Spending in the Supermarkt

Back again for another food episode! This week I wanted to let you in on the secret about die Deutschen Supermärkte…but you’re going to need to read this to hear about it.

First off, I’m going to let you know this was one of my biggest cultural shocks when I first arrived here. Knowing next to nothing about shopping in Germany, I was not fully prepared for the drastic change during my grocery experience. Both at home, in Nahant Massachusetts, and at school, I have done my food shopping at very large chain stores such as Stop&Shop, Wegmans, Whole Foods, or Walmart. I am sure all of you are fully aware that these stores have almost endless aisles of food, produce, seafood, refrigerated items, snacks and sweets, cooking supplies, breads, deli section, cleaning products, healthcare, a pharmacy, and many more products. Basically, I have always been able to find any food item I require at a single store. Germany is a bit different. So far I have seen no store that holds nearly as many selections. Instead, Germany has a number of smaller stores splitting these components up. For example, I earlier discussed Bäckereien for any of your bread or bakery needs, Metzgereien for your deli and meats, as well as Apotheken for any of your pharmaceutical needs. While we do also have these stores in the US, they are frequented much more often in Germany and therefore hold an important role in the community. For instance, a German citizen would be more likely to purchase products from any of these stores before thinking of visiting einen Supermarkt. Meanwhile for us Americans the thought process is reversed.

Now about the actual stores. The main locations here in Leipzig are Aldi (Nord), Lidl, Rewe, and Edeke. Almost all of them have multiple stores located in and around the city itself. I usually shop at either Rewe or Aldi as they are closest to where I live, roughly 20 minutes outside Zentrum. You may actually have heard of Aldi and Lidl before. These two enterprises have expanded abroad to the US. I have never seen one but will definitely be looking for them when I return home. While Aldi and Lidl are small and cheap stores, holding only small selections of items, Rewe and Edeka are a little bit more expensive. Rewe in particular is much larger in size as compared to other food Märkte here, roughly half the size of Wegmans. Additionally, Rewe is very focused on organic and healthy foods, lacking items with the preservatives or food dyes that you generally find in the US. I find this very beneficial as it means what you are eating is real food, no artificial additives. Mostly, all the food sold at these stores is much healthier. In the US, I am used to seeing multiple rows of snacks, chips, and cookies, however at Rewe there isn’t even an aisle dedicated to this. Instead, all that you can select from is a small side shelf. There is an entire aisle of chocolate however, because Germany is very well known for its delicious chocolate and I can verify this on account of die Supermärkte und Schokoladegeschäfte.

Another major difference between German shops and American shops is that you must bring your own bag, preferable a reusable one, or buy one there. Instead of having all of your items placed into several plastic or paper bags you must load your own items into your own bag, or multiple if you are able to carry them. This is directly tied to the German characteristic of being umweltbewusst, environmentally aware/conscious. Rather than hand out plastic or paper bags, you are required to have your own reusable bag (most commonly a tote bag). This cuts down on the discarding of paper and plastic bags which present a hazard to the environment. Germans have been a loud voice in opposition to pollution and misconduct towards our natural landscape for a long time now. They understand that our actions take a toll on the Earth itself and that we must do everything we can to preserve its natural beauty.

In general, people buy a lot less at stores here than in the US. Most items that I see people buy are the essentials, your fruits, vegetables, cooking ingredients, cleaning items, and little else. So, overall there is no complaint with having to use your own bag. Additionally, most Germans either walk or bike to the store. You’d probably be surprised to know that most Supermärkte don’t actually have parking lots, and are not really called Supermärkte due to their size. As a substitute, at the entrance there are usually many metal brackets to lock your bike on. This method seems very convenient, as you are only leaving the store with your one bag of items and can attach that most anywhere on your bike. If you need, there are shopping carts, however almost nobody uses them and you will need to pay a few Euros to use them. Honestly, my absolutely favorite thing about shopping in Germany is that food is nowhere near as EXPENSIVE as it is in the US. A carton of eggs costs around 2€, milk 1€, any meat around 3-4€. Essentially everything is under 5€ and I absolutely love it. The most expensive thing I have bought is Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for 6.89€. Usually, after a quick visit to the store I have spent 20~25€ and purchased enough food to last me almost a week of good substantial meals.

Last, I want to mention the checkout procedure. Do you by any chance recall a time when you were grocery shopping with your mom or dad and they had you wait in a spot in line at the checkout counter while they ran off to grab one last thing? Recall the panic you would feel the closer you got to the cashier and your mom or dad was nowhere to be seen? Ok, well now imagine that, but instead of watching the clock slowly tick by, you are watching the people in front of you and your 20 items get scanned in less than 30 seconds. German food services pride themselves on their quick and efficient work ethic. Rather than you waiting for the cashier to finish scanning your items so that you can pay, the cashier is waiting for you to put more items on the conveyer belt to finish their job. The rapid pass at which they scan your items is absolutely ridiculous. The whole process is really hectic and it is made even worse since you have to bag your items yourself at an equally fast pace, because once they are all scanned you need to pay and then the next persons items will be promptly scanned. There is no waiting for you. At many stores its best to just shove your items into your bag in rapid procession and then use the counters behind the cashiers to sort out what you bought.

Overall, the procedure of a German food store is interesting, unique, and very reflective of the nature of a German. Gesunde, effizient, schnell, praktisch; healthy, efficient, quick, practical. In comparison to the US food store experience,…I hope this prepared you at least a little.

P.S. One last tidbit I want to let you know about Aldi specifically:

While you are in let's say the pasta aisle, which I will let you know there are hundreds of pastas in the stores, on the other side there might be bins full of clothing or even the components to build an above ground pool. Aldi and Lidl are very random in this way, but they are nice, quaint stores that are cheap and never very crowded. I have yet to purchase anything that isn’t food or drink yet, but its nice to have the option I guess. It makes the store seem like a little Walmart in a weird way if you’re ever feeling reminiscent.

May 12th, 2023