Ethnic Food Stores in Trondheim – An Analytical Article

The ethnic food store industry in Trondheim has shown robust growth in recent years, with an increase in both the number of companies and employees. In 2025, there are 13 registered companies in the industry, with a total of 55 employees. Sales have increased by 6.4% from 2024 to 2025, and there is a clear trend toward increasing market share from small and medium-sized companies. The industry has also shown relative stability, with no registered bankruptcies, indicating good operational economics and customer loyalty.

Sales and Employees:

The industry has had an average annual sales growth of 13.3% from 2016 to 2025, with a particularly strong increase of 35.0% from 2019 to 2020. The number of employees has increased by 267% over the same period, from 15 in 2016 to 55 in 2025. This indicates that the industry has been a focus for both economic growth and job creation in Trondheim.

Operational Results:

Most companies have positive operating results, but EBITDA margins are often low or negative. For example, Albaraka As had an EBITDA margin of -12% in 2025, which could be a warning for new entrants that operational economics can be critical in some cases.

Trondheim has 13 companies in the ethnic food store industry, with a mix of AS and ENK entities. The most well-known companies include:

• Middelhavets Marked As (Dronningens gate 38) – 10 employees, 14.4M in sales
• Euroasia As (Ditlev Bloms veg 1, Heimdal) – 9 employees, 52.4M in sales
• Family Market As (Kongens gate 51 and Ringvålvegen 4) – 18 employees total, 65.8M in sales
• Wolt Market Trondheim (Fjordgata 56-58) – 14 employees, but no reported sales

Organizational Forms:

• AS (7 companies, 55 employees, 116.7M in sales)
• ENK (6 companies, 0 employees, 0 in sales)

There is a clear difference in operational economics between AS and ENK entities, where AS entities have higher sales and employees, while ENK entities often have zero or low sales.

The industry is most active in Trondheim (4 companies, 37 employees, 48.5M in sales), followed by Heimdal (2 companies, 13 employees, 68.0M in sales) and Saupstad (1 company, 5 employees, 0 in sales). The distribution shows that Trondheim is the main city for the industry, with the highest number of employees and sales. Heimdal, however, has a higher sales per employee (4.9M) compared to Trondheim (2.1M).

The industry has no registered bankruptcies in Trondheim, indicating good operational economics and customer loyalty. However, data shows that some companies have negative operating results or zero sales, such as:

• Nm Market As (Saupstadringen 7) – 0 in sales and operating results
• A&em Pham (Bromstadvegen 50) – 0 in sales and operating results
• Asia Market Tien Kieu Thi Tran (Fjordgata 41) – 0 in sales and operating results

This may indicate that some companies are in the start-up phase or have difficulties establishing themselves in the market.

The industry has shown strong growth in recent years, with an annual sales growth of 13.3% from 2016 to 2025. There has also been an increase in the number of employees, indicating that it is a good market for new entrants. However, EBITDA margins are often low or negative, which can be a challenge for entrepreneurs. It is important to focus on efficient operational economics and differentiation to ensure profitability.

The ethnic food store industry is part of the broader services sector in Trondheim, which had 394 companies and 3,572 employees in 2026. The services sector has a higher sales volume (NOK 6,456.4M in 2025) compared to the ethnic food store industry (NOK 119.6M in 2025). However, the ethnic food store industry has had higher sales growth (6.4% from 2024 to 2025) compared to the services sector (-25.9% from 2024 to 2025). This indicates that the ethnic food store industry has potential for further growth, even though it is smaller in size compared to the services sector.

Peer companies in the services sector:

These companies are primarily supermarkets and chains, which can pose competition for the ethnic food store industry, but also opportunities for differentiation through specialization in ethnic food products.

The ethnic food store industry in Trondheim has shown good growth and stability in recent years, with an increase in both the number of companies and employees. However, it is important to be aware of operational economics, as EBITDA margins are often low or negative. Entrepreneurs should focus on efficient operational economics and differentiation to ensure profitability. With a good market share and increasing interest in ethnic food products, the industry can continue to show potential for further growth in Trondheim.