From its name, one can glean that an
Indian grocery store is a place where predominantly one can find brands and products from India. These are specialty stores that import the products they sell from India to cater to the Southeast Asian population settled in the USA. On a visit to one of the Indian stores, one can buy all the Indian grocery products for food, household cleaning and maintenance, special occasions such as weddings or religious rites products, and products for health and beauty.
Every household uses spices and India is the home of top-quality spices. So, whether you want to purchase pepper, turmeric, cloves, or cinnamon, you can be assured to find the best quality in an Indian store. Indian stores are a haven for vegans and vegetarians for their wide choices in pulses, grains, vegetables, and fruits. Many products such as refined flour, known as maida or
atta can be purchased in Indian grocery stores at reasonable rates.
The appeal of Indian grocery stores
The greater demand for Indian groceries comes from Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, and Bangladeshis, who share similar gastronomic cultures. However, there is a demand for Indian spices, pulses, and grains among all ethnicities. Furthermore, Indian grocery stores do not just stock food items, but they also have other products such as idols of Gods, pooja articles such as camphor, incense sticks, lamps, etc. Some Asian vegetables and fruits such as curry leaves, coconuts, and aubergine can only be purchased at an Indian store.
Regulatory and pandemic effects
Due to the strict regulations towards importing many food products, Indian stores provide a convenient outlet for many immigrants. They can have their Indian chili powder and their favorite brand of
chai without having to wait for anyone to bring it for them. most Indians make an annual trip to India from where they stock up on their spices and favorite savories. However, the pandemic had made it impossible for anyone to travel for the past three years. In such times, the Indian grocery stores have offered a lot of relief.
Choosing Indian stores over the others
Though the larger American stores such as Walmart or Costco do keep many Indian products, some products can only be bought in the Indian stores. Often, one does not know the English name of a product. Since Indian stores have some Indian employees and also other Indian customers, they can help out with finding the products where even Google translate may fail a person. Many Indian stores cater to customers online. Thus, one can buy their favorite brand of
atta online without making a trip to the store.
The benefit of shopping from an Indian store for one’s Indian groceries is that you will always get fresh stock due to the high movement of products. It may not be feasible for regular American stores to stock such products. Thus, rather than go back and forth, one can simply shop with their local Indian grocer.
