Where to Buy Zimbabwean Food in the UK: Online Shops, Regional Stores and What to Expect

Finding sadza meal, covo, madora (mopane worms), Mazoe, kapenta, maputi, and other Zimbabwean staples has become considerably easier in the UK over the past decade. A combination of dedicated online retailers and physical African grocery stores now serves the Zimbabwean diaspora across England and Scotland, with delivery options covering most of mainland Britain. ## Online Zimbabwean Food Retailers **Zimfoods (zimfoods.co.uk)** is one of the most established UK-based online retailers specialising specifically in Zimbabwean and Southern African products. Based in Birmingham, the shop stocks a broad range of familiar brands including Lobels biscuits (Lemon Creams, Vanilla Creams, Bermuda Creams, Custard Creams), Charhons biscuits, Cerevita, Black Cat peanut butter, Family peanut butter (dovi), Knorrox stock cubes in beef and chicken varieties, Joko tea, Moringa tea, Rajah curry powder, Nola mayonnaise, and All Gold tomato sauce. Products are priced individually and sold at both retail and wholesale quantities, with the site offering home delivery across the UK. **Zimtuckshop (zimtuckshop.co.uk)** positions itself around the same market with a tagline of bringing customers closer to home. The shop stocks Mazoe, Cerevita, maputi, madora, Willards Korn Kurls, Dairiboard Pfuko maheu, and traditional Zimbabwean foods alongside books, African print fabric products, traditional household utensils, and gift cards. The site also has a clearance section and sells in bulk. A collaboration with the Shemark brand adds some lifestyle products to the range. **Happy Hippo Foods (hippofoods.co.uk)** covers a slightly broader Southern African range but is particularly useful for staple grains and traditional cooking ingredients. Products include white maize kernels, samp (manhuchu), pearl millet (mhunga), finger millet (zviyo), kapenta (matemba) in 200g packs, peanuts, sorghum, and Mazoe drinks. Delivery is available to mainland UK only, with free delivery on orders over £60 and an estimated lead time of up to four working days. **The Savanna (thesavanna.co.uk)** is primarily a South African grocery retailer but carries some Zimbabwean-specific lines including Mazoe Cream Soda, maputi, Zambezi Lager, and Willards Korn Kurls. Stock availability varies and several Zimbabwean items are frequently listed as out of stock, so it works best as a supplementary option rather than a primary source. ## Physical African Grocery Stores by Region **Birmingham** has one of the strongest concentrations of African grocery retail outside London. Zimfoods operates from the Birmingham area, and the city has multiple West and Southern African shops that carry overlapping stock. Samis African Food Store is a Birmingham fixture well known in the broader African community, stocking a wide range of ingredients across different African culinary traditions. **Leeds** is served by Kennores Trading (kennorestrading.co.uk), which describes itself as the number one African food store in Leeds. While the shop leans more towards West African staples (fufu, egusi, palm oil, yam, crayfish), it carries general African groceries including tea, tomato paste, dried fish, and smoked meat products. Orders can be placed online via a chat-to-order system. **Glasgow** has a growing African grocery presence. Grace African Shop serves the city's African and Afro-Caribbean community with staples including fufu powder, yam, gari, African fish, stock cubes, spices, and palm oil. The store is particularly popular with students. Larrytino African Store (larrytino.co.uk) is another Glasgow-based retailer offering delivery of African groceries, organic spices, and traditional ingredients across the UK, with a focus on fresh and unprocessed ingredients. **London** remains the most densely served area, with multiple African and Afro-Caribbean markets across Brixton, Peckham, Tottenham, and East London. Ogbongeh (ogbongeh.com), based in Belvedere, Kent, operates as an online African food store with a physical presence and delivers across the UK. The focus is broader African cuisine, but the range of dried fish, grains, spices, and fresh vegetables is relevant for Zimbabwean cooking. ## Key Products and Where to Find Them - **Sadza meal (white maize meal / hupfu):** Happy Hippo Foods, Zimfoods, Zimtuckshop, most African grocery stores - **Covo and other leafy vegetables:** Check local African grocers and markets; availability is seasonal and varies by region - **Madora (mopane worms):** Zimtuckshop lists madora as part of its traditional foods range - **Kapenta / matemba:** Happy Hippo Foods stocks kapenta in 200g packs - **Mazoe:** Available from Zimtuckshop, Happy Hippo Foods, and The Savanna (subject to stock) - **Lobels biscuits:** Zimfoods - **Cerevita:** Zimfoods (including wholesale boxes of 24), Zimtuckshop - **Maputi:** Zimtuckshop, The Savanna, Happy Hippo Foods - **Halal meat:** General halal butcheries and supermarkets across the UK cover this; some African grocers with a Muslim customer base also stock halal cuts. Dedicated Zimbabwean halal butcheries in the UK are not widely documented, so the best approach is to identify a local halal butcher and request cuts familiar from home (such as tripe, ox tail, and offal cuts). ## Practical Tips Prices for imported Zimbabwean products are naturally higher than back home. A 125g packet of Topper biscuits, for example, retails at around £2.99–£4.99 depending on where you buy. Buying in bulk or wholesale quantities reduces the per-unit cost significantly. Several retailers offer wholesale pricing on Cerevita, stock cubes, and biscuits. Stock levels fluctuate, particularly for popular items like Mazoe and Lobels products. Checking retailer websites before ordering and signing up for stock alerts where available reduces wasted trips or failed deliveries. For fresh produce such as covo and other traditional vegetables, the most reliable sources tend to be local African and Caribbean markets rather than online delivery — check Brixton Market (London), Bullring Market (Birmingham), Kirkgate Market (Leeds), and similar covered markets in your city.