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Supermarket Post Guidelines

Thanks so much for your interest in contributing to our world-wide database of foreign supermarket finds!

The idea is you are virtually “walking through” a foreign supermarket. So a set up shot of the supermarket sign out front/storefront is a great way to start. If there is anything weird/different about how food is displayed or the checkout that could be interesting too. These posts are photography based– with little blurbs about what the items are, any tips, funny anecdotes etc.

Warning: photos in supermarkets are hard to take! The lighting is usually horrible. The photos come out much better when I use my “real” camera and a wide aperture but sometimes I need to be discreet (if the store manager is looking at me funny) and I use my iphone.
If you want to make the post a little more personal, feel free to include a photo of yourself in the supermarket. Also, include any personal tips about your favorite items (if you are a local– eg you use this dutch item on these sandwiches or in this recipe).
What to look for: 
I live in NYC and we export tons of stuff! I can find marmite, nutella, french jams etc. So it’s exciting to find something different abroad!
You don’t have to have stuff from all these categories, but to give you idea on the basic categories (at least that I’ve found, if you find other cool things I’d love to hear about them!) are:
  • condiments– mustards, dressings, gravies etc. (I am kind of obsessed with stuff in tubes since we don’t package condiments that way here. Weird/colorful packaging is also a bonus!)
  • candy
  • cookies
  • baking mixes for cakes/breads etc.
  • unusual spices (this is tough and rare since I can find most everything in the US)
  • unusual pickled items
  • jams & honey
  • coffee/tea
  • cheese (kinds that aren’t widely exported– we get lots of dutch cheese but I can’t think of any Polish or Norwegian cheese!)
  • baked goods (pre-packaged baked sweets, sometimes I’ll even bring a loaf of local bread home if it will keep for a couple of days)
  • liquor (sometimes it’s sold in supermarkets, only if it’s not exported)
  • toiletries– in Italy I look at the toothpaste, in Portugal I love the big soaps. This doesn’t work for all countries as they are sometimes not sold in supermarkets or it’s just not interesting.
  • Weird things I know I can’t bring back because of US customs laws (anything with meat or meat by products) or stuff that’s not practical (frozen or refrigerator items) but it’s worth a photo because it’s just so weird or funny.

If you want to look at some past posts, this is the basic set up (I still have Sweden and Hungary in draft mode):

Austria is the most “foreign” so this one is the best guide (so much of their stuff was from Germany so I had to weed that out):

https://souvenirfinder.com/2014/01/18/shop-vienna-supermarket-austrian-food-souvenirs/

recently did England which was tough because I can buy so much UK stuff here:

https://souvenirfinder.com/2014/04/15/british-food-souvenirs-supermarket-tesco-editon/

Ireland was tricky too as most of their stuff is from England so I had to read the labels, I didn’t even have enough for a post so I combined two grocery stores:

https://souvenirfinder.com/2013/10/31/shopping-irish-supermarkets-for-fun-souvenirs-what-to-bring-back/

Thanks!