# English Products in Spain



## RichieF (Jul 15, 2015)

Hi Guys,

We are moving to Spain in October, and will be between Benalmadena & Torremolinos with Lidl very close to where we will live.

I've seen the posts about baked beans lol but knowing what you guys (and gals) know what products would you stock up while still in the UK, before the move to Spain?

Thanks


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## Simon22 (May 22, 2015)

I haven't found anything I can't get here from the UK. No sign of TimTams or Vegemite but UK stuff is available just more expensive.


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

RichieF said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> We are moving to Spain in October, and will be between Benalmadena & Torremolinos with Lidl very close to where we will live.
> 
> ...


Hi I guess if you drink tea , teabags might be worth bringing , they can be quite expensive in some places !

Good luck with the move !

Tony


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I get Morrisons teabags every few months from a friend who works in Gibraltar. The teabags usually sold in Spain are the silly little ones attached to a cardboard tag. Loose tea I've never seen (but I don't live in a Brit zone).

The other day I bought an expensive jar of Branston pickle as a present for my husband who is rather partial to it.

The only "English" products I stock up on while I'm in the UK are certain Asian spices - cardamoms, star anise, tandoori powder etc. 

Everything else is either available in Spain or there is a Spanish product which does the same job.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Simon22 said:


> I haven't found anything I can't get here from the UK. No sign of TimTams or Vegemite but UK stuff is available just more expensive.


Do you not think that stuff imported from Oz would be even more expensive??


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## Simon22 (May 22, 2015)

baldilocks said:


> Do you not think that stuff imported from Oz would be even more expensive??


Yes, I'm sure they would be, the point is no-one is importing them. Not the demand I suppose. I'm not worried, I am finding new Spanish food I like so am not hanging out for Aussie food.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Where you are planning on living is close to Fuengirola where there is an "Iceland" store which stocks (at a price) most things that you might want and can't wean yourself off. Also in the seafront at Fuengirola is the best fish and chips on the CdS at a place called Crispy Cod.


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## ddrysdale99 (Apr 3, 2014)

There's an M&S food store at La Canada (?) just your side of Marbella and Gibraltar isn't too far and there's a big Morrisons there.


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## Catzoooo (Mar 31, 2015)

Can I ask about dog food here? I am moving to Murcia mid August with 2 picky poodles. Is there a Pets-at-home type pet supermarket with a good range of the higher meat content dog foods?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Where I live there are no English products whatsoever, so whatever we need and cannot obtain here, we make our own or do without. Sometimes do have stuff sent from the U.K. but not often, parsnip seeds and bolts for canarian wooden beds were the last items.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Catzoooo said:


> Can I ask about dog food here? I am moving to Murcia mid August with 2 picky poodles. Is there a Pets-at-home type pet supermarket with a good range of the higher meat content dog foods?


Yes, all over Spain there are plenty of pet stores, like Animalia, and online suppliers that do free delivery like Don Mascota. Also nearly every vet sells the quality foods.

Take a look and see if you recognise any brands.
Comida para Perros


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## RichieF (Jul 15, 2015)

Thanks for your help guys. No need to stock up then


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Tea*



Alcalaina said:


> I get Morrisons teabags every few months from a friend who works in Gibraltar. The teabags usually sold in Spain are the silly little ones attached to a cardboard tag. Loose tea I've never seen (but I don't live in a Brit zone).
> 
> The other day I bought an expensive jar of Branston pickle as a present for my husband who is rather partial to it.
> 
> ...


The hipercor in el corte in Cadiz sells twining, both the loose leaf and the bags.it also sells Branston pickle and doesn't seem very expensive. In the central market, there is a stall selling every loose leaf tea that you can imagine and across from the market on the side of Carrefour, there is a bar/cafe called le poeme that also sells a multitude of teas plus some lovely cakes made by the Italian husband of the French owner. Closed on Mondays, but most of the central market is too.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Justina said:


> The hipercor in el corte in Cadiz sells twining, both the loose leaf and the bags.it also sells Branston pickle and doesn't seem very expensive. In the central market, there is a stall selling every loose leaf tea that you can imagine and across from the market on the side of Carrefour, there is a bar/cafe called le poeme that also sells a multitude of teas plus some lovely cakes made by the Italian husband of the French owner. Closed on Mondays, but most of the central market is too.


Thank you, I can see there are definite advantages to living in the capital rather than the pueblo!


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## Catzoooo (Mar 31, 2015)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, all over Spain there are plenty of pet stores, like Animalia, and online suppliers that do free delivery like Don Mascota. Also nearly every vet sells the quality foods.
> 
> Take a look and see if you recognise any brands.
> Comida para Perros


Ooh thank you. A bit cheaper than UK prices too. I don't need to stock up too much for the drive down then x


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## dream4 (Jul 16, 2015)

I've been using a group on facebook called - Expat Shopping Group. You can order groceries from the UK supermarkets like Asda, Tesco etc delivered to Spain. I also use them for stuff of Amazon and Ebay UK and buy from sellers that don't post out to Spain.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Thank you, I can see there are definite advantages to living in the capital rather than the pueblo!


