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The Best Supermarkets in Turkey for Your Grocery Shopping

The best supermarkets in Turkey have certainly come a long way over the decades. While these supermarket chains cannot replace the popularity of the traditional Turkish market, they have changed the way people shop in Turkey with western food retail practices, discount stores, convenience stores and online shopping. People use local shops for ad hoc purchases or to buy cigarettes or alcohol, but many visit supermarkets for their weekly shops. Much like in other countries like the UK, there are also supermarket wars, with the most popular supermarket chains eager to capture their market share. So, let's look at Turkish supermarkets for your groceries.

                                      The Best Supermarkets in Turkey

1: Carrefour Group stores

Carrefour SA, who says they were the pioneers of food retail shopping, operates in 30 countries, including Turkey. Their first flagship store opened in 1963 in France, and since then, they have become Europe's number one supermarket chain, with over 12,000 grocery stores visited by nearly 2 billion customers every year. In Turkey, Carrefour stores operate affordable prices policies and combine this market practice with health, hygiene and good customer service. As well as their stores, online shopping facilities and extensive brands help them capture customers' market share for cheap products.

2: Migros supermarkets in Turkey

The Migros company is known as one of the more expensive supermarkets in Turkey, especially for the prices of their bakeries, grocery, meat, non-food products and vegetables. They operate various supermarket chains, including Migros Jet and MMM Migros. They also operate their loyalty card for special deals, stock their shelves with gourmet brand products, and run online shopping sales throughout various neighbourhoods. Serving in Turkey since 1997, Migros broke ground when they formed their mobile shopping application in 2010, which netted them a good market share.

3: Bim supermarkets

First entering the supermarket industry in 1995 with 21 stores, by the end of 2021, they had 10,489 stores all over Turkey. Bim is unique in that the main goal is affordable prices with excellence and, for this reason, captures a vast market share. However, there is nothing exceptional about BIM. For example, they don't sell alcohol, and limited stores have just 850 grocery products. Yet, the simplicity is what lures shoppers. Bim's supermarket business model is based on that of Aldi, and it works well in Turkey.

4: Yildiz Holdings and Sok Turkish Supermarkets

Mention Yildiz holdings to many people, and they probably won't have heard of this company. Yet, mention Sok supermarket, and they would have. Sok is another chain that aims to deliver food discounts to the customers, by only stocking limited brands. The concept works, especially when Turkey and other countries face a global recession. With approximately 7000 supermarkets, Sok retail chains have done an excellent job of capturing the low prices section of the market.

5: A101 Turkish Supermarkets

Currently, A101 has 11,000 stores in all 81 provinces of Turkey. Also operating with a limited range, this is another mini-format market chain looking to sell food and brands at reasonable prices. Out of all companies in the last ten years, they have probably had the most successful operations, seemingly coming out of nowhere to deliver groceries to Turks everywhere. With each store regularly featuring unique discounted products, to save money on your groceries, check out your local A101 shop.

What is Tesco Called in Turkey?

Although Tesco, which always offered a cheaper deal, has operations in eleven other countries, they failed in capturing the Turkish supermarket chain wars. Buying into the Kipa supermarket brand in 2003, with limited stores, thirteen years later, in 2016, Tesco Kipa pulled out of the country and sold the store brand to the Migros supermarket chain. On this occasion, their affordable prices didn't work, but many say it was because they bought nothing new to the table and sold the same products as other retail chains.

Also, About Living and Shopping in Turkey

Grand Bazaar: From the best supermarkets in Turkey to the most famous place displaying historical Turkish culture, the Grand Bazaar is Turkey's oldest and most prominent place to shop. The broader range of household goods, textiles, clothing, and jewellery all come together as mini markets to form one collective place and a memorable shopping experience.

Expat Living in Turkey: Regardless of your nationality, living in Turkey is a subtle blend of good and bad. Most of the time, the dream of an expat life by the sea can be fully indulged in, as we soak up the gorgeous weather, dine al fresco and enjoy a laidback lifestyle. This article talks about tips and advice for living in Turkey.