Zimbabwean Grocery and Butchery Shops in the UK: Where to Find Lacto, Matemba, Goat Meat and More

Finding familiar Zimbabwean foods in the UK takes some knowing where to look, but the options have expanded considerably over the past decade. From cultured milk to dried fish, Lobels biscuits to Colcom polony, Zimbabweans across Britain no longer have to wait for a trip home or a relative's suitcase to taste something from home. **Online Shops Delivering Nationwide** For many UK-based Zimbabweans, online stores have become the primary way to access home foods, especially those living outside major cities. **ZimFoods (zimfoods.co.uk)** is one of the most established Zimbabwean online grocery stores in the UK, based in Birmingham. They stock a wide range of products spanning groceries, traditional snacks, biscuits, teas, spices, cereals and drinks. Specific items include Colcom French Polony, Royco Usavi Mix (beef and chicken), Family Peanut Butter (dovi), Lobels biscuits, Charhons loose biscuits, Knorrox stock cubes, Nola mayonnaise and Moirs custard powder. They offer free delivery across the UK and provide parcel tracking. Customer reviews note delivery within a week even for pre-orders. **Mufaro's Family Foods (mufarosfamilyfoods.co.uk)** is a London-based wholesaler specialising in cultured milk (lacto), premium unrefined maize meal and millet flour. They offer next-day and express delivery across the UK. This is one of the few places where you can reliably buy a UK-produced equivalent of Lacto — Mufaro's Probiotic Lacto — without importing it from Zimbabwe. **Lilbea Foods (lilbeafoods.com)** also stocks Mufaro's Cultured Milk Lacto for online purchase with delivery across the UK. Note on Lacto: The original Dairyboard Lacto from Zimbabwe is not routinely available in UK shops as an imported product — ZimMegaStore and similar sites sell it for delivery within Zimbabwe. The Lacto available in the UK is typically the Mufaro's brand, which is produced locally in the UK using a similar probiotic culture. Chibuku (opaque beer) is not commercially available in the UK due to import restrictions on perishable alcoholic beverages. **Physical Shops: What to Expect and Where to Go** African and Caribbean grocery shops and butcheries across the UK stock many products that Zimbabweans use, even when they are not specifically Zimbabwean-branded. These include matemba (dried kapenta/small fish), goat meat, oxtail, chicken feet, mealie meal, morogo, and various spices. **Milton Keynes** has a notable concentration of Zimbabwean and Southern African shoppers. Bletchley Palace Butchers in Bletchley (Milton Keynes) is mentioned frequently by Zimbabwean community members as a go-to for African meats and groceries. The shop stocks biltong, boerewors (including chili varieties), marinated pork ribs, bones for cooking, chicken wings and cultured milk. It is described as busy, with a largely African and Caribbean customer base and reasonable prices. You can find it by searching "Bletchley Palace Milton Keynes" online. **Birmingham** is home to a large Zimbabwean and broader African community. Areas like Handsworth, Lozells and Smethwick have multiple African grocery shops stocking mealie meal, dried fish, relish ingredients and frozen goat. Birmingham's Bullring Market area and Bearwood also have African butcheries where whole or jointed goat can be ordered. **London** has the highest concentration of options. Peckham (south London) is well-known for its West and Southern African grocery shops, several of which stock matemba, mealie meal, dried vegetables, magwinya mix and goat meat. Tottenham, Dalston and Woolwich also have African grocery clusters. For specifically Zimbabwean products, checking with traders in these areas or ordering from Mufaro's Family Foods or ZimFoods is more reliable than expecting to walk in and find Lobels or Colcom on the shelf. **Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield** all have African grocery shops in their city centres and inner suburbs. Stock varies — mealie meal, goat and matemba are usually available; branded Zimbabwean items less so. Online ordering from ZimFoods remains the most consistent option for specific brands. **What You Can Typically Find and Where** - **Mealie meal**: Most African grocery shops, also on Amazon from brands like Iwisa or Mieliemeel - **Lacto / cultured milk**: Mufaro's Family Foods online, Lilbea Foods online, some African delis in London - **Matemba (kapenta/dried fish)**: African grocery shops in most major cities, particularly in London's Peckham and Dalston - **Goat meat**: African and Halal butchers in Birmingham, London, Manchester — ask specifically for bone-in goat or whole jointed goat - **Biltong and boerewors**: Bletchley Palace (Milton Keynes), various South African-oriented delis, some ZimFoods listings - **Lobels biscuits, Charhons, Colcom polony**: ZimFoods online is the most reliable UK source - **Royco Usavi, Knorrox, Aromat**: ZimFoods online; occasionally found in African shops that stock South African brands - **Mauyu (baobab fruit)**: ZimFoods lists fresh mauyu seasonally - **Chibuku**: Not available commercially in the UK **Practical Tips** Join local Zimbabwean WhatsApp and Facebook groups in your city — members regularly share tips about new stock arrivals, pop-up sellers and traders who bring goods directly from Zimbabwe. Search Facebook for groups like "Zimbabweans in [your city]" for the most current recommendations. Stock from Zimbabwe-specific importers can be inconsistent, so ordering in bulk when items are available is a common strategy among diaspora households.