Sherry Martin Peters, a flight attendant and founder of Atlas + Wild, has shared a list of her favourite supermarket buys she makes sure to put in her shopping basket when abroad
Is there a sensation that etches itself more deeply and immediately into the British brain than the first time you enter a French supermarket?
I doubt I will ever forget the thrilling aroma of different chilled meats, walking down an aisle of completely unfamiliar cereals, or realising that you can buy small fireworks and about 400 varieties of drink syrup in a single shop.
Supermarket shopping abroad is a serious phenomenon on social media, with more than 50 million posts related to ‘grocery store travel’ on TikTok. It is packed full of travellers showing off their finds and remarking at how different everyday things are abroad.
Last year, travel giant Expedia identified “supermarket tourism” or “Goods Getaways” as a major trend for 2025. The firm predicted that more travelers, particularly Gen Z, would visit foreign supermarkets to find unique products that have gone viral on social media.
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Sherry Martin Peters, a flight attendant and founder of Atlas + Wild, has avidly visited different supermarkets throughout her long career of jet-setting across the world.
“Tourists seek landmarks and magnets for souvenirs. Flight attendants seek out grocery stores. We know which Lisbon supermarkets stock sangria worthy of wrapping inside a shoe, which Korean store to stock up on collagen face masks, which French markets sell lavender honey that doubles as a sleep remedy, and which South African shelves hold rooibos tea rich enough to taste like rest,” she told the Mirror.
“Fresh Italian pasta. Salted butter from France. Brazilian mate packed between uniforms. Lisbon sardines in artful tins. These aren’t novelty purchases — they are edible memories, our way of claiming a place as lived, not just passed through. If you ever were to peek inside a flight attendants pantry, it’d look like an international grocery store. And that gives us comfort.”
Sherry has shared her favourite foreign supermarkets when travelling abroad, and what she buys in them. “Some of this may be found in specialty stores in the U.S. but we are buying the same at dirt cheap prices,” she notes.
Do you have any foreign supermarket staples or any tips for shopping abroad? We’d love to hear from you. Please email webtravel@reachplc.com
Italy: Carrefour, Coop, and Esselunga
- One litre bottle of “rustic unfiltered” olive oil by Carapelli
- Any Italian red wine that’s about 7-10 euros – they are all fantastic
- Fresh hand-cut pasta from Maffei or from a local pasta shop
- Tomato paste by Tuscanini or Mutti
- Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce by Cento, La Fiammante, Divella and Mutti
- Fresh chunks of Parmesan for grating
France: Monoprix
- Bordier Butter, or Grand Fermage Sel de Mer (sea salt butter) is a cult product
- Lulu Barquettes boat cookies
- St Michel Original Madeleines
- Fleur de Sel gray sea salt
- Duck Confit Reflets De France (duck in a can)
- Torres Truffle potato chips
- Pringles (taste better than in the US)
Portugal: El Corte Inglés and Continente
- Dom Simon sangria (actually from Spain) and cinnamon sticks to marinate it in
- Local wines like Vino Verde, but use the Vivino app to look for ratings to try new ones
- Fresh pastéis de nata (custard tarts Portugal is famous for) from the bakery
- Grand Fermage Sel de Mer butter (French)