"USA is Expensive": South African Woman in USA Spends Over R10k on Mzansi Groceries in TikTok Video

• A South African woman living abroad shared a TikTok video of a countertop full of SA grocery items she had bought overseas
• The haul included Oros, Wellington's sauces, Miami atchar, Robertsons spices, Maynards sweets and Cadbury chocolates
• South Africans in the comments could not believe the price tag, pointing out the items would cost a fraction of that back home

A South African woman living abroad gave Mzansi a serious case of sticker shock. TikTok user @2mi_letseb3 posted a video on 30 July 2026 showing a kitchen countertop stacked with recognisable South African products, each one a little piece of home.

The spread by @2mi_letseb3 included Oros squash, Wellington's sauces, Miami atchar, Robertsons spices, Maynards sweets, Cadbury chocolates and even Tastic rice. For South Africans living abroad, these are not luxury items. They are comfort, which comes at a steep price when you are thousands of kilometres from home. The caption said it all: "Missing home costs... about $700 🥲🇿🇦 converting to roughly R11,000, a figure that hit viewers hard. Back in South Africa, the same basket of goods would cost a small fraction of that. Watch the haul that left Mzansi speechless:

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Mzansi discusses price of SA grocery

South Africans in the comments section had plenty to say:

@The Watcher🇿🇦 said:

"R11k, that's crazy because that's like R2.5k worth of groceries in SA. USA is expensive."

@asanda_sibiya wrote:

"Omg which store is this? 😭 My issue is $30 shipping from NJ to NY, are you kidding me? 😭"

@Saberah commented:

"Is this Welkom USA?! Lol, I was there recently, also spent $700 😭 yohhh."

@TVK asked:

"Even Tastic, is their rice that bad?"

@Aphelele observed:

"What I have noticed is that we are the only ones 🇿🇦 who feel homesick 💔😆"

@Elu joked:

"Might as well take a trip home, even if it is for 2 days, and go back. Ayikho le 🤣🤣🤣" ("There's nothing like it.")

@Oyama Leqela pleaded:

"Chomi, please direct me to the store expeditiously 😭 I'm running out of my Aromat."

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Other Briefly News stories about South African abroad

• A South African woman's TikTok video claims that South Africans living abroad are experiencing heightened xenophobia and hostility.
• Antoinette and her son Clayden, South African immigrants who celebrated a milestone in their new life in America by opening American bank accounts just weeks after relocating to Dallas, Texas.
• A South African woman living in the USA shared her first experience shopping at Dollar Tree, a popular American discount store.

Source: Briefly News