White

Great white sharks are appearing off the Alicante coast. The problem is that we don’t know if it’s good news or bad news.

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On April 20, 2023, by pure chance, some fishermen caught a juvenile-sized white shark. No one would have been surprised if it weren’t for the fact that the fishermen were in Spanish waters, right in front of the Alicante Cape of La Nao. Two meters 10 centimeters of white shark in the middle of the Mediterranean, what was happening here? Do we have to worry? That is the question that was asked at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and, in collaboration with the University of Cádiz, has carried out a deep review of the presence of white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea. It is not something superficial: they have collected all the records (direct and indirect) from 1862 to 2023 and have reached a surprising conclusion. The presence of this type of specimen has been “persistent” (although “extremely rare”) in the Spanish Mediterranean. It is not something, a priori, worrying. As explained José Carlos Báezresearcher at the IEO-CSIC, “we have only found two attacks: one in 1862, in which a person died in Malaga who was swimming, and another in the eighties, when a shark bit a surfer’s board in Tarifa and caused serious injuries.” But the problem is not that. And, although “with the available data, it is not possible to affirm that the Mediterranean white shark population is recovering”, it is inevitable to think about what will happen in an increasingly warmer sea. In the end, “the presence of young individuals provides key information about the demographic structure of the species” and, one way or anotherthis leads us to seriously consider the risks of having breeding spaces in Spanish waters. However, everything seems to indicate that there is a relationship between the presence of the shark and the routes of the bluefin tuna. If so, it would be another symptom of the problems that sharks have to keep their populations healthy and robust. Should we worry? It doesn’t seem like it. Against the media angle about the “return of the monster”, international evidence tells us that attacks are extremely rare and the role of sharks in the conservation of aquatic ecosystems is very important. Be that as it may, monitoring and conservation programs must be developed. And it has to be done soon. Image | Oleksandr Sushko In Xataka | The white shark is an exceptional swimmer. Its secret is in its “teeth”

