The same thing has seven different names in Spanish and it makes shopping impossible

Something I run into constantly, posting in case it helps someone.

A foam cake dummy is called a completely different word depending on where you learned to decorate:

Icopor — Colombia · Unicel — Mexico · Anime — Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic · Telgopor — Argentina, Uruguay, Chile · Tecnopor — Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia · Porexpán — Spain · Isopor — Brazil

All the same material: expanded polystyrene. Most of those words started as brand names that became generic, like Kleenex. Icopor S.A. in Colombia, Unicel in Mexico, Telgopor in 1960s Argentina.

Why it matters practically: if you learned in Colombia and search "icopor para tortas" from the US, everything you find is a Colombian shop that can't ship to you. Search "cake dummy" and you get the whole US market.

One more trap: in Colombia "base de icopor" usually means a thin carrying tray, not a decoratable block. Two different products, same words.