The First Ever Merkado Supermarket Opens in U.P. Town Center!

        ALI Captial, Corp. (wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Land, Inc.) and Entenso Equities, Inc. (wholly-owned subsidiary of Puregold Priceclub, Inc.) came together to create a joint venture, in which they called AyaGold, and opened a relaxing mid-market grocery shopping experience on the ground floor of the new wing of the U.P Town Center. Welcome Merkado Supermarket!

        It officially opened this morning, July 31, 2015 at the U.P. Town Center. And I was more than happy to be invited to witness the grand opening! Mr. Ayala was sitting in the row right in front of me. I had to fight the urge to take a selfie with him haha!

        The opening was quick, simple, and filled with high energy especially when the staff started dancing!

        Upon entering, you will already be greeted with a good vibe. That feeling like you're walking down a grand staircase and all the staff looks up at you and greets you with a smile. And from the top of the staircase, you can get a good view of this whole 3,900 sq of a supermarket. The colors are bright and earthy at the same time. With their main color theme being lime green, and earthy brown. It gives off a fresh environmental vibe.

        The size of 3,900 sq I would say is just right. It's not too big that it becomes hard to look for stuff (or go back for stuff you forgot to get). At the same time, it's also not too small. In fact, the aisles are quite wide.

        And in case you need help finding a specific item, your friendly Merkado staff are always on stand-by to assist you!

        I like how they have these huge section signs which makes it all the more easier to navigate yourself around depending on what you need.

        The greens and fruits section I would say is the most attractive. It all just screams FRESH and HEALTHY!

        This is the only supermarket I've seen with lots of mushrooms including ENOKI!!!! Just P37 per pack :-) I'm so happy! But I still have to Google on ways to cook it haha!

Colorful fruits everywhere!

They have potted herbs too!

        And for their meat section, I love how it's covered in clear glass. It looks so clean and sanitized. This way, the meat can be protected from human sneezes and what not. Everything looks so fresh!

Meat section

Poultry section

Fish section

And they've got a nice looking salad bar.

        And don't forget the cheese and wine section! There's a whole other aisle of alcoholic drinks there don't worry! :-)

        I love the mix of local and imported merchandises that they carry. A lot of the things I saw are stuff that I don't often see in the supermarkets near us. So going around Merkado Supermarket is really a delight for home cooks, and snack enthusiasts (me. Hehehe).

        Almost all jaws dropped when we saw their beautiful selection of ice cream! (I should have bought that Twix ice cream). Ben and Jerry's, Twix, M&Ms,...

To Carmen's Best and Cold Stone!

        They've got quite a selection too for beverages. Most of the imported ones on this picture I'm not even familiar with.

Here are just some of the imported candies and chocolates there. And this Mug Shot looks really interesting! Clever name too!

        Merkado Supermarket also has lots of other stuff . Hello Kitty and Lock and Lock lovers will be thrilled with this rack.

They've got school supplies.

        They've got baby stuff. (Avent for crying out loud!). But they also have Pigeon for a more affordable option :-)

        And when you realize you might not have time to cook dinner, there's also a Chooks to Go counter beside the bakery section. Their opening promo is Buy One Get One! Awesome deal!

        Finally ready to pay? Merkado Supermarket has 23 cashier counters that ALL accept CASH and CARD TRANSACTIONS! Now that's convenient!

        And of course they also have their own value card called the Green Card. Where you can get rebate on the points you get. They were giving it out for free the first 100 registrations earlier today. Thanks Merkado! :-)

        For its opening, Merkado Supermarket patrons will be in for some cool treats. Starting with their opening weekend promos where in there will be BUY 1, TAKE 1 deals on selected grocery items. And then for a purchase of P1,000, buyers will be treated to a FREE ITEM! (enter voice over: See posters and print ads for details!)

Surely, Merkado Supermarket will be one of my favorite supermarkets to shop in. I hope they open a branch in Pasig though. Hint hint! ;-)

Merkado Supermarket
U.P. Town Center
Katipunan Ave., Quezon City


To get updates on their latest promotions, follow them on their social media:

Facebook: /MerkadoSupermarket
Instagram: @MerkadoPh ##merkadosupermarket #merkadosupermarket
Twitter: @MerkadoSupermarket