Choosing the supermarket to shop at in Italy can be hard. Questions such as where to find the best value for money, what the most ethical place to shop is, and which place has the longest opening hours may all cross your mind at some point in the supermarket selection process.
Ask anyone with time on their hands, and they’ll probably suggest that you go to a local farmers’ market to pick up fresh produce – if that is, there’s still one operating near you.
But like most people in Italy when needing to stock up on groceries you will more than likely simply have to choose a supermarket, such as Conad, Carrefour, Coop Italia, Iper, Aldi or Eurospin.
Each of these places has many quirks and benefits. Here’s a humorous take on what it says about you should you choose to shop at any of them.
Conad
Founded in 1962 in Bologna, this supermarket staple can be found in most towns and cities across Italy.
With its different-sized stores ranging from the tiny Conad City to the much larger Conad Superstore, shoppers of the supermarket are perhaps people who like stability and reliability a bit too much.
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Stability in the sense that, no matter where they are, they always have Conad to fall back on. Reliability in the sense that they know the produce they purchase will always be good – not subpar, not Michelin-quality, but simply good.
Conad’s deli section is something to wax lyrical about though. Being from Emilia-Romagna, the mortadella selection is plentiful.
Carrefour
Carrefour is the place to shop for those who like to splash their cash. Shoppers here are unafraid of waltzing to the checkout and paying €10 for a mozzerella ball.
People who shop here like excellent Italian fare and plenty of it too. They’re also probably unaware that the supermarket was founded in France.
Coop Italia
With a history dating back to 1854 (seven years before the birth of modern Italy), Coop is definitely a supermarket for those who care about authenticity, fairness and human rights.
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Should you bump into someone you know in there, chances are you will stop and talk about the state of the world and what you can do to fix it, all while grabbing a tin of their fair trade coffee. The usual shopper here is beyond pleasant and well-mannered.
Iper
Larger than a regular-sized supermarket, Iper feels like a central train station during rush hour. People run around frantically with their full-to-the-brim trolleys and the tannoy is used constantly with a somewhat monotonous voice at the other end of it.
Give it its due though: you can find everything here, including all the fruit and veg you can think of, and convenience is its middle name.
Iper is the go-to for people who don’t have time to spare. They need everything all at once, variety and maybe a good discount or two.
It is also worth mentioning the word iper means ‘hyper’ in English. Given the energy of this supermarket, this is perhaps not a coincidence.
Aldi
First arriving in Italy in 2018, Aldi is the newcomer of Italy’s supermarket gang. It’s inexpensive and is good enough for basic items.
However, the German-founded store does not scream Italy as the above four do and it takes pride in that – every month or so the supermarket holds weeks such as Irish week or British week where foods from the relevant country are sold.
They also sell items such as cheddar, which is hard to find in Italy.
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One type of shopper you may come across here is the international resident getting a taste of home before their country’s week has ended. It is best to ask them if they’re doing ok.
Eurospin
Eurospin is the place to be if you are keen on coupon-collecting and picking up bargain leaflets.
Paired with a catchy TV advert, whose jingle goes la spesa intelligente (‘smart grocery shopping’), Eurospin draws in shoppers looking to get exactly what they need for their money.
However, quality is not top of the list here. Eurospin shoppers tend to grab and go, and tend not to care if their parmesan is pre-grated. As long as it is budget-friendly, who cares?
All of the above?
Naturally, people change their minds about where they want to shop depending on what they need, what is closest and where is open.
You might go to a Carrefour despite their high prices just because it’s midnight and the one closest to you happens to be open 24 hours a day.
It also depends on how you shop. Are you a weekend shopper who does everything in bulk? Chances are Iper might be the right fit. But what if you’re missing something off the list? Well then, you might just have to go to one of the others.
Regardless, Italy has supermarkets to serve all types of shoppers. Picking only one to start with may keep you from tapping into your true shopping form.
Have we hit the nail on the head or have we got the wrong end of the stick? Let us know in the comments below.
Although regional, how does Esselunga compare?
Kind of a nonsense article! Many towns here have one or maybe two choices for groceries. On top of that, selection often varies from town to town and region to region. Maybe a better article would be what items we buy would say more about Italians. for instance; fresh vs frozen, local vs import, certified vs non certified…
What about Pam, Pewex and Esselunga, which are all very good. Never mind Pim, Todis, Tigre and Lidl.
Seems odd not to have mentioned either Esselunga nor Lidl. Both are very widespread- whilst Esselunga is mainly in the north and is now pretty expensive it is also truly Italian. It still offers really good choice and quality. Meanwhile Lidl is everywhere and proving to be excellent value for money with hugely improved quality these past couple of years. In fact Lidl far outstrips Aldi as the best foreign supermarket here in Italy.