Largest Asian Supermarket in the Canary Islands Opens in Gran Canaria

If you have ever wandered the aisles of a small Asian grocery store wishing for just a little more choice, your wishes have been answered in a big way. Gran Canaria is now home to the largest specialised Asian supermarket in the Canary Islands. Suko has opened in the Polígono Industrial de Jinámar in Telde, and it is not just a shop; it is a vast, almost 3,000-square-metre warehouse dedicated entirely to the pantry of Asia.

This is a significant moment for the island’s food scene. For years, home cooks, expats, and digital nomads craving authentic ramen, specific sauces, or hard-to-find snacks had to rely on a handful of much smaller shops. Suko changes everything. It is a cash-and-carry designed to supply restaurants and hospitality professionals, but its doors are wide open to the public, inviting everyone to explore its more than 1,500 different products.

A New Giant in Jinámar

The choice of Telde, and specifically the industrial heart of Jinámar, is a smart one. It sits perfectly in the metropolitan corridor connecting Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the airport and the southern tourist zones. A quick trip on the GC-1 motorway puts a world of flavour within easy reach. The scale is what hits you first; this is a serious warehouse operation, dwarfing the previous Asian food options on the island.

To put it in perspective, the earlier Suko store in Arrecife, Lanzarote, has a sales floor of about 650 square metres. Another popular Asian supermarket, Asia Sonton in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is around 300 square metres. The new Suko in Jinámar is in a completely different league, offering a shopping experience that feels more like a culinary journey through a continent than a quick trip to a grocery store.

What Treasures Await Inside?

Walking through Suko is a sensory adventure. The shelves are packed with products sourced directly from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, among other parts of Asia. The focus is squarely on food, making it a true "despensa" or pantry for anyone serious about Asian cooking. You will find entire aisles dedicated to dry groceries and pantry staples, forming the backbone of countless meals.

The selection is curated to be both deep and broad. For noodle lovers, the ramen and noodle section alone is a reason to visit. You will find far more than the standard instant packs, with varieties from different countries that offer distinct textures and flavours. Alongside them is an army of sauces: Japanese soy sauces, Chinese cooking wines, Korean gochujang pastes, and a rainbow of dipping sauces and condiments that are the secret weapons of any Asian kitchen.

Beyond the Basics: Snacks, Drinks and More

The exploration does not stop at cooking ingredients. Suko understands that a true food culture includes the joy of snacking and unique beverages. A dedicated section features a dizzying array of oriental snacks, from sweet to savoury and everything in between. This is where you can discover your new favourite treat, be it Japanese KitKats in exotic flavours, Korean shrimp crackers, or Thai tamarind sweets.

The drinks aisle is equally compelling, stocked with specialty beverages from across Asia. You can pick up a bottle of Japanese sake, Korean soju, or a range of soft drinks with flavours like lychee, melon, and aloe vera. The store also stocks a selection of local and national products, blending the best of Canarian and Spanish staples with its vast Asian core, making it a genuinely useful one-stop shop for a diverse weekly grocery run.

The Visionary Behind the Venture

This ambitious project is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jaime Jiang and his Grupo Kokoxili. Jiang has a well-established track record in Lanzarote, deeply rooted in both the business sector and Asian gastronomy. The success of the first Suko Cash & Carry in Arrecife paved the way for this significant expansion to Gran Canaria.

Jiang’s vision was clearly to create a flagship destination that serves a dual purpose: a professional supply hub for the island’s growing number of Asian restaurants and a paradise for home cooks. The Jinámar store is the realisation of that vision, bringing a previously unavailable scale and authenticity to the archipelago. It represents a major vote of confidence in Gran Canaria’s evolving and increasingly cosmopolitan palate.