If 7-Eleven Is Your Happy Place, These Grocery Stores Must Be On Your Radar

We all love Erewhon, don’t we? Popularised mainly by their singular $20 strawberries imported right from the fields of Japan, and Hailey Bieber’s TikTok-famous pink smoothie, Erewhon is like Walmart, but on steroids. As LA’s most popular grocery store, many consider it an insult to even call it that. It’s a tourist destination at best, unmissable for most first-time visitors to the city. I would go too, just to witness, in person, what all the hype is about (and perhaps see what’s so great about an INR 2,000 strawberry!). Beyond just Erewhon, travellers from all across are now travelling to South Korea, Japan and Singapore, just to partake in the 7-Eleven culture that’s erupted into a wildfire on social media.

Yes, I’m talking about the “Come with me to eat breakfast at a Korean convenience store,” kind of videos. Captivated by how these 24-hour stores sell all that one might need for every single meal of the day, tourists from all over the West are flocking to Asia for what wonders might be found in these iconic 7-Elevens.

Such is the curious case of grocery-store travel, punnily enough, termed as Shelf Discovery.

In recent times, food travel is all that tourists are really talking about. According to Agoda, it’s grown by over 31% since last year, which means foodies are travelling to the world’s most special culinary offerings, devouring them all. Shelf Discovery is just a subset of that: it’s a food-first way of travelling where travellers deliberately explore local supermarkets, mini-marts, and corner stores in the countries they’re visiting to learn about their culture through snacks, staples, and everyday packaging.

It basically reframes the idea of “eating like a local” into “shopping like a local,” because not everyone, except food connoisseurs, can eat like a local in reality. Because said grocery travel offers a taste of the authentic without breaking the bank, it has become a widespread trend since 2025. 

Social media has, of course, accelerated this craze (as it always does), with snack-hunting videos and supermarket hauls turning into mini travel guides for countries like South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Bali, and Vietnam. In fact, 73% Indian travellers claim to stop at convenience stores to try local staples whenever travelling abroad. For 60%, it’s a sensory experience in itself, to experience the magic of where they are.

So, if, like me, you also find yourself bewildered by the groceries of the world and where people are buying them, below is a list of five of the most sought-after stores for shelf discovery. Go with your bags empty, and pockets full!

Erewhon, Los Angeles, USA

At this point, Erewhon is less a grocery store and more a cultural movement of its own. Founded in 1966 as a small natural foods market rooted in the health-food movement, the Los Angeles-based luxury chain has since transformed into the internet’s most glamorous supermarket. Here, grocery shopping can feel suspiciously like a lifestyle aspiration that we all want to live up to.

While its premium produce and impeccably stocked organic aisles are certainly part of the appeal, the ready-to-eat section has become a real crowd-puller. From adaptogenic smoothies (cue: the Hailey Bieber one), skincare in the form of beverages, wellness tonics, probiotic sodas, meticulously packaged sushi, and a hot bar where even a simple salad somehow feels like it belongs at a fine-dining.

The now-famous Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie may have helped catapult the store into full social media stardom, but regulars also swear by the Buffalo Cauliflower, vegan sushi rolls, and the kind of green juices that promise to change your life—or at least your morning!

What makes this grocery store more than, well, a grocery stopover is how perfectly it captures a very specific flavour of Los Angeles. It’s wellness, celebrity culture, and luxury retail rolled into one highly photogenic grocery run. You either love it or hate it—there’s no middle.

Fortnum & Mason, London, UK

To sum this store up in a few, simple words, Fortnum & Mason is a perishable-good-stocked designer showroom. Or townhouse. You can pick your favourite.

Founded in 1707, this iconic British institution has spent over three centuries proving that grocery shopping can, in fact, be a very elegant and very curated affair. Walking through its many aisles feels less like entering a store and more like stepping into a beautifully preserved slice of London history. One where every biscuit tin, tea caddy, and hamper seems to have been arranged with royal approval (which, fittingly, it often has!).

Best known for its legendary tea selection, luxurious food halls, and famously extravagant wines and cheeses, Fortnum’s is where travellers come to stock up on quintessentially British indulgences. Think Royal Blend Tea, Scottish shortbread, artisanal marmalades, truffle-drenched pantry staples, and chocolates packaged so beautifully you’ll hesitate to open them. The Piccadilly flagship’s lower-ground food hall is particularly irresistible, with counters overflowing with cheeses, preserves, fresh pastries, and enough edible souvenirs to fill an extra suitcase and a half.

