We’ve always wanted to visit Finland, especially after hosting visitors this year from Tampere University.
Now there’s another reason to go.
A grocery store in the Finnish city of Tampere even has an official golden retriever who tests out dog treats and shares the results in Instagram videos.
A ‘su-paw-market’ in Finland is welcoming canine customers, with specially-adapted carts which allow dog owners to bring their pooches grocery shopping.
The Kesko grocery chain in the city of Tampere has introduced the “Koirakärry” – dog cart – as a way to welcome in more dog-owning customers at one of its stores, where usually only service animals would be permitted inside the aisles.
“The idea is already used in some countries, but not in Finland, and we have a lot of dog owners nearby,” explains Matilda Tistelgren, who has been operating the supermarket with her partner Joona Pesonen since the spring.
Since taking over the management of the supermarket in Tampere’s neighbourhood Kissamaa – which funnily enough translates as “Cat Land” – Matilda and Joona have introduced other pet-friendly innovations.
The couple’s own retriever Tove appears on Instagramwith ‘Tove Tastes’ videos where she samples different dog treat
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr8Emh7r3Qg/
“Our customers love it,” exclaims Matilda. “In this part of town we have a lot of dog owners and that means a lot of dog customers too, and we already have a lot of hairy regulars,” she adds.
