Everything about grocery shopping in Morocco
Where to buy groceries in Morocco? The most popular shopping places in Morocco are corner stores, referred locally to as a hanout (grocery in Arabic). Interestingly, Morocco’s most used spice mix is called “Ras el hanout”, meaning the “head of the store”.
I love buying from the street hanouts where I can purchase essential products: food, snacks, soft drinks, and cleaning products. There are different small stores/hanouts for specific products — E.G., to buy poultry, other meat, vegetables, bread, olives etc. In the chicken store, chickens are often brought alive and kept in cages until sold. I had to wait several times for the hen to be beheaded, plucked and eviscerated in front of me.
There are no written prices in hanout, but usually, nobody tries to deceive you and tells you the correct cost. Unfortunately, in most hanouts, you cannot pay by bank card.
Where to buy cigarettes? You can buy cigarettes only in hanouts with a special blue sign. Cigarettes are also sold in supermarkets or in the streets by local vendors.
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SUPERMARKETS
Morocco has four leading supermarkets: French Carrefour, Spanish Atacadao, Moroccan Marjane, Aswak Assalam and Bim (the cheapest one). All supermarkets are located outside the city’s Medina. Carrefour is a more expensive supermarket. There will be a broader selection of imported Western goods and pork products.
If you need to buy glossaries and things like hangers, electronic equipment, pans etc., head to the Marjane supermarket. In Marrakech, the biggest one is located on the road to Casablanca. Next to it, you can find Electroplanet and the sportswear store Decathlon.
The Aswak Assalam is cheaper than the Carrefour and Marjane supermarkets, but other than that, they have the same products. Atacadao is specialised self-service wholesale for individuals and professionals, with regular promotions. This supermarket is located outside Marrakech, on the road to Fez.
In 2016, the Moroccan parliament banned the production and use of plastic bags; paper bags are used instead of plastic bags.
Of the big supermarkets, only Atacadao and Carrefour have a license to sell alcohol and specialised alcohol stores all over the town. In supermarkets, you can also pay with international bank cards. More about where to buy alcohol in Morocco you can be read in my article What alcohol to buy in Morocco?.
