There are those who go to Mercadona to Buy biscuits and yoghurt. And there are those who go to Mercadona in search of the love of their life, a romance or simply a night of torrid passion. Although Juan Roig’s chain has managed to gain strength in the retail Due to its aggressive pricing, brand and promotions policy, the Valencian company is becoming popular for something quite different: being an unexpected and effective space for ligoteo. At least according to the discourse that has been gaining strength on social networks.
It has become so popular among singles that a sophisticated system of signals has even been created to find a partner. The aisles of Mercadona are inscrutable.
Hacendado’s Tinder? That is the expression that, with irony and a sense of humor, some X users have started to use. And the truth is that it captures well the idea that has been gaining strength over the last few days on the networks: that beyond its offers, promotions and aggressive brand strategy, Mercadona is an unexpected place to flirt. Just like Tinder or Bumble, only changing the smtarphones through aisles flanked by boxes of milk, fruit and packets of rice, and replacing the match for suggestive shopping cart crashes.
Click on the image to go to the tweet.
Truth or hoax? It is difficult to know whether the system works or not, it is anecdotal or it is really widespread in the country’s hypermarkets. What is beyond any doubt is that the idea of flirting between the shelves of Mercadona has unleashed a real stir on social networks. One that is already generating a good number of videos on X, Instagram or TikTok in which people share their experiences or even advice on how to succeed among freezers and fruit stands.
Good proof of the impact they have achieved is that even traditional newspapers, television networks and radio stations throughout the country are dedicating articles to the curious phenomenon of “Hacendado Tinder.”
Where does everything come from? The thing about the ligoteos in Juan Roig’s fields is not new. Seven years ago he spoke about the subject in prime time Lea, a contestant on the show ‘Frist Dates’. The young woman, originally from Johannesburg, although living on the Costa del Sol, explained on Carlos Sobera’s show her peculiar tactic for finding partners. The trafficking ended up being dubbed the “Mercadona trick”.
“There is a specific time at Mercadona when all the singles go shopping, between seven and eight. And that’s where I go,” she confessed. During her walks between the stands she didn’t buy anything, but she did end up developing an intuition for identifying possible partners: “You know they are single because they have beers and chips in their cart.”
And why this sudden interest? Not new, but news, yes. Perhaps the “Mercadona trick” comes from the pre-pandemic era, but over the last few days it has enjoyed surprising notoriety, with viral videos and articles in newspapers across the country. It all owes it to one person: Vivy Lin, an actress and stand-up comedian who participates in the EnReD2CS program on Canal Sur. A few days ago, the woman uploaded a video of just over two and a half minutes to her personal TikTok account in which she walks through Mercadona with a stroller and a friend.
“I’m here in Mercadona and my friend says to me: ‘I’d like to know what time is the best time to flirt in Mercadona’. I’m flabbergasted. But that’s not the best part, it’s five past seven, we looked on Google and the best time to flirt in Mercadona is from seven to eight. So here we are, the two of us with our shopping done and wandering around,” says Vivy. In the rest of the video, she walks through the aisles of the hypermarket, and confesses: “Now it seems to me that everyone is here, from seven to eight, for the same thing. There are those who have been wandering around for a while and they don’t have anything on, and they don’t even pretend.”
Click on the image to go to the tweet.
That easy? Yes. And no. The fact that Mercadona has become an unexpected competitor to Bumble —at least from what the networks show— does not mean that finding a partner in its aisles is easy. And not just because of a question of shyness. On TikTok, users have quickly emerged who claim that to take advantage of “Hacendado’s Tinder” you have to follow certain tips, keys that form almost a code, with innuendos and nuances. The first thing, explains Vivy, is to adjust to “the specific time to flirt in Mercadona,” from seven to eight.
And that’s not the only thing to consider. Some say that clients/suitors who want to make their intentions clear should do at least two things. First, pick up a pineapple and put it upside down in the cart. Second, go to the wine section and bump the cart into other clients/suitors. Provided, of course, that it has been confirmed beforehand that they are carrying their own upside-down pineapple and are not just bargain-hunting shoppers, not romancers.
That’s all? It depends. If you want to fine-tune your aim and make sure that the person you’re shooting with is match/car crash is looking for the same thing you can level up and use (and look at) the “Hacendado Tinder” code. Which one? Very simple. What you carry in your cart is no longer your purchase and becomes your business card. For example, on TikTok there are those who say that if you are not looking for the love of your life, but rather something “light”, it is best to bring salads.
“If you put chocolate or candy in it, it’s because you’re looking for something very sweet, a night of passion, something like that, something quick. If you go for non-perishable products, for example canned legumes, things like that, it’s because you’re looking for a longer-lasting relationship. You could also put honey in if you’re a person who needs constant contact and you’re very clingy. If you like ripened cheese, cured cheese,” says Sergio on TikTok, in the post “Tips for Dating at Mercadona,” with more than 51,000 “Likes.”
Change of tone at 7:15 p.m.? Do these tips work? Or, going back to the basics, do Mercadona stores really become a kind of white label competitor to Tinder after 7:15 p.m.? Is there a basis or is it just a phenomenon that has grown in the heat of viral videos? It is difficult to know. What is clear is that flirting in Juan Roig’s stores has entered the public debate, with more than notable visibility on social media and the media. And there are people who, like Vivy, go to the stores at least to browse.
There is also other evidence: that Mercadona has achieved a very valuable advertising campaign. Although as Vivy noted, among Hacendado’s supposed Romeos and Juliets there are also empty carts and customers who are more eager to make match than jumping on the latest offer or the “2×1” from the Valencian chain.
Images | Nathan McBride (Unsplash) and Mercadona
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