Visiting or moving to Asuncion and want to know where is the ideal place to shop for groceries? Here’s a list of recommendations from a Paraguayan, from fancy to functional to full-on sensory overload.
High-end supermarkets: Casa rica & Delimarket
Mid-rangesupermarkets: Areté, SuperSeis, Stock
Freshest & locally soursed: AgroShopping & Mercado 4
What started as a little German import shop back in the 1920s has since leveled up into what locals half-jokingly call the “super de millonarios” (rich people’s supermarket.) You will find products from all over the world: mainly Germany, Italy, Denmark, USA, Uruguay, Brazil, and more. Think climate-controlled aisles, imported cheeses, wide variety of liquor, a proper bakery and made-to-order kitchen, and a restaurant (El Molinillo) if you get hungry mid-shop. Great for splurges and hard-to-find imports, less great for your wallet if you go every week.
Strategically placed in DelSol mall, this gourmet supermarket leans into exotic produce, imported delicatessen and a made-to-order kitchen that you won’t regret trying. Fun local flex: Delimarket is a big partner with El Corte Ingles. Casa Rica’s biggest rival is the spot for fancy cheese boards when you are in a “treat myself” mood.
Honestly, it’s a mix. From the weekly cart to 2am cravings, we have everything covered.
With 30+ locations, Super Seis is a Paraguayan classic. Fun fact: it opened the country’s first hypermarket, Hiperseis, back in 1998. Big stores, easy parking, weekend buffet if you’re feeling it. This is where a lot of families do the actual weekly shop.
Areté’s name is a nice bit of wordplay: it comes from the Guaraní word for “festive day,” and the brand leans into that with in-store music, activities, and food courts (called “Festa”) rather than just aisles of shelves. It’s a newer player (launched 2018) but has expanded across Asunción, San Lorenzo and Lambaré, positioning itself as the supermarket that wants your grocery run to feel like a little outing rather than a chore. Worth knowing: Areté is under the same CEO of Casa Rica.
Stock comes from the same Vierci Group family as Super Seis, and honestly plays a similar role: dependable, well-stocked, everywhere. If Super Seis is the reliable friend, Stock is their equally reliable cousin — good for the regular weekly run without any fuss.
In Paraguay, small shops “despensas” usually part of the owner’s house would be the choice, but everything changed when Biggie was launched. Basically reinvented the convenience store here: 150+ locations, open 24/7 365 days. It’s not the cheapest, but when it’s 11pm and you need something right now, Biggie is always there for you.
Well, if you are looking for organic, clean and organized, AgroShopping may be the best. Shop in the mall and stop by to get fresh fruit, vegetables or natural-sourced local and international products. There’s a catch: it’s only available once a week on Tuesdays from 7am to 9pm.
Mercado 4 isn’t a supermarket, it’s a small city. It’s been around since 1942, evolving out of an even older 19th-century market. Today it sprawls across roughly 350,000 m² and pulls in somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people a day — shoppers and the ~2,500 vendors who work there. It’s so iconically chaotic it became a movie set — the 2012 thriller 7 Cajas was filmed right there among the stalls.
What to expect? Narrow, tent-covered lanes packed shoulder to shoulder, vendors calling out prices, motorcycles somehow squeezing through foot traffic, and zero clear signage — you will get a little lost, that’s part of the experience. Go with cash (small bills), wear shoes you don’t mind getting dusty, and keep your bag zipped and in front of you like you would in any big, crowded market.
What to get? If it exists, someone at Mercado 4 probably sells it. Anything from a fraction of the price: clothing, shoes, electronics, toys, fruits, vegetables, and meat at a fraction of supermarket prices, housewares, artisan crafts. It’s loud, it’s a maze, and it’s absolutely worth it.