Americans React to US vs UK Costco 

Costco is treated as "Trade" not "Retail" in the UK. It is NOT a "grocery store" here. The restrictions on Costco membership go back to when they first opened in the UK. They had to act like a trade "cash and carry" partly to get planning permission - a total absolute nightmare in the UK - and partly because of very severe anti-competitive attacks by suppliers and established retailers. Even then, suppliers were badly threatened by major high street retailers. I worked for a household electricals manufacturer, and several high street retailers stated that if we supplied similar products to Costco then they would expect pricing that would enable them to continue to make their 35%-ish margins, but to be able to retail still at the same price as Costco who were operating on around 15% margin. (Illegal) resale price maintenance by the back door. I have member ship because of my professional body, and my wife through working for the NHS. One feature of Costco still having to pretend still that it is a "trade" outlet, is that - unlike UK retail - all displayed headline prices are BEFORE VAT. The VAT-inclusive price is also shown, but smaller.

These videos never remember to mention that the UK prices include 20% VAT and the US ones havent added on sales tax yet.

Yes you can get a free refill. I don't think most people stick around long enough to make use of it. I always fill it before I leave and take it with me

When Costco first opened in the UK they were in direct competition with companies like Makro. These companies were selling principally to trade like small corner shops. These shops found it difficult to compete with the major supermarkets because they couldn't buy in the same quantities. If they had opened to anybody then in effect they would be potentially putting their main customer base at risk. They then expanded to allow key workers (police, nurses, doctors, etc) to shop there to cut their cost of living. Then they expanded allowable membership to people who worked for companies that might potentially benefit Costco as a business. So employees of banks, insurance companies. Or certain qualified professions like architects, surveyors, solicitors. In this way they could potentially approach those people/companies and ask for discounts on the grounds that they were allowing their staff to shop there. I was a member because I worked for a software company and they saw the possibility that they might need to change their systems at some point in the future. At that time there was a substantial difference in the prices that you could get goods from there compared to the price you would pay in the major supermarkets, so it was worth paying the membership fee. Once when on vacation in Orlando we went to the Costco there thinking if the prices differences were the same in the US as to the UK they would almost be giving you the stuff. Sadly we discovered that the price differences were not that significant and it was more to do with buying in bulk. When Aldi and Lidl came to the UK the price difference between Costco and them was not that great and shopping at Aldi and Lidl doesn't requires you to fork out a membership fee, so I dropped my membership.

Stodgy means full of carbohydrates, so filling and heavy

I go to one in Birmingham uk . We get free refills, but one drink is enough . If i remember, we got a beef hotdog drink, including refills for £1.50.

Cottage pie does not normally have cheese on top. Cumberland pie is the minced beef pie with the potato and cheese on top.

When we refer to so.ething as a cookie in the UK, it specifically means it is made with cookie dough. Biscuits covers pretty much everything else.

According to the Costco U.K. website, memberships to those stores are only available to certain groups of people. Since the store is classified as a wholesaler, this complies with the U.K.'s wholesale store laws. These dictate that wholesale stores are only accessible to those working for select business sectors.

Cookies are softer than biscuits which are hard. Quite different, don’t get them mixed up.

Costco in the UK is registered as a wholesaler. They gives them certain tax benefits and they can build there warehouses where a normal retail store would not be allowed and a few other things from the government However as part of being classed as a wholesaler means you have to sell in bulk to businesses, not to the general public. The rules do allow wholesaler to sell to the general public however only a certain percentage of sales can be to the general public 30% is the number Which means they have to restrict membership and doing it by profession means you are not at risk of breaking discrimination laws

In the uk, we have a some of the supermarkets that are as cheap as Cosco

I live close to a Uk Costco and have also went to a US Costco and can say they are very similar. Going to Costco in the UK is like a teleport experience to the USA with the portion sizes etc.

a lot of these types of warehouse places are where the small retail 'corner shops' purchase their supplies, this allows them to sell at the reccomended retail price and still make a profit.

UK. Closest Costco to me is about 10 miles away. But 2 miles away we have a bulk buy called Booker. You have to prove you have a business to become a member. Booker used to be independent but is now owned by Tesco.

Lindsay was bang on with her definition of the word stodgy and you were also correct Steve, biscuits are crunchier than what we would refer to as cookies 👍🏻

Peanut butter is common in the UK, but it is mostly seen as a kid's food. There are probably a dozen or so sandwich fillings that someone would use before they used peanut butter. It is also usually just peanuts and maybe some salt. It is much thicker than US peanut butter and usually doesn't have oil added to it (or molasses, like some US PBs do).

