a regular and significant outlay of funds. One aim of this page is to help you save you a few euros on your grocery bill. It's not about gourmet cooking, and dedicated 'foodies' may disagree with my suggestions - some of which are based on my own experiences and opinions.

Supermarkets
Most people, for convenience and economy, do their food shopping at one of the big supermarket chains. The major players are the Kesko Corporation and S-Group, with Lidl also competing in the market. In the food retailing sector, Kesko owns K-Market, K-Citymarket, K-Extra and K-Supermarket. S-Group has Sale, Alepa, Prisma and S-Market. Lidl is Lidl!

These supermarkets range from small convenience stores to huge hypermarkets designed to provide customers with a one-stop retail outlet for all their needs. The biggest markets are often located on the fringes of large towns and cities, whereas 'urban' supermarkets can be rather small with a limited selection. So, living close to the town centre does not guarantee the biggest choice of groceries, although there may be more specialised shops such as butchers and greengrocers available in the vicinity.

Saving Money on Groceries

Use the Discount Stores
The 'discount stores' include Lidl, Sale, Alepa and K-Market.

Check the Specials
In some countries it seems everything in every shop is advertised every day as "On Sale", but the prices never change. Finnish sales aren't like that; the weekly specials usually involve a discount of 20-30% or more. Buy double and put one in the freezer! You may, however, need a loyalty card to take advantage of advertised specials.

Check for Impending 'Sell By' Dates
Groceries with an impending 'best before' date are usually offered at 30-50% off, sometimes as much as 70%. You'll notice the orange labels on the products. Big savings, particularly if you're in a shop which is already reasonably priced.

Sign up for the Loyalty Program
The Loyalty Cards page is all about signing up for Kesko's K-Plussa and/or S-Group's S-Etukortti, which can save you money in various ways. For example, sale items in some supermarkets are only available to cardholders; otherwise you pay the normal price. Even when buying regular-priced groceries, it's good to be a cardholder because you will add to your 'total monthly spend', or similar, and later receive some benefit such as cash vouchers in return.

Try 'Own Brand' Products
The big chains each market their 'own brand' labels, as well as branded products. Kesko's include Pirkka and Euro Shopper, and S-Group's is Rainbow. The products are usually as much as 25% less than the 'big' brand names. I'm no expert on food OR shopping, but my experience over many years is:

Market Halls - Kauppahallit

It seems the dominance of the chain stores has left small independent grocers in the shadows. You see very few butchers, greengrocers or fishmongers, and when you do they are often at marketplaces or events for a limited time only. You can however visit your local kauppahalli for something special and, if you choose, a distinctly Finnish flavour. 'Kauppahalli' means "Market Hall"; Helsinki has 3, and they are also in Iisalmi, Joensuu, Kouvola, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Mikkeli, Oulu, Pori, Tampere, Turku and Vaasa.

Kauppahallit are well known for local produce; they have a large range of dairy, bread and Finnish pies, fish, meat (including moose, reindeer etc), potatoes, fruit and vegetables. There are also imported foods such as cheeses and sausages. Apart from enjoying the produce, you'll probably get to see a piece of your town's history; many market halls are over 100 years old, and adjacent to the town's market square.

Turku Kauppahalli (1896)

Where is the Kauppahalli?
To find your local market hall just enter the word kauppahalli and the name of your town in a search engine. Kauppahallit generally have 'normal' opening hours, for example Monday-Friday 7.00-17.30 and Saturdays 7.00-14.00

Butchers, Fishmongers & Greengrocers

I've tried with limited success to find local grocers using Fonecta. Try by entering the following terms and the desired location / postcode.

If you see a Fonecta result including:

Online Grocery Shopping

K-Ruoka
About 500 K-stores Finland-wide offer an online food store. Groceries can be home-delivered, or ordered and picked up. Delivery methods vary from store to store. A K-account is required for login; you can register at the site.
Site in Finnish and Swedish; Works well translated in Chrome browser (How?).
Translate in Chrome
Desktop: Right-click anywhere on a page and click Translate to [Language].
iPhone / iPad: At bottom of screen, tap Translate.
Android: At bottom of screen select Language, tap Translate.

Alternatively use Google Translate.

www.k-ruoka.fi/kauppa
More information

Fiksu Ruoka - Smart Food
Online 'supermarket' Fiksu Ruoka is a Finnish-owned company focusing on reducing food waste. They offer a wide range of affordable food and consumer goods, and deliver Finland-wide. Their products are from Finnish manufacturers, importers and wholesale chains, and are in danger of being destroyed due to, for example, being discontinued, overstocked, or approaching their best-before date. Reviews are good.
www.fiksuruoka.fi
Site in Finnish only; Works well translated in Chrome browser (How?).
Translate in Chrome
Desktop: Right-click anywhere on a page and click Translate to [Language].
iPhone / iPad: At bottom of screen, tap Translate.
Android: At bottom of screen select Language, tap Translate.

Alternatively use Google Translate.

Amazon
If you're shopping at Amazon from Finland, use a European Amazon site rather than American or otherwise. Finnish ALV (VAT) will then be taken into account during the purchase process and you won't be liable to additional customs or excise when your goods arrive in Finland. There are restrictions on the import and export of certain goods, so you may occasionally get to checkout and be told "Amazon can't ship this to your address".
From January 1st 2021, goods ordered from the UK must be declared, and taxes and possible customs duties must be paid.

The Grocery sections at Amazon are a bit 'hit and miss' in terms of viability. I've imported a variety of foods, but was not able to bring Vegemite to Finland. But Amazon's worth trying for a couple of reasons:

Amazon Buying Tips:

Safari: Add to Home Screen

Tap the Share button
Tap Add to Home Screen
Name the shortcut, tap Add
Chrome: Add to Home Screen

Tap the Menu button
Tap Add to Home Screen
Name the shortcut, tap Submit