Themed spaces, Week 3 Post 3

It is rare that I take out my camera in a setting such as the grocery store, but this aisle struck me during the first week I was here, and I had to take a picture to show my friends and family. Reflecting on this now from an advertising and marketing perspective in a Swedish setting is quite interesting. This is a picture from Hemköp in the city center of Uppsala of an aisle of solely mexican food items. In the Swedish grocery stores so far, this is the only form of an ethnic section I have seen, all of the other items have made their way into their category on the shelves. Compared to other sections in the store, this aisle is the brightest in color. Mexican food is not something I see served in restaurants or cafes in Sweden, and this is a big change for an American. The reason is quite simply that there are not as many Mexicans living in Sweden as there are in America, but why is there Mexican food being sold in the store? The only answer I could think of was that Uppsala is a destination for many international students and employees affiliated with the University. Mexican food is in high demand among students, it is cheap and easy to prepare. The main difference between the way this is displayed and the way other ethnic foods are placed in the store is that it is isolated. This food does not fit in with the other food and doesn't have a place. It clearly isn't the norm to use one Mexican food item to cook with other Swedish ingredients, and that the items are bought with each other only. There is a definite misunderstanding of this culture and its place within Swedish culture. It fits with the themes I have seen before of a fear or misunderstanding of the unknown.