There are lots of supermarkets in Lithuania, but not any that westerners coming here for the first time would recognise.
There are now five major supermarket chains in Lithuania - Maxima, Rimi, Iki, Prisma and Norfa. The challenge is that in every supermarket, you will find different products, both in quality and in range. Iki for example is the best place to get fruit and vegetables - they have the largest range of vegetables and they have some exotic ones too.
Do keep in mind though that "exotic" in Lithuania does not mean Dragon fruit or any of these, but it is a cut above potatoes and onions and tomatoes, like one may find at the local Maxima.
Maxima on the other hand is the cheapest and you can get some good, cheap home and kitchen wares there.
MAXIMA
Maxima is the cheapest and the most common of all the supermarkets in Lithuania. The chain, which was originally called VP Market (English translation) is the most powerful chain in terms of buying power and throwing their weight around - the result is that they have good deals in their stores and you will find all the basic goods you need.
The chain is split up into five categories: Maxima X, Maxima XX, Maxima XXX, Hyper Maxima and Maxima Baze.
The lower the X rating, the less you range you have available. Maxima Xs are called "local stores" because they have all the things you need for normal cooking and living - vegetables, fruit, meat, flour, sugar, bread, dairy products, toiletries, etc. The range increases until you get to Maxima Baze where you can buy most product categories such as sports equipment, clothes, food, whitegoods and so on. They also have a cafe inside the store.
Whats good about Maxima is that it has cheap goods and it also sells basic goods under its own brand "Optima Linija" for things like sugar and flour and milk, where there is no room for quality deviation.
Whats bad about Maxima is that it lacks exotic or international products — this is a shop for locals who live the local lifestyle. If you want something else, you will have to go somewhere else.
IKI
Iki supermarkets come in two varieties — Iki and Ikiukas (meaning small Iki). In the large supermarkets, you can get a large variety of products. A good range of fresh fruit, veges and cheese, Iki has what the regular foreigner is looking for.
Keep in mind that you will pay a little extra for the food at Iki, but in some ways it is worth it. The food is often fresher and you don't have to pick through large piles of rotting produce to find it and there is a larger range of non-fresh products. For example, this is the only supermarket of its size where you can get many foreign products, particularly from Asia.
The meat section in the supermarket often leaves something to be desired and this is a major letdown for the chain. Often you will plan out your meal and then go to the shop, only to find that there is no chicken breast or no beef — at all.
The entire feel of the supermarket however makes up for the lack of meat sometimes. People seem to be happier there, there is more light in the shop and there are less alcoholics and undesirables, probably due to the slightly higher prices.
Iki was the first to introduce the self service cashier points to Lithuania, so that is a big plus for me - I always like places that are moving forward.
So anyway, if you don't like either Maxima or Iki, try some of the other ones, or just go to a restaurant!
