While you might be more moved by, say, a historic landmark or a natural wonder, for those under 30 looking to book their next trip, there’s a pretty good chance a grocery store is at the top of their must-visit list. Seriously.

Take, for example, the hordes of people who flock to outposts of the Los Angeles chain Erewhon. Its name sounds like some kind of mystical land—it’s actually an anagram of the word “nowhere,” chosen by its health guru founders Michio and Aveline Kushi and based on an obscure satirical Victorian novel—and the magnetic pull it has for TikTokers keen to show off their hauls is very real.

Users of the social media app are spoiled for choice when it comes to videos of people who are enthusing over the “US$20 Hailey Bieber smoothie” (a photogenic blend of strawberries, coconut cream and peptide powder) they’re taste-testing, or about how shopping at Erewhon is their “love language.” It’s such a thing that there’s an entire genre of satirical videos making fun of people who shop there, parodying their holier-than-thou embrace of bone broth, adaptogens and US$32 pre cut watermelon.

“It’s like a treasure hunt and a cultural tour, seeing things you have never seen before, discovering new products, sparking ideas and ways of living well,” says Quynh Mai, founder of Qulture, a digital marketing agency that specializes in speaking to digital natives like millennials and Gen Z-ers. “Those who work at these stores are highly informed and passionate and act as a tour guide through culinary adventures without ever leaving the store,” she adds.

While she’s a generation older than the 20-somethings dropping US$150 on a haul at one of these specialty stores, Mai isn’t immune to the appeal of a pilgrimage to Erewhon either.

“It feels like a nostalgic supermarket of yesterday,” says Mai, who is a loyal customer at the farmers’ markets near her home in Brooklyn, New York. “It’s incredibly expensive, but it feels like ‘found secrets,’ with exclusive items not found anywhere else.”

And it’s not just Erewhon drawing in people for what has been dubbed “grocery store tourism.” While the California-based chain is the Disney World of this very Gen Z way to explore, there are plenty of other spots hungry travellers (or even staycationers) are flocking to, like purveyor of Italian goods Eataly, which can be found everywhere from Tokyo to Rome to Munich. As New York Magazine recently put it: “The secret museum in every city is a grocery store.”

It’s like a treasure hunt and a cultural tour, [with customers] discovering products, ideas and ways of living well

It isn’t just chains that have become cultural icons: There’s London’s Harrods Food Hall in the United Kingdom, located in the city’s upscale Knightsbridge neighbourhood and which is considered the world’s most expensive grocery store. Or Paris’s La Grande Épicerie, where travellers might go for the best charcuterie or a US$30 carton of milk. Then there’s Moscow’s Gastronomia Eliseevsky, which sells everything from caviar to chocolate and is located inside an 18th-century mansion.

The obvious question, of course, is why this has become such a phenomenon, particularly among the youngest generation of consumers. Mai, for her part, sees it as an embodiment of what makes Gen Z, well, Gen Z.

“Specialist grocery stores like Erewhon have become cultural hot spots for Gen Z because they represent an experience rather than just a transaction,” she says. “This generation values authenticity, storytelling and the discovery of unique, high-quality products that connect them to global cultures.”

These sorts of grocery stores, the antithesis of cold big-box stores filled with mass-market products or of the frictionless ease of ordering essentials on an app, play on both millennials’ and Gen Z’s propensity to yearn for a rose-coloured, pre-digital, pre-corporate-monopolized past.

“Small, independent, culturally niche markets hit on nostalgia for real food, farm-to-table, a time before food became an industrial complex,” says Mai. “These independent market experiences make Gen Z consumers-slash-tourists feel closer to nature and the ‘real thing.’”

It’s a theory echoed by Lynsey Walker, a holistic nutritionist who is also the vice-president of marketing and communications at the Canadian Health Food Association.

“These stores embody wellness, sustainability and innovation—values that deeply resonate with their customers,” says Walker, referencing local indie health food favourites like Toronto’s Summerhill Market or the Goodness Me! natural markets in southern Ontario. “What sets indie health food stores apart is their dedication to the shopping experience. They focus on strict product quality, staying ahead of trends and creating a sense of community you just don’t get in big-box stores. Shopping [here] isn’t just about picking up the latest products—it’s a status symbol and a feel-good experience that encourages you to discover and share your latest purchases.”

That shareability is a key puzzle piece, says Andrea Grand, co-founder of Barbet, a Canadian sparkling water brand whose ethos and aesthetic make it exactly the kind of product that would be—and often is—featured in these kinds of grocery store tourism hauls.

“Gen Z is the first generation that fully experienced social media, and so they grew up in such a visually curated environment, where everything from the nail polish they had on to the purse they were carrying were silent signallers to the world about who they are and who they want to be seen as,” says Grand, a millennial herself. “Now we’re seeing this move from fashion into the pantry.”

Grand links it to the “yassification” of groceries, an idea she first saw posited by Andrea Hernández of food and beverage trend-spotting hub SnaxShot. Grand explains, “We’re taking traditional beverage products and then creating a new, more design-centric approach to that product.”

Case in point? When designing the can for their latest launch, the white-peach-and-yuzu-flavoured Deep Dive, Barbet worked with a design agency to put together a colour palette that was “intriguing” rather than overtly obvious. The result was their signature stripe motif in graphic yellow and mint rather than, say, a photo of some fruit. Another example is the viral success of Graza, an olive oil brand whose squeezy bottle and bold, of-the-moment typography have made it a foodie status symbol.

This approach ties in younger generations’ urge to romanticize their lives, where even something as mundane as a trip to a grocery store is a content-worthy occasion, and a Trader Joe’s tote is a fashion staple.

“A lot of what people do now is with curation in mind,” says Grand. “Very rarely are those grocery store tourism things happening without them being posted on social.” Like a public Pinterest board brought to life, the end result is a representation of the consumer’s persona.

And while Gen Z certainly didn’t invent the idea of jumping on bandwagons for viral food trends—hands up if you stood in line for a Cronut—they live within a particularly pressurized context.

“It’s a really hard world to live in when we believe that everything is saying something,” says Grand. “There is the other side of the coin, which is pushing the over-consumption of products because you are constantly chasing whatever that new signaller is.”

Naturally, this trend is leading to a rising crop of premium and specialty shops: in December 2024, Asian specialty Canadian chain T&T began its expansion into the United States, where chains like Gelson’s and Walmart have announced new premium grocery brands.

The specific appeal of these grocery stores, then, may also be tied to the economic moment we find ourselves in, says Gary Gray, a retail expert and co-founder of CouponChief, a platform that helps people find deals.

“In times of inflation, people are looking for value in new ways. Instead of dining out, they’re willing to spend on unique grocery experiences that feel special without burning a hole in their wallet,” he says. “Grocery store tourism allows them to indulge in local flavours and products while still being budget-conscious.”

And in a time when there’s considerable outrage against alleged price-gouging by large national chains, it’s a way of signalling where you stand on that issue.

“Canadian consumers are becoming more discerning about where they spend their money. Younger generations tend to favour businesses that prioritize sustainability, ethical sourcing and health-conscious offerings—values that natural health food stores fulfill through organic, local and ethically produced goods,” concurs the Canadian Health Food Association’s Walker.

Gray also believes it comes back to another fundamental shift in consumer habits. He explains, “Younger generations are more about experiences over things. Specialty markets really scratch that itch for them because they’re not boring and generic like big-box stores. For them, it’s like a mini-adventure in every aisle.”

Perhaps most importantly, he adds, “They get a lot of content for their perfect Instagrammable moment.”