These nine normal things about British supermarkets are really strange to Americans

There are some huge cultural differences between the UK and US, and one of the biggest ones is the supermarkets (or grocery stores as Americans would say).

One American woman had the shock of her life when she walked into Sainsbury’s and saw what was on sale.

She’s gone viral on TikTok after sharing nine things about British supermarkets that would “send an American into a coma”. If you’re intrigued, here they are.

1. Eggs

The first cultural shock she experienced is the eggs. In US grocery stores, they’re always refrigerated, but British ones just have them on normal shelves. The price of eggs is also way cheaper than in the US.

2. Frosted Flakes

She was also pretty surprised that they have Frosted Flakes in the UK, but they’re called Frosties. They are exactly the same product, just marketed under different names in different regions.

3. The tea aisle

Everyone knows that Brits love a cup of tea, but the sheer size of the tea aisle in a British supermarket had the American in total disbelief. She didn’t know that much tea “existed in the world”.

4. Instant coffee

Apparently, instant coffee doesn’t really exist in America, so she was shocked by all the different kinds of that too. They make brewed coffee instead.

@p_west_

I will never get on board with black pudding or baked beans inspo @Megan Gulyard #sorrynotsorry #americanabroad #americanintheuk #sainsburys #lifeintheuk #ustouk

♬ original sound – Paige Wester

5. Pies

In the UK, people love to make anything into a pie. Chicken pie. Steak pie. Cheesy veg pie. There are so many pies! Don’t tell her about cottage and shepherd’s pie.

6. Black pudding

Another thing that would send an American into a coma is black pudding. It doesn’t exist over there, and they think it’s pretty gross. I mean, it is.

7. The fruit and veg

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Every US supermarket has plastic bags to put your fruit and veg in to take it to the till. Some UK stores have stopped doing that to reduce waste, so you have to “raw dog” it.

8. Baked beans

Almost rivalling the expansive tea aisle is the baked bean aisle, which is another massive culture shock for Americans. British people do love their baked beans.

9. Paying for bags

Finally, American people aren’t used to having to pay for plastic carrier bags. The law was introduced in 2015 to save the environment, and increased from 5p to 10p in 2021.

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Featured image by: @p_west_TikTok