If you’ve ever spent any time walking around a French grocery store, you may have noticed that the potato chips are in a completely different aisle than the Doritos, Pringles, pretzels and other foods Americans would consider snack food. I often find myself wondering WHY about lots of things in France… because things seemingly don’t make any sense to my confused American brain. Including the location of potato chips in France grocery stores.
But to the French? All of this makes perfect sense. Let’s talk about these French potato chips.
I asked Tom to explain where you find French potato chips in the France grocery store and why…
French grocery store oddity: The French potato chips are where?
I like when similar items are grouped together. It’s just easier that way and when it’s 3 p.m. on a Saturday and the grocery store is packed, easy is what I desperately need. This post dates back about 4 years when Tom asked me to pick up a few bags of chips. I was in a grocery store I rarely went to and for the life of me I couldn’t find them. I found the pretzel balls no problem. The peanuts, Doritos, cheesy chips, Pringles. They were all grouped together in what I considered to be the snack aisle. Easy. But I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Super U didn’t have any potato chips. I later realized they did have potato chips but they were 6 aisles over.
So where the heck were these elusive French potato chips??
Well in a separate section, of course.
Exhibit A: The snack aisle, where you grab your eats for apéro
This aisle has common snack foods like nuts, tortilla chips and crackers and basically everything BUT potato chips.
Exhibit B: The French potato chip aisle (in a totally different section of store)
Here’s Tom to explain:
(if you’re new here, Tom is my French husband who makes an appearance from time to time)
“For french people, potato chips aren’t really considered snacks. They’re more assimilated as a side dish that goes with a meal. For example, it’s something that people would eat with a roasted chicken (like you could have fries, or you can have potato chips instead). Or people really appreciate chips to accompany their sandwich at a picnic, or also when they’re having a BBQ. Chips go well with grilled food. The snack foods like Pringles and others are used for the ‘apéro’ (apéritif); that’s also why those munchies are called ‘gateaux apéro’ (gateaux apéritif), so it’s the kind of snack you have before the real meal. For example, when you have guests over for a dinner or so, you put cheese balls, Curlys, Pringles etc. on the table (usually you start the apéro not at the dinner table but at the coffee table) with a drink (wine, kir, beer and other alcohol). So snack foods like crackers or Pringles are really not something that a French person would use in a meal (although I guess it could happen but would be very uncommon). They head to the potato chip aisle for that!”
There are even a few French potato chips on the packaging of these chicken pieces:
Got it?
By the way, you say potato chips in French like “sheeps.” The French pronunciation is sh not ch and more or less just like the animal that says bahhh. Next time you’re on the hunt for a bag of potato chips in France, remember that they’re not with the Pringles!
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Have any foods in France surprised you? What French potato chips are your favorite?
Yes, it’s so funny. And the baking soda is in the aisle with salt, which is with vinegar, mustard, condiments, herbs and spices. Not with the baking stuff. Also to be found with cleaning supplies (in the bricolage section, with acetone).
And in my Super U, not all paper products are together. If I need toilet paper and paper towels, I have to walk to the other side of the store.
I had never noticed that! Isn’t it specific to the region where you live? I don’t remember having to look in different ailes for chips when I lived in Lille or Paris, and I never heard of French people considering chips as a side meal with roasted chicken…but Northern France is extreeeemely close to Belgium food-wise, and like us they definitely make “frites” with chicken so maybe they were the ones not eating like the majority of French people… I certainly did learn something today, thank you! 😉
That’s a great question and I have no idea. Let’s see if other people comment about the store layout in their area. I’m trying to think of stores outside of my region and nothing is coming to mind but every store around here separates the chips from the other snack food and the reason makes sense. I asked a few other people about the separation at the gym and they backed up what Tom said, but they are from the Pays de la Loire region too…. let’s see what other people say!
Can’t wait to read the other comments then! Have a nice evening! 🙂
I can’t say that I noticed this last time I was in France but I will be going over again soon (Pays de la Loire) so I will check it out.
As much as I love France and it’s food, can’t say I fancy roast chicken with crisps …..sorry Tom. 😉
They are certainly separate in the Saumur region of Pays de la Loire where I live. Cynically, I thought it was to get you to buy the more expensive snacks first, as the chips (crisps) are always further in to the supermarket!
I would like to say I get it but truth be told I don’t it is over my head but that may be because I am an Aussie I don’t know
So, the most shocking thing to me is that the French actually use Pringles, cheese balls, etc. for an apéro!!! Whaaaattt? When I lived in France in the 80’s, potato chips were not common, and certainly not Pringles or cheese balls. (btw, aren’t Pringles actually potato chips?)
Well it depends on the party. Sometimes people make finger food or put out olives and other things for apero but for a casual gathering, little munchies work just fine!
Every I go food shopping I always get lost no matter how many times I do it lol. I feel like I am playing hide n seek with my groceries LOL
Hahah that made me laugh. I usually end up in a hide and seek w/my husband. The damn hypermarkets are so huge that you can get lost for an hour and sometimes there’s no cell service in there. It’s like a cat and mouse game. I usually avoid the big stores at all costs so it’s much more manageable in smaller supermarkets.
Hahaha that’s so funny. I had another experience. I found the sweet biscuits and then wanted to find the savoury biscuits (which I prefer much more) and couldn’t understand why they didn’t have any… and then I finally understood that there was a separate apéro section for them. (and there are not that many to choose from). What the-? But I agree with you about the apéro snacks/chips aisle thing and using potato chips as an accompaniment.
On another note do you realise your title sounds very French? I do that too.. start speaking English like a French person.. I mean the fact that you’ve put the ‘where’ at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning.
Yes, the grocery store placement can be so weird sometimes. Glad you found your biscuits! And yes, I try to write somewhat interesting titles to switch it up sometimes. Where are the potato chips didn’t have as much flair. 😉 PS Your photos are beautiful!
I love trying to understand the ‘why?’. Food for thought indeed.
Sigh. I fell in love with Bret’s Comté chips when I was over in July. Wish I could get them in Toronto 🙁