I'm a New Zealand local who explored my grocery store's 'American' section. Here's what it's actually like.

I live in New Zealand and although I've never been to the US, I was curious to see which American foods I could find in my local grocery store.

The selection wasn't what I was expecting. Here's what I found.

The American section covered a few narrow shelves in the international aisle, sitting directly beside ingredients and snacks from other countries, like South Africa and the UK.

The shelves in the American section weren't exactly laden with products. Some items appeared to be out of stock, and other boxes were half-empty and dusty.

It was a sad state of affairs that I'm guessing might've resulted from a combination of supply-chain issues and locals' weak demand for these types of goods.

Of the small selection of American products, most were sugary treats or candies, which New Zealanders call "lollies."

I recognized Nerds and Reese's peanut-butter cups and also spotted Pop-Tarts, which aren't common at all in New Zealand.

I've never been to the US, but I know there's a stereotype that American foods are highly processed and sugary, and these products aligned with that idea.

Although to be fair, these items were shipped a long way, so only foods with plenty of preservatives would likely be able to make it all the way from the US to New Zealand without going bad.

A large amount of shelf space in the American section was dedicated to soft drinks.

Root beer, a beverage created in the US, had its own shelf. It isn't very popular in New Zealand, so I wasn't surprised that it was confined to this section. It was clearly there for expats and tourists.

I also saw Welch's grape soda, another drink invented in the US that I was unfamiliar with. In my experience, it's not easy to buy grape-flavored soft drinks in New Zealand.

A Japanese brand of tofu, Morinaga, sat alongside the chocolate bars in the American section.

Morinaga does have branches in the US but this placement still seemed odd to me, since the store had a lot of other tofu brands available in the regular dairy-free section.

Tofu is common in New Zealand, so I was surprised this specific brand was on the shelves here and not in a different part of the supermarket with the others.

I thought all of the products in this section would be made in the US, or at the very least, famous in the US.

But underneath the American section, I saw a couple of soft-drink brands that appeared to be British or South African. And just below the Nerds were candies that aren't American at all: Tex, from South Africa, and Wispa, from England.

It's possible that they were just shuffled over into this section because of the empty space.

There were some American-style products scattered around the supermarket outside of the designated section.

However, most of the New Zealanders I know, including myself, prefer to buy local products over imported ones, which might be why the American items were few and far between.

For example, you can buy US-made peanut butter, but it's nowhere near as popular here as local New Zealand peanut-butter brands, like Fix & Fogg.

Our local peanut butter is famous for having peanuts and salt as the only ingredients, whereas many American brands have added oils and sugars.

The same situation happened with chocolate.

I recognized Reese's on the shelf but would rarely buy its peanut-butter cups over the peanut-butter chocolate block from Whittaker's, a New Zealand brand. I'm proud of my country's locally made chocolate and consider it to be higher quality than Reese's.

American condiments are very popular here.

Heinz's mustard is a favorite among New Zealanders, and I spotted it on the shelf beside an Australian-made version of the mustard.

Barbecue sauces are also a hit here. You can even buy Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar barbecue sauce.

We might not stock many American products in our supermarkets, but New Zealanders are happy to take inspiration from the flavors and spices in the US.

For example, you can get American-style hot dogs from a local butcher brand. They're a novelty, as many New Zealanders typically prefer sausages with slices of bread instead of a bun.

Culley's is another New Zealand brand that's inspired by American foods and flavors, stocking a range of sauces and spices that includes American smoked hickory salt.

I'm not sure if these American-style products live up to the original ones, but I like to think they provide some comfort to the Americans in New Zealand, who may leave the American food section empty-handed.

Most New Zealanders I know wouldn't typically stop by this section. There weren't any brands here I would reach for since I know I can find similar local alternatives elsewhere in the store.

Sadly, I'm not sure Americans would love this section either.

The products seemed to be aimed at homesick expats, but it's unlikely they would satisfy travelers' cravings for goodies from home.

An American friend living in Wellington told me that New Zealand's specialty stores have a better selection than local supermarkets, but even those have limits. When he does come across his favorite American foods, he immediately stocks up and hoards them since they're so hard to find here.

It was slim pickings in the supermarket, and if you're looking for specific American brands or snacks, like Chips Ahoy or Wheat Thins, you're out of luck.