Copenhagen - Post Report Question and Answers
How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Things are pricy, for sure. But we can get 90% if things you get in the US minus most ethnic foods. - Aug 2024
Copenhagen is an expensive city but the grocery stores have excellent products and product choices. The quality is, generally, better than the US but with slightly less selection. - Feb 2022
Everything is available it's just expensive. Groceries stores are on almost every corner, but some are bigger than others. If you're looking for speciality goods you'll have to travel to more than one store to find everything on your list. There's 25% VAT on everything that as a diplomat you only get back if you spend 1500 DKK (~ $250 USD as of this writing) so most people don't spend enough to submit the receipt. Also, refrigerators are small so shouldn't expect to shop for a week or two like you do in the US. - Jun 2021
Expensive! Everything has a 25% VAT, which makes buying groceries a huge expense. However, you can get almost anything you could want. And what you can't find, you order from Walmart. You may have to shop at a few different stores to get everything you need. Grocery stores tend to be on the small side, and not every chain carries the same choices. If you're in a pinch, you may find what you need at the small commissary in the embassy, but the prices are quite high, and a lot of items are past their expiration dates. - Jul 2016
You probably won't find American brands but you can get anything you want. Anything else you can order on Amazon since this is a DPO post. - May 2014
You can get almost everything here. Again, prices are high. Anything you specifically need and can't find can be delivered via Amazon. - Feb 2014
They are all expensive but everything is available. One thing to note is US products are not always available (perhaps due to import protection laws) and you will need to find substitutes. Unfortunately, you will not find English on many of the products for description, ingredients, or instructions. You will need to ask people to assist you in the stores which they are happy to do. - Aug 2011
You can find almost anything you need in Copenhagen, it will just be more expensive. We tended to go to one grocery store for the staple foods because everything was cheaper there, but they didn't have much of a selection. Then we would go to the larger, more expensive store(s) for everything else. Fruits & vegetables are generally offered in season rather than year round, as Denmark takes pride in not importing a lot of food from other countries. They also spoil quicker, as they don't use preservatives that are used in the U.S., so buy what you plan on using in the next 2 days, or you will be throwing it away. Baby food is almost all natural/organic and moderately priced, however diapers & wipes are costly. You can find imported U.S. goods in the stores, but at a high cost. There is a store called Metro (very much like Costco or Sam's Club) where you can have a more "American" shopping experience, in that there is a larger selection of everything, you can buy in bulk, the carts are not tiny and the aisles can fit more than one cart down them. But the normal grocery stores have pretty much everything you need. And I highly recommend going to a bakery for your bread/pastries, etc... as you just can't beat their fresh baked goods. - Jul 2011
