Food, Customers, and Culture in the Grocery Store

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Food, being a resource that is essential for a human to live, has strong connections to the culture, corresponding to the lifestyle of a particular society (Douglas, 2014). Therefore, it is possible to learn about the culture by observing activities connected to the food, or ways in which the food is distributed and provided. This paper reports on a study conducted in a large grocery store not far from the researcher’s home. During our study, we paid attention to the availability of different kinds of food, advertisement, and presentation of foods, customers’ behaviors, food prices, and the explicitness of ethical issues.

In the store, we saw quite a wide selection of fruits and vegetables, such as apples, oranges, bananas, coconuts, carrots, cabbages, potatoes, sweet and hot pepper, tomatoes, etc. There were many types of raw meat, as well as various kinds of hams and sausages. There also were many alcoholic drinks, and the section with beer was among the largest; lemonades, juices, and smoothies were also present. Wide selections of coffee and tea were offered. Mineral water was sold as well. The section that stored milk was big and many dairy products were available nearby. Bread and bakery were offered in a large assortment. On the other hand, prepared or half-prepared meals were not abundant in the store.

Both the store labels and the food labels quite often stressed the low price of the products. Even some foods’ trademarks emphasized it (such as “Great Value,” for instance). The taste was also quite often pointed out. But especially much stress was put on how healthy the food was. For example, many labels contained an inscription “Low Fat”, and virtually every food label had detailed information about nutritional value. On the other hand, the ease of preparation was stressed relatively seldom, though there was, in some cases, advice on how to cook the food or what other foods it would be tasty to combine it with.

Among the most expensive products in the store were elite alcoholic drinks such as high-quality wines or Champagne. Meat products and seafood were also rather expensive. When there existed a choice between cheaper and more expensive variants of the same type of product, lower-priced foods were usually sold in much simpler packages (for instance, expensive wine in beautiful bottles versus cheap wine in cardboard boxes; our juices in glass bottles, plastic bottles, and cartons). Although even the cheapest products often had a colorful package, the most expensive ones, it appears, were supposed to make an impression of “nobility” of some type.

There were three main types of shoppers: ones who came with a list and wanted to buy things as fast as possible; those who were walking around the shop, but seemed to have particular aims (most shoppers); and those who just wandered around and looked at things deciding whether or not they should buy them.

Mostly, conversations were held among those who came to the shop to buy things together, although there were not very many such people. On the other hand, clients who were unfamiliar with each other usually did not pay much attention to one another. However, if someone did not know where to find something, they could ask anyone who was near them for directions, and the other person was usually happy to help.

The raw meats, as well as poultry, were sold in neat packages; it appears that some meat was packed still while at the factory, whereas other was packed right in the store. The meat was not sold without a package, nor did it lay in showcases or fridges in formless lumps. It always looked tidy, and it seems it had always been washed, for there were never any signs of blood appeared. Therefore, the meat and poultry rarely caused any thoughts about animal-killing; it was food, and that was it.

There usually was a general label near each kind of meat, which displayed the cost per pound; also, each package usually had a sticker label with the weight and the price on it.

If products came in various sizes, the size was determined by the package in which they were sold. Sizes were different; for instance, there were big bottles of milk (1 gallon), smaller ones (0.5 gallons), and even smaller packages. Big bottles of milk were most suitable for large families, whereas people who lived on their own could choose smaller ones. Another instance is juice; sometime in the past, we saw big cartons of juice that read “Family Pack”; the big packages were meant for big families (or maybe for people who liked juice and could drink much of it). On the other hand, small packages were meant to be drunk right now, and bottles could be used on your way somewhere, for it was possible to close them tightly so they wouldn’t spill in the bag.

The products sold in the shop included foods and ingredients from all over the US and the world, such as coconuts, avocados, bananas, vodka, mayonnaise, beer, sausage, pasta, etc. However, these products have become common in the US; and it was never mentioned that, e.g., mayonnaise had been French in origin, or that sausages had come from Germany. Individual ingredients’ origin was also rarely mentioned. On the other hand, you could sometimes perceive the inscription “kosher” on some products (peanut butter, for instance); it appears that this also played the role of advertisement. Surely, there were no warnings that some foods might be unacceptable for some cultures (e.g. pork for Muslims). But racial or ethnic issues rarely matter when Americans buy or sell food (Douglas, 2014, p. 146).

As it was mentioned, there were hardly any prepared (such as fried potato or meat) or half-prepared (frozen pizza) foods in the shop. Perhaps this reflects the fact that many Americans would rather go to a restaurant and eat there, whereas others would prefer to prepare a meal at home and not just heat some frozen, half-cooked food. On the other hand, a bakery was present, so one could buy a small pie and eat it right away. It is also worth stressing that a wide selection of coffee was present in the grocery; it is known that coffee is rather popular among Americans. The section with milk was tremendous; milk is also one of the most common beverages that many Americans drink every day (Smith, 2013, p. 580-589).

To sum up, it should be noted that a wide selection of food was available in the store; the labels on the food we’re used to promoting foods, especially stressing the price and nutrition issues. Another aspect related to advertising was that meats and poultry were displayed in a way that allowed to conceal the issues connected to their origins. The most apparent difference between cheap and expensive products was the package. Also, the size and type of the package often implied the setting in which the food was to be consumed. Customers rarely spoke to each other but were usually willing to help. And, finally, while little attention was paid to ethical issues in the shop, it was clear how the way the food was organized in the store would match the American lifestyle.

References

Douglas, M. (2014). Food in the social order. New York, NY: Routledge.

Smith, A. (Ed.). (2013). The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America, volume 2. New York, NY: Oxford University Press USA.

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Food, Customers, and Culture in the Grocery Store

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