We actually visited the new Mercadona de Oeiras – it’s a first in the Lisbon-NiT area

The opening was scheduled for 9 am on Thursday December 15th, at which time there were no more vacancies in the parking lot of the new Mercadona store, located in the Taguspark area, in the municipality of Oeiras. Dozens of people do not want to miss the commercial space in the first minutes of their lives, not least because it is the first Spanish brand in the Lisbon area.

In this way, the hypermarket serves not only the residents of Oeiras, but also all those who live in the neighboring municipalities. For this very reason, it is one of the most important commercial openings of the year in the municipality, expanding the retail offer with a brand that was not there in the region.

NiT spent Thursday morning in the new store. At the entrance, a self-service coffee machine welcomes customers. The area is about 1900 square meters, where it can fit all the departments that the Portuguese brand is accustomed to, from butchery to delicatessen, fish, bakery and pastry, fruits and vegetables, dairy area, wine cellar and perfumes for the home and pets.

Near the entrance, on the first aisle, there is a takeaway section, for those who just want to buy lunch or dinner. There are several options for prepared dishes.

“In Spain we have more than 1,600 supermarkets and we didn’t have ready-to-eat food. But when we came to Portugal, we realized people wanted it and we started implementing it.” said Andre Silva, Mercadona’s Director of Communications in Portugal. There you will find options such as grilled chicken, duck rice, grilled eggplant, pasta carbonara and of course the famous paella.

There are also snacks, such as pancakes, samosas, and other pastries. In addition to ready-made sushi, salads, hamburgers and steaks, too. The latter are tailor-made for customers in the middle of the country, as they are made with a whole steak and a mustard-based sauce, different from those in the North, which have shredded meat and a beer-based sauce. Different consumption habits that are reflected in each store’s offer by location.

As we made our way through the aisles, Mercadona managers explained some of the idiosyncrasies of the brand, which opened its first store in Portugal in 2019, but has already been studying the Portuguese market since 2016. And it continues to do so.

“We have managers for each product category who are always working on the daily needs of customers, in their environment, in order to understand how they like to use our items and what can be improved, from packaging to presentation,” reveals André Silva.

Some modifications were made once the brand arrived in Portugal. One such example is dust cloths. In Spain, they are white, but since the Portuguese are used to making them yellow, they had to change the color. Another example is the liquid curd sold in Spain in one-liter packages. Here, we prefer single bottles. In short: there is a whole code of colors and shapes that determine the sale of the product in different regions.

One of Mercadona’s strengths is its proprietary brands. In terms of food, you’ll find Hacendado; in detergents, Bosque Verde; Dailyplus for perfumes and cosmetics. And Compy for Pets.

“Our brands are highly recognizable and of high quality,” assures the Communications Director.

One of the company’s policies is to always have suppliers of products with private labels described on the packaging – as in the case of chocolate made from dried or imperial apples, which are produced by Frueat in Porto. To find out where the products come from, you just have to check the back of the label. “We strive for transparency,” says the brand.

Exclusive products and Christmas highlights

In this way, there are products designed just for this region of the country, as is the case with some cheeses. Category head, Filipa Marques, explains to NiT: “We add here some cheeses that are not consumed in the North, because customers prefer softer cheeses. Down here, customers like strong flavors, so we introduced Nisa, Serpa, and we also have a filling with herbs, Alentejo cheeses.

There are about 200 types of cheese in Mercadona. The menu also includes Christmas versions, exclusive to the season, such as Camembert with truffle, honey cheese with almonds, cheese with marmalade filling or brie with truffle.

Next door, in the delicatessen area, there are staff cutting pork at the moment. Which means customers can sample various legs to determine which they like best, depending on the fat, and then remove the vacuum-packed product.

In the yogurt aisle you’ll also find some specials, such as a large area dedicated to protein products, which have grown recently, vegan gelatin, already hard-boiled eggs, and dulce de leche which have been some of the most requested by customers – and that finally hit stores this week.

