Dogs inside a supermarket in Lapland

Read this, not in a cart. Just walking in.

In Rovaniemi, I walked into a small supermarket (K-Market Nivavaara) and saw something I honestly didn’t expect.

A sign that says:

“Dogs are welcome. Please note that dogs are the responsibility of their owner. Please ensure that your dog does not disturb other customers and does not come into contact with food.”

I was so stoked. This is wonderful! I wanted to hug the owner. This was a first for me. I only saw it in Sardegna, Italy, before.

If you know Finland, you know this is not the norm.

Traditionally, grocery stores (including those from Kesko Group) don’t allow pets inside due to hygiene regulations.

Only at some Kesko stores, you’ll find “koirakärry” (dog carts), something nice but not exactly inclusive for families with big dogs.

Across the country, Kesko has over 1,200 stores in the formats of K-Market, K-Supermarket, and K-Citymarket.

K-markets (800 stores) are the smallest and most flexible format run by independent store owners. Only a handful of those stores are visibly experimenting with dog friendly policies like this. These retailers have more autonomy and freedom to innovate and pilot this.

What I love the most is that instead of
controlling how dogs enter (cart), they focus on how they behave.

A subtle but powerful shift:
From restriction → Responsibility
From pets as a problem → Pets as customers

And this is part of a growing trend, especially in dog-heavy neighbourhoods.

But in Rovaniemi, I see another connection rising.
The same for all leading tourism destinations.

Tourism with pets.

Because yes, this is a strong 2026 trend, according to Amadeus, with the latest data suggesting that 78% of pet owners travel with their pets at least once a year.

Rovaniemi (and its DMO Visit Rovaniemi, which is doing an incredible job) is one of Europe’s fastest-growing tourism destinations, with double-digit growth and over 1.1M passengers in 2025.

And here’s the vision:
More visitors → more people travelling with pets → more demand for pet inclusive services.

Suddenly, something as simple as “dogs allowed in a supermarket” becomes a real competitive advantage.

And the lesson:

This is what early-stage disruption looks like in retail:
Dogs outside → Dogs in carts → Dogs freely inside (with rules)

And aviation will have to follow the same path:
All dogs in cargo → Small dogs in cabin → All dogs welcome in cabin

Families are not accepting travelling without their pet and the companies that understand this will win the most difficult medal in any business.
Your customer’s trust and loyalty 🧡