We do get free refills in Costco in the UK but we aren't as obsessed with Ice over here..lol.. Also, "Stodgeyness" means thick and dense and moist and filling.. Enjoy the videos guys...

I've never heard of Costco! Stodgy means food that is heavy on the stomach so to speak.

At Christmas, Costco UK makes mince pies. They are really good. They actually use like a sponge for the lid, which is not normal, but it helps cut through the rich fruit more being more stodgy

Cookies are hybrid between cakes and biscuits. We have cookies here too and they are quite popular now. Biscuits are cut using cutters before they are baked and cookies are slopped onto a tray to bake. biscuits are more of a pastry before baking and cookies are a dough so they are different really.

There is also a bulk buy store called Makro in the UK, nearest one to me is in Reading , Berkshire. My nearest Costco is about 5 miles away in Farnborough, Hampshire.These places were raided during Covid for their bulk toilet rolls etc.

I love Food Wars videos and watch them regularly but seeing you guys react to them is even better! Please do more!

A Cookie is a type of Biscuit. They are generally soft but with a harder/crispy out to them (when cooked correctly :) They usually contain either Choc Chips or Raisins. That is what we would call a Cookie, An Oreo wouldn't never be classed as a Cookie in the UK as it doesn't fit that profile......SO yes we have Cookies, but its a specific thing not a generalised term.

You should definitely react to more Food Wars videos. They are great. 👍 The video about the fast food price differences is one I would recommend.

I've never heard of Costco, I'm from UK and I didn't know we had them. There's none where I live.

The limitations on membership is due to UK law as to the difference between a retailer and a wholesaler. As a wholesaler they must sell at least 70% of their volume (by value) to other businesses (trade memebers) This allows them to pay a much lower amount of Buisiness rates (property tax for comercial buildings) for their warehouses (as they are classified as warehouses and not shops which have been much higher tax rate) They are also subject to less restrictive planning laws (think zoning requirements). You could build a Costco warehouse in the middle of an industrial estate (and many are) where you would never get permission to build a conventional supermarket And several similar issues As the only way they can attempt to restrict it to less than 30% direct to consumer sales is to restrict who they sell to

Love the cookie/ biscuit part Steve I've just now realised where the phrase: That's the way the cookie crumbles comes from.

Our costco is predominantly aimed at trade services and not the general public thats why only people who work in certain professions but most people just make up a trade so they can get a memebership and costs around £100 a year membership

Yes we say cookies too, but for a specific type of biscuit, usually soft baked with chocolate chips (except for a few exceptions)

Biscuit is an umbrella term, and under it, you have things like sandwich, shortbread, cookies, and so on.

There are workarounds to get membership. I know my parents have a Costco account and you can add people to your account, for a joining fee, and they get their own card then

Cookie is just the name given to a biscuit that has choc chips in it, it is still a biscuit though

Lindsay, I love no bake cheesecakes, but NY cheesecake is baked which makes it very stodgy to me. Yes, thick, heavy, dense, horrible texture all equal stodgy. I love lemon cheesecake made from Philadelphia Cream Cheese, whipped with lemon juice and cream, poured into a crushed biscuit base and chilled in the fridge. It’s lemony, light and fluffy and melt in your mouth! So NOT stodgy!

We definitely have costco in the UK! I believe our fl oz are different to yours, even our imperial measures differ to the American equivalents with liquids. Im pretty sure costco uk do do free refills on drinks too

You can join costco in the UK for a fee.

Yes, I have only ever heard of Costco as being somewhere where only certain professionals are allowed to use. The only people I have ever known to use one, were people who owned a professional catering business, and a bakery. I'm surprised to learn that they sell things like pizza! I thought, as they were wholesalers, it was big bags of sugar, and other big, multi pack things like that 😅

One of my favourite things to do there, is to try everything (mostly) that they have on the little stalls lol

I live in England and the fact that Costco membership is restricted to certain professions is news to me too, I have had Costco membership a few times and was never asked my profession.

They've been able to sell the hotdogs for £1.50 or $1.50 for years as loss-makers, as it brings in the consumers buying their own branded stuff like Kirkland, to make up for it ,if they'd ever put up the price, they'd get no-one through their doors.

