Natalie Barbu said she was shocked by what she found on the shelves when she visited the supermarket
An American woman who was shocked by her Sainsbury’s shop wowed social media users after pointing out the differences between UK and US supermarkets. Natalie Barbu, from Miami, recorded a recent visit to a Sainsbury’s store in London.
Posting the video online as @nataliebarbu, she said: “I was shocked at the grocery stores in the UK. Here are some differences that I noticed as an American shopping at Sainsbury’s, which is one of the biggest grocery stores in all of London.” She added that the supermarket reminded her of Walmart.
Explaining the differences she noticed, Natalie spotted something she didn’t expect as soon as she entered the supermarket. “One thing I couldn’t comprehend is the fact that you had to bring a coin in order to get a shopping cart,” the shopper shared.
“You also have to bring your own bags when shopping, because if not, they will charge you for a bag, and you were able to scan your own items as you’re shopping.”
Making her way to the food aisles, she found another surprise. “The first thing that I noticed was the meat selection was definitely different than what we have at home, and British people definitely love their sausages. So it’s not ground beef, it’s beef mince.
“British people will also find any excuse to put something into a pie or a pastry. They’ll put meats, they’ll put eggs. Anything can turn into a pie, pastry, or a roll.”
On the other hand, Natalie wasn’t surprised to find baked beans. “Of course, you have everything you need for a Sunday roast or an English breakfast, like beans,” she said. “They love baked beans, and they’re very different than American baked beans.”
That said, the eggs did catch her eye. The shopper explained: “You definitely won’t see this at an American grocery store, but the eggs are not refrigerated, and you will never find these prices there.”
Moving on, she praised the “iconic British meal deal”, before pointing out more differences she noticed. Natalie said: “This has been hard for me, but there are no dill pickles, only sweet ones.”
She added: “What we call chips, they call crisps, and there are slight differences. Like notice in the Doritos, they’re not cool ranch, it’s just cool original.”
Rounding up her video, Natalie acknowledged that there are other foods with different names across the pond. “We just call certain foods different things. Like porridge is oatmeal, zucchini is courgette, and eggplant is aubergine,” she told followers. “Are there any other differences that I missed?” Her caption added: “There are some things the American mind can’t comprehend when shopping at a British supermarket.”
Replying to the video, someone pointed out Brits say “shopping trolley” not “shopping cart.” Another viewer commented: “After living here two years I’ve noticed they don’t have pretzels and honestly the section where they have cookie and cake mix is not very good!
“Not a lot of chocolate chip options, if any. Also no meatloaf mix pre-made and a lot of dairy products that come in containers don’t have lids, only plastic peal off tops.”