In Spain to talk about “white label” is to talk about the Valencian chain

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In Spain, buying in the supermarket is equivalent (increasingly) to buy white label. And buying white label means (also increasingly) doing so at Mercadona. That is the conclusion left by the latest studies on the sector and that basically ratify the double trend that has been marking the sector for years. retail homeland First, the unstoppable advance of the Valencian chain. Second, how the distribution brand has become a pillar of baskets of the purchase. Both trends complement each other and have allowed Juan Roig’s company to achieve a milestone in the sector: hoarding half the business of the white label. A percentage: 50.4%. The news the newspaper has advanced it theEconomist. Mercadona said goodbye to 2025, reaching a key milestone: it already covers more than half of the market share in the distribution brand business. To be more precise, your ‘footprint’ on the lucrative (and growing) The private label business grew several tenths last year to stand at 50.4%. The data is based on a study by the consulting firm Worldpanel by Numerator and confirms that Juan Roig’s firm has not yet found a ceiling in its struggle to dominate one of the businesses. juicier for supermarkets: the sale of their brands, such as Hacendado (Mercadona) or Auchan in the case of Alcampo. Market share on private labels (2025) Mercadona 50.4% Lidl 13.1% Carrefour 8.2% Day 5.9% Eroski 3.1% Alcampo 1.8% Others 14.3% What exactly does that mean? theEconomist assures that 50.4% corresponds to Mercadona’s “quota” on the total value of the distribution brands. Even if the data refers only to food, leaving aside other sections of mass consumption, it would represent an astonishing percentage. It means that a little more than half of the money we spend on the white brands that fill our refrigerators and shelves come from Mercadona. Growing… and with ample advantage. That 50.4% is not the only striking percentage in the Worldpanel study. There are two others just as curious. The most surprising is the one that reveals the considerable advantage that Mercadona has over its direct rivals. The second chain with the largest market share in the private label business is Lidl, with ‘barely’ 13.1% of the pie. It is followed in third place by Carrefour (8.2%), Dia (5.9%), Aldi (3.3%) and Eroski (3.1%). In addition to consolidating itself in first place, the Valencian chain has managed to expand its footprint: in 2024 that same share was 50.2%, two tenths below what it registered in 2025. Lidl and Aldi grew at the same rate and Dia expanded its total share from 5.5 to 5.9%. Carrefor stepped back slightly. Other percentage: 46.6%. That Mercadona has taken half of the market share is curious, but the data would not go beyond a simple statistical curiosity if the general market for private labels was shrinking in Spain. He Worldpanel study by Numerator reveals that this is not the case. On the contrary. We Spaniards buy more and more items from Hacendado, Auchan, Seleqtia and the rest of the brands directly linked to supermarkets, which are gradually imposing themselves on the pulse that they have had for years with the brands associated with large manufacturers outside the distribution channel. If in 2021 the private label had a market share (in terms of value) of 35.8%, in 2023 it already exceeded 40% and last year it stood at 46.6%. Why’s that? The million dollar question. And there is no simple answer. The expansion of white label in Spain probably responds to a combination of factors, including its lower cost (often the chains themselves they favor them on its linear lines) and the makeover that they have experienced in the Spanish market. In a short time, the distributor’s brand has managed to shake off the stigmas that associated it with the idea of ​​’cheap’, ‘mediocre’ and ‘doubtful quality’ to compete face to face with large brands from external manufacturers. A perfect symbiosis. That the white label is becoming so strong in Mercadona or Lidl is not a coincidence either. Both commercial chains are (along with Aldi and Dia) the ones that have opted the most for this type of products. another study from Wordlpanel reveals that last year Mercadona’s white brands (with Hacendado at the helm) represented 77.8% of all its sales. At Aldi that percentage was 74.5%, and at Dia it was 65.1%. Lidl dominates, with 80.7%. Many of these companies fit into what is called ‘short assortment chains’supermarkets with a limited selection of products and a clear commitment to their own genre. The customer has fewer options when choosing (there are not dozens of brands of oil, just one or two), but in exchange their experience is simplified and, above all, they can benefit in price. The formula works so well that (coincidentally or not) Mercadona, Lidl and Aldi are precisely the chains that more have been expanding its influence on the market. Image | M. Peinado (Flickr) In Xataka | The white label has been conquering supermarkets for years. It has done so well that it is now the pillar of the Spanish diet

Mercadona has found a vein to grow beyond its white label and prepared food: tourism

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Hotels, restaurants, agencies, guides… When you think about those who are making a fortune with the tourist boom In Spain, the mind goes directly to the hospitality industry and related businesses, such as holiday apartments. There are, however, other sectors in which the flow of visitors is felt with similar force, such as commerce or food. They show it with astonishing clarity the data from one of the firms most relevant of the retail national, Mercadona. In their stores, tourists represent such an important business niche that this year they will leave 1.8 billion of euros and will account for 4.5% of gross sales. One figure: 126.3 billion. That tourism is a huge business is nothing new. The INE estimates that last year the accumulated spending of foreign visitors in Spain was close to 126.3 billion euros16.1% more than in 2023. And everything indicates that this progression will be maintained in 2025. First, because the flow of travelers keeps growing at a good pace. Second, because this greater influx comes accompanied by an increase of spending: between January and October of this year alone, tourists spent around 118.6 billion eurosa figure that takes into account international tourism. A percentage: 4.5%. The increase in tourists is felt in vacation rentals, restaurants, hotels… and the accounts of one of the large Spanish retail chains, Mercadona. Yesterday Expansion public an article which shows how the footprint of foreign visitors in the Valencian chain has not stopped growing in recent years, both in net terms (millions invoiced) and in the weight that these incomes have in the company’s accounts. If in 2021 Juan Roig’s chain earned 750 million euros thanks to sales to tourists, which represented 2.7% of gross income that year, in 2025 the picture is very different. If Mercadona’s forecasts are met, 2025 will close with a sales volume to tourists of 1.8 billion euros, which will increase its contribution to the company’s total gross turnover to 4.5%. The data They are calculated thanks to purchases paid with foreign cards and are interesting because they show a sustained progression during the five-year period. One year: 2021. The last five years have been anything but boring in the tourism sector, which has gone from suffering the hangover of the pandemic to achieving record results. The INE tables show that in 2021 Spain received 31.2 million foreign tourists, 71.6 in 2022, 85.2 in 2023 and 93.7 in 2024. This year in October it already exceeded the 85 million. This rise has been even an increase in tourist spending: 34.9 billion in 2021 to 126,100 in 2024. All this data seems to have been clearly reflected in Mercadona’s accounts. According to the information to which you have had access ExpansionIn 2021, tourists left 750 million in the chain’s stores, which represented 2.7% of its total gross income. In 2022 these values ​​were already at 1,060 and 3.4%, respectively; In 2023 they amounted to 1,340 and 3.8% and in 2024 they reached 1,550 and 4%. If the forecasts are right, this year will close with sales to tourists worth 1.8 billion euros, 4.5% of gross sales. One question: Was it expected? Yes. And not only because of the increase in tourism, which translates into a greater number of potential foreign buyers. The supermarket employers’ association, AEDAS, calculate that in the most touristy areas these represent around 18% of the total consumers. And if Mercadona stands out for something, it is for its extensive presence in Spanish territory, with more than 1,600 stores spread throughout Spain and a wide presence in the Valencian Community. In fact, at a general level it is estimated that its market share in the sector it’s already around 30% (a high percentage that even exceeds some regions), far above the rest of its competitors. Images | Pedro López (Flickr) and Mercadona Via | Expansion In Xataka | Action supermarkets have gone from being unknown to conquering half of Europe. In Spain they will not have it easy

