What's Different at The New World by Sydney Sapienza

When walking into the New World grocery store, it seems just like the ones at home. But the closer you look, the more unique it becomes. Over 90% of the colorful produce and shelves of wine are products of New Zealand- It’s really cool that New Zealand is so self-sustaining! Something I really admire about New Zealand is that there aren’t any plastic bags used in stores. Not even the produce bags are plastic- everything is paper, which is really environmentally friendly!

I was looking for ramen in the international food section, and was suddenly confused why a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup was on the same shelf. Shouldn’t it be in the candy aisle? But then I realized that Reese’s Cups aren’t native to New Zealand, along with the other American candies I soon noticed in that section. Hershey’s is by far the most dominant chocolate brand in America, however in New Zealand it seems like Whittaker’s is the prized brand of chocolate, being a New Zealand company. Its factory is in Porirua on the North Island. This is closely followed by Cadbury, a British classic. I got a bar of Whittaker’s to try and it’s so smooth. You can really taste the powdered NZ milk (which makes up 30% of the bar)!

The milk selection was very different from America's. The popular selections seem to be original, lite, trim, and calci-trim. I believe these would equate to whole, 2%, 1% and skim respectively. Also there was black forest flavored milk, and it did indeed taste like black forest! The majority of milk was sold as 1L (.26 gal) containers. This is because in New Zealand, it’s not typical to drink a cup of milk with a meal like it is in America. 

There were 9 different Vegemite options- nine too many in my opinion! The first day in the dining hall, we passed around a little packet of Vegemite to try with chips (fries!). We all wrinkled our noses at the salty, bitter taste. Some other different things in New World are TimTam biscuits, “tomato sauce,” Heinz aioli (good for dipping chips), eggs not being in the refrigerated section, and an abundance of lamb cuts. 

All these little differences make shopping in New Zealand a fascinating and memorable experience, highlighting the country's self-sufficiency, sustainability, and unique cultural flair!

The International Food Section at New World

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