When in Italy, shop at Esselunga, both because the shops are full of good quality stuff, and because I like their yellow shopping bags which are bright sturdy, and look the business.
So much so that Rosa always buys a few of the bags for us to take home. A practice which I add to whenever we shop there.
All of which is an introduction to a new occasional series on the supermarket, looking at the first stores, the introduction of self service, and a lighthearted reflection on supermarkets I have used across the EU.
And that brings me back to Esselunga, which was established in 1957, presently has 180 stores, and is Italy’s 23rd largest company.
At first glance the store we use looks little different from any British equivalent, but look closely as you linger over the fruit, vegetables and cheese shelves, and what strikes you is the range, variety and sheer colour of what is on offer.
The vegetables and the fruit are bigger, do not conform to that standard shape and size you often find in a British store, and yes many are wonky, with the earth still clinging to them.
They are what they should be, food taken directly from the ground and not as so often appears here a product that could have been made in a factory.
In the same way the cheese looks like cheese, and the bread rivals that made in the local bakery around the corner.
Now, I am not against the quirky independent sector, which sells everything from craft bread, to organic vegetables and clearly sourced meat and sits at the heart of most communities.
I like them too and support them as much I can, preferring the locally baked bread to the factory stuff, and will always order books from our bookshop instead of going online.
But I also remember the small corner grocery shops of my youth in the 1950s, where the cheese on offer was either “red” or “white” and what passed for fresh vegetables had seen too many Mondays.
So, that is it, other than to invite pictures, stories or memories of a loved supermarket.
Location; Italy
Pictures; Esselunga shopping bag, courtesy of Esselunga, and the produce from our near by shop, 2019 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
Esselunga, https://www.esselunga.it/cms/homepage.html/
All of which is an introduction to a new occasional series on the supermarket, looking at the first stores, the introduction of self service, and a lighthearted reflection on supermarkets I have used across the EU.
And that brings me back to Esselunga, which was established in 1957, presently has 180 stores, and is Italy’s 23rd largest company.
At first glance the store we use looks little different from any British equivalent, but look closely as you linger over the fruit, vegetables and cheese shelves, and what strikes you is the range, variety and sheer colour of what is on offer.
They are what they should be, food taken directly from the ground and not as so often appears here a product that could have been made in a factory.
In the same way the cheese looks like cheese, and the bread rivals that made in the local bakery around the corner.
I like them too and support them as much I can, preferring the locally baked bread to the factory stuff, and will always order books from our bookshop instead of going online.
But I also remember the small corner grocery shops of my youth in the 1950s, where the cheese on offer was either “red” or “white” and what passed for fresh vegetables had seen too many Mondays.
So, that is it, other than to invite pictures, stories or memories of a loved supermarket.
Location; Italy
Pictures; Esselunga shopping bag, courtesy of Esselunga, and the produce from our near by shop, 2019 from the collection of Andrew Simpson
Esselunga, https://www.esselunga.it/cms/homepage.html/
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