Expatriate delicatessen facts for kids

An expatriate delicatessen (say "ex-PAT-ree-ate"), also called an expat food store or expat supermarket, is a special kind of shop. It sells food and drinks from a particular country to people who live far away from their home country. These people are called expatriates, or "expats" for short.

Imagine someone from the United States living in Japan. They might miss their favorite American snacks or breakfast cereals. An expat food store helps them find those items! These stores are often set up in places where many expats live, or they sell their products online.

What Makes Them Different?

These stores are different from regular supermarkets or even "ethnic grocers." While an ethnic grocer might sell a mix of foods from many different cultures, an expat delicatessen usually focuses on items from just one country or a specific region, like Portugal or Eastern Europe. This makes them very specialized.

Why Are They More Expensive?

You might notice that the prices in these stores are often higher than what you'd pay for the same item back home. There are a few reasons for this:

• Less Competition: There aren't many other stores selling these specific items, so they can charge more.
• Import Costs: It costs money to bring food from one country to another, including shipping and special taxes called "duties."
• Smaller Orders: They usually buy smaller amounts of products from their suppliers, which can make each item more expensive.

More Than Just Food

Sometimes, expat food stores also sell other things that are hard to find in regular shops. This might include cooking equipment used in that country, or even books and magazines in the native language.

What Kind of Items Do They Sell?

These stores offer a taste of home for many people. The types of items they sell depend on the country they focus on.

American Expat Stores

If you visit an American expat delicatessen, you might find popular breakfast cereals like Lucky Charms. You could also see famous American sweets such as 3 Musketeers chocolate bars, Hershey's chocolate, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Other common items include Fluff marshmallow spread, A1 steak sauce, and fizzy drinks like Mountain Dew.

Polish Expat Stores

In a Polish expat store, you would discover traditional foods like jarred bigos (a stew), sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), and gherkins (pickled cucumbers). You might also find smetana (a type of sour cream) and different kinds of kielbasa wiejska sausage.

How Do They Get the Food?

Most of the time, these items are brought directly from the home country. Sometimes, they are ordered through "grey market" importers. This means the items are imported legally, but not through the official channels that the original company uses.

Challenges with Importing Food

It's not always easy to import every food item. Some countries have rules that ban certain ingredients or products. For example, the fizzy drink Mountain Dew is not allowed to be sold in the United Kingdom. This is because it contains an ingredient called BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil), which is not permitted in food products there.