But, they definitely don't outweigh the advantages of living in pleasant smog-free surrounds among warm friendly people. Pueblo every time for me. There will always be somebody who is going to the likes of Iceland who says "Is there anything you need?"


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> But, they definitely don't outweigh the advantages of living in pleasant smog-free surrounds among warm friendly people. Pueblo every time for me. There will always be somebody who is going to the likes of Iceland who says "Is there anything you need?"


 Are there no 'warm and friendly' people in Barcelona, Madrid or Benidorm, then, Baldy? I seem to remember people being very friendly, warm and helpful when I last visited Barcelona. 
My pueblo has a registered population of 1008(!) but I'm pretty sure there are some miserable, anti-social, curmudgeonly old sods living there..
And there's me....
Incidentally, I was a bit taken aback recently to learn that two complete strangers we met whilst dog walking in our village knew quite a lot about us.....they knew that my son has property here, that we are connected with ADANA and that I am a PSOE 'militante'.
(That always reminds me of 'Millie Tant' the cartoon lefty character in 'Viz' comic).


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Are there no 'warm and friendly' people in *Barcelona*, Madrid or Benidorm, then, Baldy? I seem to remember people being very friendly, warm and helpful when I last visited *Barcelona*


Not according to the m-i-l of SWMBO's cousin who has lived there for 20 years. According to her she had been spoken to and greeted more in the three days they stayed with us than she had in 20 years where they are, and that includes her neighbours as well.. That, in my experience, applies to most cities and large towns.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> Not according to the m-i-l of SWMBO's cousin who has lived there for 20 years. According to her she had been spoken to and greeted more in the three days they stayed with us than she had in 20 years where they are, and that includes her neighbours as well.. That, in my experience, applies to most cities and large towns.


Not mine, though. I've lived most of my life in small towns in rural areas with twelve years in London, north London and honestly can't say I noticed much difference.
Londoners are, or were, very cheerful, friendly people but apart from regular visits I haven't actually lived in London foryears, maybe things have changed.
Big cities are often in fact made up of small villages, closely- knit communities with a vibrant social life.
In my experience, it is a myth that smaller towns and villages are more friendly. Just because people know everything about you doesn't mean they like you.
My grandmother used to pass the time of day with an equally aged neighbour when they met in the street. After she'd tottered on her way, my gran would snort derisively in her direction and relate how, during the war, the woman had 'carried on' with the Yanks while her husband was away fighting the Japs. Another neighbour was vilified for his black market activities during the war. All this some forty years later.
My gran was not unique. Other old biddies made similar comments.

Btw, the last smog in the UK was in the 1960s, wasn't it?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

During my time in Spain I managed to almost completely do away with any necessity for any UK products. I missed Marmite and Swede and Parsnips for a while but I soon got over it!! After all, 99% of Spanish food is far better that British food anyway.

I even stopped drinking tea!

One thing I cannot be without however is TCP for those minor injuries / bites / stings.

In Spain they use something called Mecromina as an antiseptic but it doesn/t even sting when you put it on! How can it work if it doesn't sting?!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Overandout said:


> During my time in Spain I managed to almost completely do away with any necessity for any UK products. I missed Marmite and Swede and Parsnips for a while but I soon got over it!! After all, 99% of Spanish food is far better that British food anyway.
> 
> I even stopped drinking tea!
> 
> ...


Tom Cat's Pee!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Btw, the last smog in the UK was in the 1960s, wasn't it?


The 50s as I recall from my extremely close encounter with a concrete lamp standard which, because it was the same colour as the smog, was rendered invisible - it was also extremely painful.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

baldilocks said:


> The 50s as I recall from my extremely close encounter with a concrete lamp standard which, because it was the same colour as the smog, was rendered invisible - it was also extremely painful.


Air quality in the Czech Republic was dreadful. People in our village used to burn the kind of coal banned in most civilised countries years ago, the kind that produces thick black yellowish smoke. They also burned plastic bottles, can you believe...
Add that to the pollution from the socialist era chemical plant built deliberately, some said, next to a charming baroque castle....
Living in Prague for three years involved bringing a lot of foodstuffs from the UK each week as local products were awful. I used to bring coffee beans, cheese, sausages and Quorn stuff for Sandra. I don't think there's any UK foods I miss in Spain. The ones I occasionally have a hankering for, like Mars bars and that sticky Cadbury's caramel choc bar I am better off without anyway.
We both like Santa Cristina coffee beans, I like Manchego cheese and jamon serrano and we get our Quorn from friends who go to Gib or my dil on her frequent weekend visits.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Simon22 said:


> I haven't found anything I can't get here from the UK. No sign of TimTams or Vegemite but UK stuff is available just more expensive.


You can buy vegemite and timtams on amazon.uk. Not sure how the TT would hold up in the post with the heat though.
They will even deliver real beer to Spain too.


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