Where Do Supermarkets Put Things?

Finding some foods can be a challenge.

Created in Canva by author

When I’m in the supermarket, there are times when I cannot fathom their reasoning for putting certain food items where they do.

Being a vegetarian in New Zealand is not too unusual; however, being vegan can be downright weird to those not au fait with this diet. Now I’m not about to discuss the questions that I get asked or ponder why this country is still lagging behind the eight ball.

I was on a vegan forum today discussing quinoa, and it got me thinking about how different supermarkets approach plant-based/vegan food. I’m going to use quinoa as an example because it’s probably the one most food outlets gets wrong.

Now I do realise that many people here in N.Z. haven’t got a clue what quinoa is, they still pronounce it quin-o-a instead of keen-wa, but you would think that the supermarkets would have some inkling of an idea as to what type of food it is. Well, I’m here to tell you that I have found quinoa on a variety of different shelves in a variety of supermarkets. It appears that this beautiful grain doesn’t have a specific pigeon hole to go into.

I have found it in the pasta section, the baking section, the gluten-free section (yes…