Stodgy - heavy, filling and basically lots of carbs!

We call American style cookies/biscuits, cookies, and British style cookies/biscuits, biscuits. Likewise we call American style fried potato strips fries and British style ones chips

Cookies are cooked from a dough and biscuits from a batter, they are different things, we have both cookies and biscuits in the uk

This is so weird - I've watched a few of your videos recently, so I see why you guys popped up on my page, but I was literally about to leave my office at lunch time to go to Costco (Chingford branch! About 3 mins drive from where I work) and quickly refreshed the page and this video came up lol

My friends family shop at a cost co near Watford and are very delighted with the cost and quality on offer there!

Costco is expanding exponentially over here, they are planning 2 stores here in Sussex, Crawley (Our town😊) & Brighton. Our current nearest in around 25 miles away in Purley.

23:18 At least part of the reason he said cookie is because those biscuits contain chocolate chips, therefore they are a cookie. Those are also bigger and softer than a regular biscuit

Before Costco’s came to the UK, we use to have and still have places called Cash &Carry’s. (Trade Only) Only people that have businesses/company’s can register and shop at these places. It’s where you buy bulk and catering packs of food and it should be cheaper than buying in a normal supermarket as your paying wholesale prices. Then Costco came along so similar to cash &carrys, to join, you have to be a registered business, be VAT registered, or be in certain professions such as teacher, front-line worker, lawyer or accountant. If your none of the above then you can’t shop at a cash & carry or Costco.

cookies in the uk are the specific chocolate chip cookies, everything else are biscuits

In Europe and South America I shopped at Makro, kinda the same as Costco. I was filling a truckfull of food for an offshore fishing boat for 7 or 8 crew when 10 days/2 weeks away at sea. It worked out about $25/30 a week per crewman to eat.

Some UK food prices include VAT others don't. To help here is the info:"UK gov rules on VAT for food :"Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are always standard-rated. These include catering, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water." "Restaurants must always charge VAT on everything eaten either on their premises or in communal areas designated for their customers to use, such as shared tables in a shopping centre or airport food courts. In addition, restaurants and takeaway vendors must charge VAT on all hot takeaways and home deliveries, but do not need to charge VAT on cold takeaway food unless it’s to be eaten in a designated area." Greggs and similar places let their sausage rolls cool a bit then sell them tax free! "

he said cookie because thats whats on the package

We get refills in Bristol Costco. Our usual plan is we grab some food first drink the drink as we shop then refill before we leave.

We go to the Lakeside store in West Thurrock. It’s our nearest also about an hour away. But we have to be careful and check prices against other stores li me Tesco as it can be more expensive. Lovely the bakery items but have never tried the in store cafe. We have the dearer executive membership, but have been assured that if the savings we have made do not exceed the cost of this we will get this back. Don’t think that’s going to happen as we always come away with so much!!

23:22 Cookies in the UK are specifically the kind with chocolate chips in them, and maybe Oreos depending on who you ask. Everything else is a biscuit.

In the UK, deep pan (maybe similar to Chicago style) is the default and thin crust is the alternate style. It is kind of expected to get the thicker base unless it is stated that it is thin crust.

Stodgy means dense sticks to your ribs type of food but often still delicious xx

I grew up in Chingford, the place that he mentioned!! I went to school there!

You get free refills at Costco you can put ice in if you want the customer fills the drinks themselves

As a Brit I can say cookies are a TYPE of biscuit which is why he said cookies instead of biscuits and in the USA the word cookie is used almost exclusively to describe any individual item in that category but we would almost always NAME the type of biscuit and hardly say the word biscuit at all for example cookies, Digestives, Hob Nobs, Custard Creams, Bourbon's and Shortbread etc.... to name a few that we regularly eat. and what you see there is cookies they are biscuits usually large but can be small and are in most cases baked with some sort of chocolate chips or dried fruits or whole nut pieces etc... ALSO I have never been to Costco BUT would like to and the reason is because of the strict membership requirements to get in to the store. My nearest branch is probably like 20-30 minutes away

Over here it’s classed as a Wholesaler so the restricted membership complies with UK wholesale store laws. For most it’s not a supermarket per se, it’s more what used to be called a ‘cash & carry’, a store associated with bulk buying for business use rather than personal grocery shopping.

