Zimbabwean Food and Grocery Shopping in the UK: Where to Buy Sadza, Matemba, Covo, and Other Zimbabwean Ingredients

Finding the ingredients for a proper Zimbabwean meal in the UK has become considerably easier over the past decade. A growing network of online shops, specialist African supermarkets, and community tuckshops now serves the diaspora across England, Scotland, and Wales — meaning sadza, matemba, Mazoe, and Lobels biscuits are rarely more than a few clicks away. ## Dedicated Zimbabwean and Southern African Online Shops **Zimfoods (zimfoods.co.uk)** — Based in Birmingham, Zimfoods is one of the most recognisable names for Zimbabwean groceries in the UK. Their range includes Lobels biscuits (Lemon Creams, Custard Creams, Vanilla Creams, Bermuda Creams), Colcom French Polony, Royco Usavi Mix in both chicken and beef varieties, Cerevita (including banana and chocolate malt flavours), Family Peanut Butter (dovi), and fresh mauyu fruit. They offer wholesale boxes for community groups and individual orders with tracked delivery. Customer reviews highlight reliable dispatch times, with some London-based orders arriving within a week of placing. **Happy Hippo Foods (hippofoods.co.uk)** — This shop describes itself as the home of Zimbabwean food in the UK and stocks an impressive range of grains and staples. Their product list includes white maize kernels, roller meal mugaiwa (5kg bag at £9.99), finger millet (zviyo), pearl millet (mhunga), samp (manhuchu), sugar beans, sorghum, peanuts (nzungu), and matemba. They also carry Mazoe drinks and Spa-letta. Free delivery applies on orders over £60, with delivery taking up to four working days to mainland UK. **GazMart (gazmart.co.uk)** — Established in 2018, GazMart positions itself as a supplier of Zimbabwean home foods with a stated aim of offering products at affordable prices without the premium markup that some specialist shops charge. Their stock includes Mazoe, Dairibord Pfuko, and Lobels products. **Zimtuckshop (zimtuckshop.co.uk)** — Zimtuckshop stocks Zimbabwean Unrefined Mealie Meal (mugaiwa) at £7.99 for a 2.1kg pack, alongside traditional herbs such as ndorani (intolwane), chifumuro (fever bush), and traditional cooking spoons. Their range leans into both food staples and cultural products. **Hungwe Tuckshop (hungwetuckshop.co.uk)** — Based in Woolwich Arsenal, London, Hungwe Tuckshop offers collection in person as well as city-to-city delivery runs (contact 07472350503 for schedules). Their range includes madora (mopane worms), ginger garlic paste, freezits, South African ciders, and various Southern African snacks and fabrics. The combination of London collection and touring delivery makes this useful for those who prefer not to wait for postal delivery. ## Maize Meal: The Sadza Essential Mealie meal for sadza is available through several routes. For Zimbabwean-specific mugaiwa (unrefined/roller meal), Zimtuckshop and Happy Hippo Foods are the most direct sources. For refined white maize meal, South African brands like Iwisa and Ace are widely available through **The South African Spaza Shop (southafricanshop.uk)**, which is based in Swindon and ships across Great Britain. Iwisa Super Maize Meal 1kg is priced at approximately £2.29 there, with free shipping on orders over £100. Iwisa maize meal in 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, and 10kg bags is also available on **Amazon.co.uk**, where the 5kg bag is consistently one of the best-selling products in this category (800+ ratings on the 5kg Iwisa Super Maize Meal). This is a convenient option for those who already use Amazon Prime or want fast delivery without a specialist shop minimum order. ## General African Supermarkets with Zimbabwean Stock Several pan-African online supermarkets carry Zimbabwean staples alongside West and East African products: - **4wayfoods.com** explicitly lists Zimbabwean staples including sadza maize meal, Mazoe drinks, Dairibord Pfuko, sugar beans, and peanut butter for sauces. - **Niyis (niyis.co.uk)** and **Afrobuy (afrobuy.co.uk)** carry broader African ranges that often include Southern African items. Physical African grocery shops in cities with larger Zimbabwean populations — particularly London (Woolwich, Peckham, Brixton), Birmingham, Leicester, and Manchester — frequently stock Zimbabwean items. It is worth asking specifically for matemba (dried kapenta), covo seeds or dried covo, and Zimbabwean-brand products, as stock varies by shop and season. ## Practical Tips for UK-Based Zimbabwean Shoppers **For sadza:** Roller meal mugaiwa produces the more traditional texture. Refined white maize meal makes a smoother sadza. Both are available online. Buying 5kg or 10kg bags reduces the per-kilo cost significantly. **For matemba:** Happy Hippo Foods lists matemba in their groceries section. Some West African shops also carry dried fish that can substitute. **For covo and rape:** Fresh covo and rape leaves are not typically stocked in online Zimbabwean shops due to perishability. Curly kale or spring greens from UK supermarkets (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's) are widely used as substitutes. Some community markets in London and Birmingham occasionally have fresh covo in season. **For Mazoe Orange Crush:** Available through Zimfoods, Happy Hippo Foods, GazMart, and the South African Spaza Shop. Prices typically range from £4 to £7 per bottle depending on size. **For community bulk buying:** Several of these shops offer wholesale pricing. Zimfoods lists wholesale boxes for products like Cerevita. Buying as a group through a church or community organisation often brings the per-unit cost down considerably. All prices referenced are indicative as at early 2025 and subject to change.