I went shopping in the USA and Germany. The difference shocked me.

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I live in Scotland and as soon as you said $4 for a loaf of bread, I was like, 'Holy sh1t!' Seriously? How can prices be that high for such a basic item in the USA? I would be raging if bread was that expensive in the shops here. And they grow wheat in that country don't they?

When I moved to Sweden, 15 years ago, food costs were 15-20% higher in Sweden. Now, Sweden is 10-15 % cheaper than in the US. Given that Sweden imports much of it's food, it shouldn't be that kind of difference.

As a German, I struggle a lot with the inflation. I'm very poor due to health issues, and already had just enough money to get by before the prices rose. Now it's crazy! I only shop at discounters like Aldi or Lidl, and I don't buy the expensive brands that were shown in this video. In the past, I could fill a shopping cart entirely for about 30 Euros per week. Now the cart is only half full or less, and I have to pay about 50 Euros for the same items I always shop. The bread I usually buy, cost 89 cents in the past, while it's 1,49 euros now. That's almost 60 cents more! A can of beans that used to be 39 or 49 cents now costs 89 cents, a can of corn that was 49 cents before now costs 99 cents. A pack of spaghetti for formerly 39 cents now costs 99 cents as well. Flour that used to be half the price is now around 1 euro. Even the price for bottled water went up by about 10 cents per bottle. Don't even mention fresh fruits and veggies! I now usually only take what's on sale that week instead of what I'd want to buy, because I just can't afford things that are double or more the price they used to be. I'm lucky I don't eat any meat products. This has happened to so many items, that it adds up insanely. That being said, I was always shocked at the prices in the U.S., inflation or not. Especially when I saw videos about the prices for fresh fruits and vegetables in the U.S., for example. If I lived there, I wouldn't even be able to afford apples on a regular basis! That's very sad! In this video here, the 4 dollars for a loaf of simple, white bread, which doesn't even have nutrients, is mad! Wow! I'd starve if the little money I have to get by with was the same in the U.S. as it is here.

I’d love to know how much is actually cost of production and how much is corporations padding their pockets - especially for more processed foods. Here in the US the profit margins of some of these massive food corporations is shocking!!

I lived in Hamburg Germany in 2019 and 2020, then moved to Cincinnati Ohio. My grocery bill, buying the same group of food products, was double in the United States. I shopped at Rewe in Hamburg and Meijer or Kroger in Cincy, middle of the road retailers. If you add in beer/wine on top of that, those products are also 2x+ more expensive in the US.

What you have to consider is that Ashton bought expensive brands in Germany which are about 40% more expensive than the no name products with the SAME quality. I've just bought Bananas for 1€/kg. Moreover Rewe is a rather expensive store. I have no idea how this compares to the American store, though.

Think using Aldi would be a better comperasion for doing this kind of price cost comperassions, as its a store that you can find in the US and Germany, and hence better compare the products more fairly with the same products up against each other.

I’ve lived in both Germany and USA my whole life. Some things are cheaper in each. Overall groceries are a bit cheaper in Germany but not nearly as much as 10 years ago. Aldi and Lidl have helped bring down prices in the USA tremendously.

You ignore the fact that "standard" food quality in Europe equals organic food in US. US meat is polluted with hormones, US eggs are produced far beyond EU standards, and the list of additives in close to everything speaks louder than the price

worth mentioning that usually when I go shopping in REWE I end up paying around 30% more than me buying stuff in LIDL. This is not only caused by price differences though, but also by buying more expensive stuff because of the presentation etc.

I live in San Antonio, TX and work at a massive grocery store here in south Texas (HEB). Was in Munich for a week last year and shopped at REWE that whole week. Can confirm this video is 100% spot on, in terms of the sharp difference in price, and not to mention, the difference in quality. Germany has a massive advantage, especially if you shop at discount stores, or even maybe the Turkish grocery stores

What also is a pretty big difference between Germany and other EU countries and the US is that Food is generally more healthy than in the US especially if you compare bread or the strange stuff that is called bread in the us

Considering that discount supermarkets and their cheaper store brands are such a huge segment of the market in Germany, this comparison probably does not really reflect the shopping habits of most people, e.g. I bought a carton of 10 large eggs at Lidl the other day for 2.29. I've also never found any additional value in buying Golden Toast products over the much cheaper store brands. Also, I noticed that you bought "organically" grown bananas in Germany. Was this also the case with the Dole bananas in the US? Anyway, it's not easy to meaningfully compare products across very different markets and I appreciate the effort. It's certainly an interesting topic.

Being a U.S. supermarket junkie for many years, I’ve been exploring/comparing the grocery scene in both eastern and western Europe now for several months, I’ve come to a few conclusions. In general, staples (milk, bread, eggs, potatoes, apples,water) and wines - are much more affordable, available,and likely higher quality in Europe vs the U.S. Other non-staple items not so much. Cereals, snacks, meats, seafood , can be as expensive in Europe as the U.S. Where the U.S. excels is in specialty items, variety, and also big box stores, I.e. Costco! When compared to the Paris Costco,U.S. Costcos are light years ahead in every way. But at the end of the day, I’d rather have a 1 Euro French baguette than $4 Sara Lee any day.

A Canadian situation shows that food prices rose faster than general inflation, AND that the major grocery store chains' profits rose even faster... The grocery CEO's also made HUGE salaries, too, so... IT'S CAPITALISM & GREED! Studies found no intrinsic driver for the overly-rapid food price increases, the only cause was profit.

In the U.S. bird flu heavily impacted egg prices for a period of time as the supply was much smaller. Once new hens were raised to replace the ones eliminated, the prices dropped. Costs for farmers (including heating and cooling for chicken living, feed, regulations to cull all of the birds if one is sick) and transport to stores have impacted prices. I'm in the South which is closer to ports where bananas arrive.

Your videos are absolutely amazing: high quality, well researched, very objective, professionally edited and presented, interesting and educational - and for us as a Canadian-German couple - very relatable. Please keep doing what you’re doing - so we can enjoy more of your amazing, insightful presentations! ❤

I lived in the US my whole life until moving to Sweden a bit over a year ago. In the last several years, even before the pandemic, food prices in the US had started to significantly rise before everything went up insanely during/after COVID. In the area I had lived, I was spending around $200 a week at the grocery store, and I live alone! The financial strain along with my ridiculously overpriced rent was difficult to deal with, even choosing discount stores and cheaper items wasn't enough so quantity had to be sacrificed. In Sweden, I spend about 1/3 of that on groceries each week, and along with lower rent, it leaves me with a comfortable amount of savings. Now I actually feel like I have a chance to make it in life, maybe even buy my own home in a few more years. More importantly though, I'm happier and healthier than ever, and having access to affordable high-quality foods probably played a huge role in that.

In most states in the US, including California where I live, sales tax is not applied to grocery items meant for consumption. Prepared food, alcohol and soda are taxed, but bread, yoghurt, eggs, etc. are not.