From spice markets to snack aisles: The rise of grocery tourism among Indian travellers

Karthika Ganapathy, a Chennai-based concern professional, has respective culinary-focussed Google Lists on-hand. From ingredients and snacks to meats and cookware, she whips retired these lists erstwhile connected vacation oregon shares them with a travelling person who tin assistance her cheque disconnected must-buys. 

Read much | Supermarket tourism offers an penetration into section culture

‘Will question for food’ is agelong past conscionable a slogan connected a T-shirt, with respective travellers similar Karthika tailoring their itineraries solely astir a region’s culinary offerings. Once termed ‘grocery tourism’, the caller hashtag is ‘Shelf Discovery’ with Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2026 study noting a emergence successful travellers exploring market stores to acquisition destinations. Travel predictions for this twelvemonth by booking.com see a roar successful ‘Shelfie Souvenirs,’ oregon market finds that regenerate accepted keepsakes, fixed that 84% of Indian travellers are unfastened to buying design-led room oregon pantry staples erstwhile connected holiday.

Southeast Asia and West Asia are Karthika’s favoured destinations. “When visiting the former, I store for section ramen, pandan leaves that are my go-to for baking, caller ube, and more. I person lived successful West Asia for a portion and inactive root my zaatar, dates and roseate h2o from trusted vendors there. On holiday, I ever acceptable speech 1 suitcase to bring backmost specified delicacies,” she says, adding that a roadworthy travel crossed the Northeast past twelvemonth had her glued to section markets. “I shopped for spices similar dried chillies, gondhoraj limes, greens, and bamboo shoots. and would navigator successful my Airbnb. I ever inquire my hosts for recommendations and adjacent inquire locals and chefs for suggestions for lesser-known ingredients oregon restaurants to visit.”  

For Mumbai-based Thomas Zacharias, this mode of exploring cities has ever been a portion of his learnings arsenic a chef. Long earlier helium started The Locavore — a level that champions determination nutrient cultures via storytelling, assemblage events — Thomas says helium was “drawn to markets due to the fact that they felt similar the astir honorable mode into the nutrient civilization of a place”. “You tin devour astatine restaurants to recognize a cuisine, but if you truly privation to recognize however a spot and its radical eat, you spell to its markets. You look astatine what radical are buying, what is successful season, what feels abundant, what is being displayed proudly, and what is softly disappearing.”

This learning, helium says, inevitably finds its mode backmost into however helium cooks, what helium writes about, and the enactment astatine The Locavore. The second reflects successful Chef connected the Road, wherein Thomas takes tiny groups of travellers connected journeys to research however ‘food really lives successful circumstantial landscapes, seasons, and communities’.

Read much | Chef Thomas Zacharias connected his culinary tours and the nutrient souvenirs helium brings back

“This twelvemonth alone, we’ve done 3 specified trips, to Maharashtra, Mishmi Hills successful Arunachal Pradesh, and to Jharkhand during the Mahua harvest. In each of these, markets, farms, producers, and section nutrient economies are central, not arsenic sightseeing, but arsenic a mode of helping radical recognize nutrient much deeply,” explains Thomas, who, aft his clip successful the US, travelled done France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. “Those trips were shaped astir wholly by food. I spent clip successful markets, bakeries, tiny stores, farms, and neighbourhood nutrient spaces. That was my mode of knowing a culture.”

Writer Anubhuti Krishna who besides helms the experiential level Lucknow with Anubhuti (₹15,000 per idiosyncratic for a two-day tour), says she has noticed an absorbing displacement successful radical travelling for nutrient experiences. As portion of a nutrient and aromatics circuit organised successful Delhi and Lucknow this March, she took a radical of Indian and planetary travellers connected the Lucknow leg. “We visited attar shops, perfumeries, and organised meals that highlighted however aromatics specified arsenic clove, mace, and nutmeg are cardinal to Lucknowi cuisine. In fact, adjacent kebabs are infused with vetiver and sandalwood,” says Anubhuti, adding that the radical was taken to section markets to store for spices. “Guests bask visiting section markets to bargain namkeen (dal moth, namak paras), mithais (motichoor ladoos), spices (buknu, kebab masala), and attar. In the winter, sweets similar gajak and revdi are popular.”

Down South, Jayanti Rajagopalan has been hosting metropolis and culinary tours successful Hyderabad since 2008. Named Detours India, the outfit besides showcases India to tourists done food. “I research the connections betwixt nutrient and culture, geography, and history.” Her annual Khanasutra festival takes travellers crossed 3-4 cities, and this twelvemonth it volition beryllium held successful November and guests volition research Hyderabad, Puri, Amritsar, and Uttarakhand.

Read much | Chefs uncover the champion meals they ate connected their travels

“These tours are not conscionable astir eating, but knowing the state better. Most clients bask nutrient walks (₹4,000 per person) that impact a cooking acquisition astatine a local’s home. Post this, they are keen connected buying the utensils, ingredients and nutrient alternatively than packaged worldly astatine the airport. Popular items connected their buying lists see tiffin boxes, masala dabbas, and spices similar gongura for which we instrumentality them to section shops,” says Jayanti, whose tours see experiences specified arsenic learning however tandoors are made successful Amritsar, chatting up women astatine an Ahmedabad cooperative who speech astir however their quality to navigator is empowering successful trying household situations, oregon learning the nexus betwixt nutrient and wellness astatine an Ayurveda centre successful Kerala.  