Regarding free refills, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Nando’s do free refills they’re the only ones I can think of from the top of my head

Good on them for sticking to the amounts we are meant to get, especially with after cooked weights, everywhere should be like that, otherwise the consumer can never prove if they being scammed unless they ask for the frozen or chilled item to weigh then cook themselves

Peanut butter is pretty popular in the UK, if not as popular as the US and we generally don't do all the filthy things with it that the US does, like mix it with jam (jelly). It's mostly just used on toast, in sandwiches, or as I did for my supper, on a pair of crumpets. Aldi do my favourite one in smooth or crunchy, in small jars, or large 1kg (2.2lbs) tubs. It's 100% peanuts, no added oils, no salt, no sugar, which can be common in other brands. You still have to carefully stir in the peanut oil, when you first open it though and be careful not to spill it, when opening.

In UK we call cookies the ones with chocolate chips in and biscuits are like what we dunk in tea or have as a snack

Well great upload as always , nearest costco to me is 70 miles ! , do B and M , much love from Scarborough !

One thing I've noticed about Costco UK is while non-trade membership is only open to certain professions and employees when you join, they don't seem to check that you still qualify when you renew your membership.

We dont have a Costco in our city or any nearby city, plus yes unless you have a certain type of job you cant get a membership, No one in my family qualifies for a Costco membership anyway, so we stick to Aldi or the other stores like Tesco or Sainsburys

Cottage pie rarely has cheese n top. Butter is left to melt on the potato and put back in the oven to crisp up.

Thank you for the video

Costco is the US equivalent of a UK store called Makro where things prices don’t include VAT.

I wonder if they factored in sales taxes in their prices? In the UK, you pay what you see on the label/sign. In the US, you have the taxes added to the item when you're at the checkout.

Costco has an approved list of occupations. Such as Emergency services or NHS staff. Stodgy means heavy, dense, filling food. Hefty is another word used for stodgy food. Really enjoying your videos.

I live on the outskirts of Glasgow and we do have a Costco and I’ve been a member for about 15yrs or so maybe more, We’re married 15 yers so it must be slightly more, I got my membership because my friend added me as a third member on hers so I paid half the full membership for the year then after the year got my own membership straigjt away because I had been a part member. We have bought loads over the years, we usually buy a lot of meats and we share with my older sister so it saves her money as we don’t take anything from because we would be buying anyway. We save on somethings but obviously times have changed and we now shop around but Costco is still a winner in our eyes. My grandkids love going because of the books, 4 kids aged 6-14 who love the books and would stand all day reading them, thank you for that Costco, so when they go they don’t go about the place crying, arguing with each other, having tantrums wanting sweets etc, they stand at the books and pick one each for their treat not saying that certain ones don’t argue & fight other places because they do but Costco is bookland & they also love normal bookshops also.

Never seen a Costco in the UK. According to their website, there are only 29 branches in the UK. I wondered about the Kirkland brand as I had seen it mentioned in South Park, but never knew that it was a Costco own brand.

I love the Kirkland muffins. There is nothing to beat a Costco birthday cake. The frosting is amazing. My local Costco is in Glasgow and I am not a member as it's 40 minutes away and when I want something I can go with a friend on their card as a guest.

Peanut butter in the US is like Nutella without the chocolate... where as peanut butter in the UK is often made from 100% peanuts and nothing else, so not quite the sweet treat it is there.

Anyone can now get a Cosco membership as there are three types of membership, ordernery, Business and executive, there are two differences between the ordinary and Business, first is the cost of the membership fee, Business is cheaper and Business members are allowed in to the store 1 hour before the Ordinary members. getting a hotdog at the end of the shop is my little treat for going to Cosco

From the uk, LOVE PEANUT BUTTER TOO!! My favourite snack is a pack of carrot sticks and peanut butter, and just dip and scoop peanut butter onto the carrot sticks, kind of bad, as if someone doesn't stop me, I can eat the WHOLE JAR! which is so bad. but so good. my guilty food haha

Been a member for years, we visit 2 or 3 times a month. We really like Costco...

The only UK membership open to all is their online shopping membership. It's roughly $20 a year to shop on their website. Never been to a costco although I do get their offers email.

We have no Costco stores in Northern Ireland 🇬🇧 However on visiting my son in Vancouver , I went into Costco and it amazed me prices and sizes ❤️

Cookies are specifically those type with the chips of chocolate in

I use to love shopping at Costco. I live near one of the first in the UK and when it was quiet, it was great. Now everyone seems to have a card and the 3 weeks running up to Christmas the place is chaos with traffic queuing on the road to get in.

