EXPATS in Spain are driving a rise in supermarket spending, with supermarket shelves increasingly reflecting their tastes and cultures.
Foreign residents in Spain are outspending locals in supermarkets, with recent research showing they spend more than double on food shopping.
Spanish supermarket shelves traditionally brim with local fare: salmorejo, ready-made tortilla and countless varieties of olives.Â
But now, their offerings are gradually shifting to cater to the tastes of affluent expats.
According to the supermarket chain Consum, their stores now carry around 360 international products, accounting for 2.5 per cent of their total range.
They focus primarily on British and German shoppers in Alicante, AlmerÃa, and Girona, where baked beans and bratwurst sit alongside anchovies and jamón.
With Europeans comprising 29 per cent of Spain’s foreign residents, supermarkets are also increasingly providing customer service in English and German.
It’s not only Europeans whose tastes from home are reflected in Spanish supermarkets – Latin American communities, who account for half of foreign residents, are also shaping the shelves.
From Colombian arepas to Mexican hot sauces and Venezuelan tequeños, the shelves are packed with flavours from home.
Price-checking is the norm for 84.6 per cent of Latin American shoppers, with 61.3 per cent of them hunting for promotions.Â
They also love own-brand products, spending more than half of their grocery money on them – compared to just 44 per cent for the average shopper.
Although foreigners only make up 14 per cent of the population, projections estimate that this community could surge by 75 per cent over the next 15 years.Â
Spanish supermarkets are already racing to tap into this market and track exactly how they shop.
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