Reading a Foreign Supermarket: An Aisle-by-Aisle Method

Tourists go to markets. People who live somewhere go to the supermarket. It is less photogenic and far more revealing. The supermarket tells you what a city eats on a Tuesday night, what is imported and therefore expensive, what is local and therefore cheap, and what your old habits are going to cost you.

ExPatNoBrasil episode two walks a supermarket in Bela Vista, aisle by aisle. This guide is the method behind it.

First visit: do not shop, just read

On your first visit, buy very little. Walk every aisle slowly, with your phone's camera translation open. You are building a map: where things are, what brands dominate, which shelves are full of things you do not recognize. Every one of those unknown shelves is a meal you have not had yet.

The produce section tells you the season

Whatever is piled high and well priced is in season and probably grown nearby. Build your cooking around that, and your food bill and your dinners both improve. Whatever is small, wrapped, and labeled with a foreign country is imported. Buy it when you really want it, not out of habit.

The import tax on homesickness

Every person abroad has a short list of things from home they cannot quite do without. Peanut butter, a certain cereal, a particular hot sauce, a specific coffee. In most places these exist, often in a small imported-goods section, at a price that reflects shipping, duties, and scarcity.

The honest advice is to pick one or two comforts and pay for them happily, and let the rest go. Look for the local equivalent first. Often it is different, and occasionally it is better. The episode is partly about what I stopped looking for.

The bakery and deli counters

Many supermarkets have staffed counters for bread, cheese, cold cuts, and prepared food. These are where you practice the language under mild pressure. You will need to say what you want and how much, often by weight. Learn how weights are said and sliced locally before you go; it saves pointing and guessing.

Read the labels like a local

• Units. Expect metric. Learn grams, kilos, and liters if you have not.
• Price per unit. Many shelf labels show a price per kilo or liter. Use it to compare package sizes; bigger is not always cheaper.
• Dates. Date formats vary. Putting the day before the month is common outside the US. Check which is which before deciding something has expired.
• Ingredients. If you have allergies, learn the local words for your allergens before you need them, and write them down.

Checkout customs

Every country has its own small checkout rituals. Some stores ask for a tax number to put on the receipt; it is usually optional for visitors, and you can simply decline. Bags may cost extra, so bring your own. Some stores have priority lines for older shoppers, pregnant women, and people with disabilities; respect them. Watch what the person ahead of you does, and do the same.

Payment

Cards are widely accepted in larger supermarkets in most cities. Smaller neighborhood shops may prefer cash or a local payment app. Carry a little cash until you know your local shops. Decline any offer to be charged in dollars.

Building a weekly routine

Once the map is built, a routine follows. A big shop at the supermarket for staples. Produce from a market or a street fair once or twice a week. Bread from the bakery down the street. That combination is what most people in most cities do, and it is usually cheaper and better than doing everything in one place.

What the supermarket costs

I am not going to quote prices here. They change constantly, they vary by neighborhood and store, and they depend on what you buy. The better approach is to keep your receipts for a few weeks and work out your own number. That is what the episode, and the budget guide on this site, are built around.

Household goods, too

The supermarket is also where you sort out the unglamorous half of a home: cleaning products, laundry detergent, light bulbs, batteries, kitchen basics. Product names and formats can be unfamiliar. Laundry detergent may come in forms you do not recognize, and cleaning products are often stronger than they look. Read the label, translate it if you need to, and buy small sizes until you find the ones that work. Ask a neighbor or the person at your building's front desk what they use; people are usually happy to recommend.

Delivery and online orders

Many supermarkets in larger cities offer delivery through their own apps or through delivery platforms. It is convenient for heavy shopping, like water, drinks, and cleaning supplies. It usually requires a local phone number and sometimes a local payment method, which is one more reason to sort out both early. Shop in person first, though. You learn the store, the products, and the prices, and that makes ordering online much easier later.

The short version

Read before you shop. Follow the produce section, not your old list. Pay for one or two comforts from home and let the rest go. Learn units, dates, and allergen words, and copy the person ahead of you at checkout. Prices vary and change often, so check current prices in your own neighborhood.