Ola Uruguay Real Estate and Investments

In Uruguay, you will not find droves of coupon clipping shoppers discussing weekly specials at grocery stores. Marketing is not that complicated or convoluted, thankfully. Certainly, to promote customer loyalty, the larger supermarkets offer a points program where each purchase gives you a few points on your membership card and then, in time, can be redeemed for other products. But if you shop at Disco, Devoto, or Tienda Inglesa, you will not save money, even if you read their sales flyer each week with care to try to save pesos. In Uruguay, there are three keys to cutting costs on your weekly grocery bill.

First, eat traditionally. As foreigners, we might be used to boxed cereals, pancake syrup, and other processed foods that our taste buds have grown to like over the years, but here, a 400 gram box of name brand cereal could cost you more than $6 dollars. Find a Uruguayan equivalent. There are lots of healthy food stores here that pre-pack bulk cereal. In them you can usually find, among other snacks, a great brand called Granix that makes very good cereal. In particular, there is a whole grain oat cereal shaped like a pillow that is better than any I have tasted.

With sauces and other condiments, such as barbeque sauce or salad dressing, that cost an arm and a leg in the supermarket, you can often download a recipe from the net to make at home, or you can try other local sauces and condiments. I have grown to love a chimichurri sauce that is slightly pickled. I use it to marinate chicken, and it is wonderful.

Next, eat locally. Unlike the big North, where large chains have the monopoly on the market and can undercut the little guys, Urguayan “feriantes”, the stall owners at the feria, can often undercut supermarkets by as much as 33%. Make your local street market the place where you do most of your grocery shopping. The stall owners pay almost no rent or utilities and have small overheads, so they can afford a smaller markup than the supermarkets.

To ensure that you are saving money, go early before it gets too crowded. The stalls start setting up at about eight in the morning; some even earlier. In our area, we have ferias every day of the week except for Monday. Our two closest ferias are on Tuesday and Saturday. Although we have essentially the same stalls both days, I find that the Tuesday market is about 10% cheaper. You may find this in your area also. In addition, prices may vary based on your neighborhood. I have found that the Villa Biaritz market on Saturday is more expensive than our market in Cordon. The Sunday market at Tristan Narvaja is by far the cheapest, yet the produce is not always up to standard, and with so many shoppers, it can be hard to move through the crowds with bags of groceries. I also prefer our local feria where the feriantes greet me with, “Good day, neighbor.”

Becoming a regular is important. Choose a stall where the price and service are good and become a repeat customer. In the stall that I frequent, I go to the same great guy each week who gives an orange to my daughter to help her bide time as she waits. He carefully notes down my purchases and doesn’t mind that I take a minute to revise the list item-by-item to ensure there are no mistakes. They say that feriante can be sneaky, and on occasion, I have had found errors, but with a developed friendly relationship, the possibility is much less, and if something does happen, the feriantes are quick to right the error. Your repeat business means a lot to them. In addition, as a regular, you can ask that your produce be delivered to your door for the cost of a small tip.

Cheese and dairy products are also a better deal at the feria. The dairy stall owners purchase directly from the producers in most cases and always have a low priced cheese that is good for cooking. Of course, you can ask to try any cheese to ensure that it has the qualities you are looking for. Jams and other spreads are for purchase at the dairy stalls. Bring your own container to avoid having to transfer the sticky stuff from a plastic bag when you get home. Although you will not find a standard butcher shop, there are stalls that sell meat products. Try small amounts at first as the quality varies immensely. We purchase specialty meats on occasion but prefer the confidence that we have with our local butcher. Fish is always a good choice. Dry goods and paper products are also much cheaper at the feria. Some of them have been brought in illegally from Brazil but their quality is okay. You can find Brazilian copies of some of your favorite sauces. Just be sure to check the expiry date on sensitive items.

Another good tip: Eat what is in season. All “feriantes” purchase their produce from the same huge market at four in the morning on the day of the feria. They choose between different qualities and varieties of produce based on what is available that day. Again, with so much grown locally, prices vary based on the season. When I shop, I think about the concept of the Hundred Mile Diet, which purports that one can be healthier, eating food from within 100 miles of their residence. Most produce is grown within 100 miles of Montevideo and, because of import taxes, local, in-season produce is always most reasonable. Our family eats what is in season. When it’s tomatoes, they find it in everything—soups, salads, sandwiches… I sometimes even freeze some to use later when the price rises.

I usually spend about 1,000 pesos a week at the feria, and supplement our basic diet with meat from the butchers, bread from the bakery, and milk from the corner store. I love to think that we are eating a diet that is based on an abundance of fresh seasonal produce. I think we are much healthier, lighter, and we do not miss the starchy factory flavors of processed food from the north.