Lifetime free supply: top Spanish grocery picks

Which product would you choose with a lifetime free supply?

If tomorrow you won a prize guaranteeing unlimited and free supply of a single product, what would you choose? This seemingly trivial question becomes an exercise in household economics when applied to the real shopping basket. And the majority answer isn't what one might expect: olive oil, Iberian ham and eggs top the list, ahead of indulgences like ice cream or beer. The prevailing criterion isn't taste, but savings.

Olive oil: the most frequently chosen product

Olive oil appears most often in responses. The reasoning is simple: it's a staple whose price has multiplied in recent years and, unlike other foods, lacks cheap substitutes. Those who choose it argue that free supply would save on recurring and growing expenses. Some even go further, proposing an unexpected use: using the oil as fuel for a thermal generator to get free electricity—an idea that, though far-fetched, illustrates how much the product is perceived as a strategic asset.

Iberian ham, preferably whole pieces, is the second most cited option. The logic here differs: it's not a staple, but an expensive product many can't afford regularly. Reselling immediately enters the conversation: someone receiving unlimited premium supply could finance their life by selling the surplus. Half for eating, half so I don't have to work, summarizes one response.

Eggs, potatoes and milk: the survival diet

Against those prioritizing savings, another group reasons in terms of survival. Eggs are the most repeated choice among those seeking complete and cheap nutrition: with eggs, they argue, you won't starve and will be perfectly fed. Potatoes and milk complete the trio for those thinking about hypothetical isolation or scarcity. Potatoes and milk are the foods that would allow living longer if nothing else were available, states one intervention.

Fresh fish, frozen spinach and bananas appear in intermediate positions. Those choosing bananas justify that they can eat four a day without issue and barely use oil in meals. Those choosing frozen spinach appeal to the practicality of the format. And those choosing wild fresh fish—cuttlefish, sardines, hake, tuna, cod—seek a weekly assortment covering the full diet.

Reselling as an economic strategy

A significant part of responses focuses not on consumption, but on business. If supply is unlimited and free, the product becomes an income source through resale. The logic is economically impeccable: any product with demand has a secondary market, and if acquisition cost is zero, the margin is one hundred percent.

This is where perfumery and drugstore products enter. Some argue the key isn't food, but personal care sections, where certain items generate waiting lists and premiums in the secondary market. Beauty item resale, they claim, offers greater potential than any food. It's the same logic leading others to choose single-dose laundry tablets: a non-perishable, recurrent-use product with guaranteed demand.

Calculating real savings: oil vs. eggs

When comparing prices, the choice becomes more nuanced. A pack of free-range eggs costs around 3 or 4 euros, while a chicken breast sits at 4 or 5 euros. Oil, however, can cost 8 euros for two or three months' consumption. Some conclude that monthly oil savings are lower than other products, but its price volatility makes it a defensive choice.

The complete calculation, broken down line by line, shows a difference surprising those looking only at unit price. The key lies in consumption frequency and price elasticity: eggs are bought weekly, oil quarterly. To maximize long-term savings, one must choose the product with the highest probability of price increase, not the most expensive at the moment of choice.

The unresolvable premise

The original question has a formal flaw noted by several participants: it doesn't specify if supply is for personal consumption or includes resale, nor if the product must be edible. That ambiguity allows disparate answers like Iberian ham, perfume section cashiers, or laundry tablets.

Some propose a more interesting variant: being isolated on a desert island with continuous supply of a single product. In that scenario, cow's milk appears as the most nutritionally complete option. The question changes completely when resale possibility is eliminated, and then the criterion isn't price, but a single product's capacity to sustain a diet.

Ultimately, the choice says more about the respondent than the product. Those choosing oil think of savings. Those choosing ham think of business. Those choosing eggs think of not starving. And those choosing beer simply aren't thinking.