The inclination is picking up among hospitality majors too. For instance, astatine The Four Seasons successful Jimbaran Bay, Bali, ‘A Day successful the Life of a Jimbaran Fisherman’ circuit takes guests connected a seven-hour acquisition connected a accepted vessel to larn section sportfishing techniques. This includes a halt astatine the section Kedonganan Fish Market to take ingredients to navigator backmost astatine the resort’s Jala Cooking Academy. Closer home, The Lotus Palace Chettinad launched Suvaii past year: a three-day immersive culinary festival that comprised elaborate wedding-style feasts, talks connected heirloom recipes, accepted cooking methods, distinctive cookware, and more.

Anubhuti explains however this inclination is evolving and present galore seasoned chefs motion up for the tours to research lesser-known delicacies. “We person hosted cook teams from restaurants wrong India specified arsenic Masque, and planetary outposts specified arsenic Dishoom successful the UK, and Semma successful New York.” For Thomas, learnings from his autarkic sojourns person recovered their mode backmost into his cooking. “I retrieve spotting tiny marble-sized section potatoes successful a marketplace successful Assam’s Dibrugarh, which yet inspired a dish, guti aloo kulambu. In Indore, discovering the jeeravan spice premix led to a bhutte ka kees-inspired dish, and tasting kalari food successful Srinagar resulted successful a fritter connected the paper astatine The Bombay Canteen.” 

Thomas says it is important not to assistance thing straight retired of context, “but to walk clip knowing it”. “If I’m trying to recreate a dish, I’ll archetypal bring backmost the ingredients, fig retired sourcing, and navigator it arsenic faithfully arsenic possible. Only aft that bash I commencement interpreting oregon adapting it. So portion the starting constituent is often a marketplace oregon a azygous ingredient, what it truly becomes is simply a longer process: of understanding, translating, and dilatory gathering it into my ain cooking.” 

For Delhi-based backstage cook Khaja Zafarullah, besides known arsenic Zafar, his tryst with support find began by mishap 25 years agone erstwhile helium picked up sumac, Marash peppers, and baklava astatine a marketplace successful Istanbul. “After this trip, each clip I went to a antithetic country, I would spell to a store oregon marketplace and prime up section cheese, spices, and cured meats which I would bring backmost and usage successful my kitchen,” says Zafar, who has been connected respective culinary-led journeys with experts successful the field. These see trips to Georgia and Thailand with cookbook writer Naomi Daguid; with British writer Fuchsia Dunlop to Yunnan; to sanction a few.

He explains, “These trips astir ever see a sojourn to markets oregon specialty stores. On immoderate of these tours, we instrumentality cooking classes, which besides springiness america an accidental to larn astir and bring backmost specialised ingredients similar wagyu beef from Japan, and agelong pepper, caller bay leaves, sausage and dried nutrient from Mehalaya.” Some of his astir absorbing finds see hand-harvested fennel pollen from California that helium uses sparingly connected crystal creams and salads, Sichuan dried nutrient from Yunnan, uncommon chilhuacle chillies recovered lone successful Oaxaca, Mexico, that Zafar uses to marque mole and barbacoa. 

Kitchen essentials

Alongside caller nutrient and adust snacks, utensils and accepted cookware besides diagnostic connected the buying lists of culinary-focussed travellers. Zafar, for example, has picked up crockery, glasses, knives, and room tools from astir the world. “I person a specialised truffle shaver, food knives circumstantial to peculiar cheeses, and beautifully glazed bowls. In India, I emotion visiting cottage industries: weavers for tablecloths and napkins, potters for tableware and bowls.” 

Pots, pans, and baking trays diagnostic connected Karthika’s Google lists. “I store for ceramics, aged pyrex ware, crystal ware, and more. I americium inactive connected the lookout for oreshki pans (walnut cooky pans), a German obsttorte (fruit flan) pan, and a formed robust waffle pan. These aren’t costly buys, but are circumstantial kitchenware I support an oculus retired for.”

Read much | Discover the hidden culinary gems of Lucknow with Anubhuti Krishna

Akin to Thomas who precocious picked up a mortar and pestle successful Vietnam made of coconut wood. “It’s simple, but works beautifully, and carries with it a representation of wherever it came from. You can’t afloat recognize the nutrient without knowing the vas it is cooked in, and accepted cookware carries technique, but besides representation and rhythm,” helium says, adding that whether it’s an earthen pot, a fermentation jar, a peculiar benignant of pan, oregon adjacent a precise circumstantial ladle, these tools signifier flavour, texture, and process successful ways we often overlook. 

Getting backmost from a abrogation with a container afloat of edible souvenirs is simply a dream, but fixed existent times wherever aerial fares are soaring arsenic are freight costs, practicality comes into the picture. “The information that astir everything is disposable online these days is simply a treble whammy: connected 1 manus it takes retired the amusive of accidental experiencing a snack being made successful beforehand of you, and connected the different hand, ordering online saves 1 the hassle of lugging it backmost home. Domestic baggage limits are a hindrance, and spillage issues arsenic well,” says Jayanti, who prefers buying each consumables specified arsenic olive oil, saffron, and paprika from a section supermarket alternatively than astatine the airport.

If you are readying to caput retired connected a akin culinary trail, these experts urge taking 1 happening with you: an unfastened mind. “I don’t similar going with a fixed idea; I similar to browse done the aisles and find unsocial ingredients. I was successful Chiang Mai and recovered pineapple Kit Kat. Who knew? If you person a buying list, fine, but instrumentality the clip to dilatory down and browse without an agenda; you ne'er cognize what you mightiness find. In the end, it is not conscionable astir going buying for ingredients; but knowing their stories and the past they carry,” concludes Zafar.