In canned food, natural salmon and chicken stand out. In the drinks department, be sure to try the Torrão brew and the “A Minha” and “A Tua” beers, Mercadona’s own brands.

And just as we are in the Christmas season, there are some products that are a huge hit with customers. One is the bread, which actually comes in a cinnamon-lemon flavor, perfect for making toast, but also a great option for the season’s typical baguette. The brand ensures there is a huge interest in the celiac community, which is why they are interested in developing several gluten-free products, from bagels and baguettes, as well as frozen pizza, ice cream, beer, and more.

In the bakery and pastry section, you will find other types of regional bread and a pastry area where you can find everything from croissants to Christmas pastries, Berlin balls with different fillings and other cakes, which you can choose from in the self-service system. This time, you’ll find the brand’s sponge cake there, as well as bolo-rei, Delizze and Cocolizze bonbons, and peanut nougat, which ranks among the best sellers.

And since there is no Christmas without cod, Mercadona created a special mural of this fish, which was intentionally studied for the Portuguese market. Next to it, the fish counter has offers for all tastes, on a bench that catches the eye of passers-by.

In the Home Care and Personal Hygiene section, it highlights laundry fragrances, olive body cream, and Sisbela face cream, which are very successful in the Spanish market.

Aunt Katya’s choices

At the opening of the store in Oeiras, there was a face known to all Portuguese, Tia Catia. NiT took the opportunity to discover the favorite products of the chef who is a true Mercadona fan.

“I really love everything, and I always leave stores with several carts. There are some products that are used so much on a daily basis that I just can’t do without,” he told NiT.

Tia Cátia especially loves her bottled and drizzled olive oil, which is “great for putting in salads, because it gets drizzled on, and we end up using less.” Pepper mills and fleur de sel are also part of the Chef’s Choice.

For cooking, he doesn’t do without smoked paprika: “It even flavors a chicken breast that tastes like nothing.” Rising cream, almond syrup, 52 percent rye bread, and dried fruit, especially chopped almonds, are other highlights of your take-home food basket.

Mercadona ends 2022 with 39 stores in Portugal

The opening of the shop on Thursday was also attended by the mayor of Oeiras, Isaltino Moraes, and the president of the Barcarina Parish Council, Barbara Silva.

“The opening of Mercadona in Taguspark is proof that despite the crisis there are moments of renewal. This is an investment that contributes to the dynamics of economic activity in the municipality of Oeiras. Moreover, the architecture of this commercial space and the notes that add more beauty to the place are welcomed” Says Isaltino Moraes.

To move around the space, you can choose the large or small trolley, which is slightly larger than the basket, but has the advantage of being long, designed for the convenience of customers who therefore do not have to constantly bend over. And the best part is that you don’t even need coins to use it.

“We want to be practical, make life easier for customers, and have a comfortable buying experience,” says the brand. Also because of this, 17 payout boxes are available.

The space includes 155 indoor and outdoor parking spaces and two spaces for charging electric vehicles, in line with the company’s commitment to electric mobility. The focus on renewable energies is also shown by the installation of 532 solar panels in the shop, with a production capacity of 200 kilowatts.

For this new supermarket, Mercadona has hired around 100 employees who have taken part in a few months of training in the north of the country – as is typical for the Spanish chain. According to the company, with the growth it has registered in Portugal, there are still vacancies available for several stores, which can be consulted at Careers portal🇧🇷

With the opening of this store in Oeiras, Mercadona completes the expansion plan planned for 2022, which included the opening of ten stores in five new regions: Santarém, Setúbal, Viseu, Leiria and Lisbon, to end the year with a total of 39 stores in our country.

You can visit Mercadona every day, from Monday to Sunday, from 9 am to 9:30 pm.

Click through the gallery to see Mercadona’s new space in Oeiras, as well as some of the products that stand out at the Spanish retailer’s offering in Portugal (including Tia Cátia’s suggestions).

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