Guide to Grocery Retailers in Europe

Tap into grocery retailers in Europe for both standard and gourmet food and beverages

By Michele Vrouvas

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In the world of fine cuisine, few retailers can steal the show from European grocery chains. And no one understands that better than American restaurateurs. Even though the United States is a major food producer around the world, Americans have never lost their preference for fine European foods. With this in mind, European grocery chains focus their marketing efforts on baiting American tastes. Restaurants, supermarkets and specialty shops within the United States research food trends among the European grocery retailers so that they can satisfy Americans' hunger for products only available from European grocers.

You can readily find grocery retailers in Europe that carry European alternatives to any common American-made products you'd see on supermarket shelves in the United States. Or, depending upon your clientele, you must track down unusual items to satisfy finicky tastes. Whatever your intention, keep the following in mind when choosing European grocery retailers:

1. European grocers offer common grocery items at competitive prices.

2. Certain gourmet products are only available from grocery markets in Europe.

3. There are certain beverages you should only get from a European store.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find standard items from the best known European grocers

Maybe you just prefer the taste of egg noodles made in Germany or your chef won't consider making his tomato sauce with anything other than canned tomatoes from Italy's San Marzano region.

I recommend: Euro Food Mart and Au Marche, are online grocery stores offering everyday products from Greece, Italy, Turkey, Germany and Romania, including prepared items and dried deli meats. Euro Food Mart offers a variety of shipping methods via UPS and you don't even need to create an account to make purchases.

Find gourmet items from food stores in Europe

European grocery retailers are your only choice if you must buy balsamic vinegar that's been aged for 100 years or French Helix escargots in garlic sauce.

I recommend: Corti Brothers has specialized in fine Italian gourmet foods for sixty years. Another well-known name in the gourmet food market is Marky's, which specializes in French food, such as caviar and foie gras, but also offers Italian and Greek delicacies. Specialty Gourmet Food has a more limited product line, but offers harder to find ingredients, such as artichoke ambrosia and roasted portobello tapenade.

Choose specialty beverages directly from the top grocery stores in Europe

Your European-style coffee house brews intensely smooth coffee made from fine peaberries or serves the fanciest blend of British teas and the decadent scones that go with them.

I recommend: Wise Choice British Foods allows you to choose from black currant to honeybush infusion teas and British Isles Online offers the rich cream biscuits and fancy scones to serve with the tea. French Wine Gift.com offers free shipping to most states and its staff of trained personnel can help you select a premium wine. It also offers discounts if you buy by the case. Lucid Cafe links you directly to grocery chains in Europe offering Turkish, Greek, Belgian and French coffees.

Tips & Tactics
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