At Fortums, be prepared to browse through items that have served everyone from London aristocrats to curious tourists, all while surrounded by chandeliers, polished wood, and that unmistakable pastel eau-de-nil packaging. It’s luxurious groceries at their finest and most regal.

La Grande Épicerie de Paris, France

If a grocery store could ever make you absolutely weak in the knees, it would be La Grande Épicerie in Paris. Tucked inside Le Bon Marché department store, this gourmet food hall has been a temple for food lovers since 1923. The idea is simple: transforming something as ordinary as supermarket shopping into an undeniably (and arguably, unnecessarily) chic Parisian affair.

Spread across beautifully curated aisles, La Grande Épicerie is where locals and tourists come to browse the very best of French—and international—gastronomy. On the shelves, you’ll find towering displays of butter (most popular is the handmade Maison Bordier butter), 1000 types of cheese, freshly baked baguettes that demand to be carried under your arm, an entire section dedicated to French chocolates and caramels, and endless jars of Dijon mustard and truffle oil (and more, of course). The in-house counters are just as irresistible, serving fresh pastries, made-to-order sandwiches, seafood, and takeaway meals that seem less takeaway and more gourmet.

La Grande Épicerie de Paris practically defines haute cuisine for the French, and it might just be fancier than even your fav boutiques!

7-Eleven Japan, South Korea & Thailand

This list would, of course, be absolutely incomplete sans a mention of 7-Eleven: arguably the most documented, visited, and loved grocery store in all of the world. And no, it’s not just because of the pantry staples. It’s because 7-Eleven offers a whole experience of its own that can never be found anywhere else in the world. From make-your-own beverages to a wide selection of toasties, sandwiches, ramen, and even sushi, everything you could imagine (and more) finds its home in 7-Eleven.

In Japan, 7-Eleven is a national treasure. There’s nothing you could want that this store wouldn’t have. And that’s exactly why hundreds of thousands of tourists flock there as a major pitstop on their list of places to visit in Japan. Need a perfectly packed egg salad sandwich, a steaming bowl of instant ramen prepared right there, onigiri for the train, or even a fluffy pancake dorayaki at 2 a.m.? They’ve got you. The food is fresh, affordable, and somehow always better than it has any right to be. Entire online communities are dedicated to ranking Japanese 7-Eleven snacks, and honestly, they’re justified.​

Meanwhile, in South Korea, convenience-store culture has become a social activity of its own. It’s not unusual to see people grabbing instant noodles, heating them up in-store, and sitting outside with a banana milk-flavoured iced Americano, like it’s a casual café outing. The triangle kimbap, flavoured milks in colours you didn’t know you wanted, and ready-to-eat lunchboxes make every visit feel exciting. For many travellers, a late-night 7-Eleven run in Seoul has become just as essential as visiting the city’s other tourist destinations.

And in Thailand, 7-Eleven is almost omnipresent. There’s one in every nook and cranny, ready to rescue you with a generous selection of cheese toasties, iced Thai tea, basil fried rice, sticky rice treats, after a long, humid day of sightseeing.

The best part is, there are 7-Elevens present in the most unexpected of places. From one perched atop Mount Fuji, at the base of the Mayon Volcano, to the ones that function as open-air bars in Hong Kong, it’s basically beyond imagination and the limits of what’s possible. If grocery tourism had a global headquarters, it would probably be here.

Peck, Milan, Italy 

If Italy had a grocery store equivalent of quiet luxury, it would be Peck. Founded in 1883 by charcutier Francesco Peck from Prague, this Milanese institution has been feeding the city’s food obsessives for well over a century. Fun fact: Peck first gained attention, particularly for its smoked meats.

​Spread across multiple floors in central Milan, Peck is a delicatessen where you go when you want to experience Italy’s culinary excellence all in one place. There are endless counters of aged Parmigiano wheels, ribbons of freshly sliced prosciutto, shelves lined with artisanal pastas and olive oils, and a wine cellar so extensive it could derail your entire food-filled itinerary. The prepared foods section is just as dangerous, filled with fresh focaccia, delicate pastries, handmade chocolates, and enough antipasti to make you seriously consider cancelling your restaurant reservations!

​What makes Peck especially irresistible is that it feels very nascent and local. Milanese shoppers stop by for their favourite cheeses and cured meats, while travellers wander the aisles in awe, trying to decide how much balsamic vinegar can reasonably fit in hand luggage. For those not in Italy, fortunately for you, Peck also has outposts both in Japan and Singapore.

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