We have one here in NZ (Auckland). It has a $60 annual fee to be a member.

There's a Costco near me - I used to have a membership but l I let it lapse as I found the prices were no different to anywhere else . The thing I didn't like was the sales tax added when you come to pay - we are used to having that included with the price on the ticket in the UK.They were begging people to join them a few years ago - I don't know if anything has changed recently .

We go every month or so, usually to the Leeds warehouse, and our experience has been pretty good. In our experience: a lot of the fresh food is excellent and good value, especially where prepared in store as a lot is. Meat and fish are good - not quite as good as our local butcher, but cheaper, and (unlike some on here!) we really like the Cottage pies! Wine is not cheap, and you can do much better in Majestic, or in many supermarkets. Bulk general groceries are usually very good value, which would help if you had a big family to feed and plenty of storage. Much less suitable for those who prefer smaller, weekly or more shops (like us) - we usually do not need enough to justify bulk-buying. They really score on non-food - a lot of clothing is excellent price, and things like bulk loo and kitchen rolls - and on appliances etc especially where they can buy in bulk lots of recently-superseded items. There are usually a lot of "special deals" on what are clearly job-lots bought in. Bad news place, if you are susceptible to impulse-buys! One feature of Costco having to pretend still that it is a "trade" outlet, is that - unlike UK retail - all displayed headline prices are BEFORE VAT. The VAT-inclusive price is also shown, but smaller.

We call a specific kind of biscuit a cookie whether that be soft or hard. Everything else is called a biscuit. As in twice baked originating from the French word

I used to be a product developer and worked for US Costco a few times, I've never been in a Costco though as their just aren't any stores near me, I knew we had Costco in the UK but thought it was like half a dozen stores in the biggest cities, but I just checked and there's actually 29, I really didn't think there was that many.

Not used Costco in many many years, since they became so lame in the type of foods they use to have. Weather Spoons here in the UK you can get FREE Refills of Coffee, Tea and I think Coke, at least here in the South West of the UK.

You can get free refills in Costco in the UK. The hotdog and drink is £1:50 too.

You Can get a personal membership in some Costco stores in the UK. Possibly due to location. If the Costco is not in a heavily populated area, They would not get much foot traffic and therefore lower sales. Possibly in this case they would be more likely to have a less stringent membership policy…. When they first opened in the UK they were all retail trade only. Nowadays they see the advantage of opening up to the public. Well at least some branches do….. They receive the annual cost of membership, from people who may only take advantage of shopping at Costco 3 or 4 times a year and yet they still renew their membership annually… I shop at my nearest Costco maybe once a month and I have never seen it overcrowded, the busiest I’ve seen it at the tills (checkout) has been maybe 5 customers ahead of me… I Love shopping at Costco, they should all open up their membership to the general public. I’m sure they would manage…🤞

Very interesting video, considering i work there. X

Steve why are some of your videos flipped around? Map seems to be backwards as are the words on your hat, but not in all the videos. Never seen a Costco in the UK although i know they exist. Stodgy is heavy, filling and high in carbs foods.

There is a version of pasta sauce let's call it 'lady of the night' sauce. Nigella Lawson has a quick version which is basically marmite stirred through hot slightly buttered pasta and it's good (strong and salty).

Stodgy food is heavy and solid, and it can be difficult to digest. It can also be unpleasantly thick and heavy, and may be over-floury. Stodgy food is often based around some form of cereal (mostly wheat) or potato, and can make you feel heavy in the stomach. Synonyms of stodgy include heavy, filling, substantial, and leaden.

I’m a member of Makro in Charlton south London, similar kind of place, my makro card also gives me entry to Bookers which I use the Sidcup and Crayford branches. I’ve been to Costco in Thurrock before with my mate who’s a member, only good thing is cheap petrol ⛽️

I just commented the other day about maybe doing a UK in Costco comparison lol Yes, you need to be in a certain industry or self-employed to have access to Costco cards The drinks/sodas unlimited refill unless you leave the store And yes, we also love peanut butter just not quite as much as new Americans lol

Also a Swedish company offer free refills in the UK. How much sugar is in the peanut butter? You are correct about the UK definition of a cookie.

Also I don’t mind the cooked chicken from Costco. Prices are fab. Our membership is shared. Fuel prices are awesome as well.