We thought smoking was no longer fashionable among Gen Z. Until Sabrina Carpenter and Jeremy Allen White arrived

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For decades, the cigarette starred in some of the most iconic images in popular culture. In the imagination of journalism, that reporter from the last century always reappears leaning over his typewriter, surrounded by wisps of smoke while writing an urgent chronicle. In television fiction, that scene evolved into Carrie Bradshaw typing on her Mac with a half-consumed cigarette butt in her New York apartment. And in the cinema, the cigarette was almost a visual code: from the dark seduction of Humphrey Bogart to the melancholic aura that enveloped so many classic characters. Smoke, more than an accessory, functioned as a symbol of charisma, mystery or vulnerability. All of that seemed to be extinguished with the advance of anti-smoking laws. The terraces they cleared themselves of smokeHollywood moderated its use and audiovisual culture stopped associating the cigarette with glamour. The gesture was relegated to a stale past, linked to the strong smell of bars before the ban. But something unexpected has happened: the cigarette has returned. And it has done so hand in hand with the only sector capable of resurrecting what seemed forgotten: celebrities. The visible return of the cigarette to pop culture. The warning signal came from the mecca of cinema. According to a report from the anti-smoking organization Truth Initiativehalf of the movies that debuted last year included cigarettes, cigars or tobacco. In addition, it detected a 110% increase in representations of tobacco in programs aimed at young people between 15 and 24 years old, and a quadrupling in the most viewed series. The figures confirm the obvious: the cigarette has regained prominence. And, to give a couple of examples, it is being observed in music: Sabrina Carpenter appears in the video clip for Manchild smoking and posed for some photographs wearing a corset made from packets of Marlboro Gold. In cinema, films like Saltburn, Materialists or Oppenheimer They have returned tobacco to an almost omnipresent place. Fashion has not been an exception either, during New York Fashion Week, models they smoked on the catwalk as another accessory. And there is still something else, I couldn’t forget about social networks. The Instagram account @cigfluencerscreated in 2021, publishes images of celebrities smoking and has accumulated more than 80,000 followers. The cigarette as a symbol? The most curious thing about this phenomenon is that it is not mass tobacco consumption that is returning, but rather its aesthetics. That nuance is essential to understand what is happening. The point is that the cigarette returns as part of the revival Y2K and aesthetics indie sleaze and heroin chicthat mix of grunge, decadent glamor and soft rebellion that dominated the 2000s and that today inspires fashion, music and social networks. In this framework, the cigarette functions as a retro accessory, a vintage gesture that provokes more visually than addictively. This aesthetic dimension also operates as a narrative tool. In a report for The New York Times point out that the cigarette re-emerges as a symbolic resource on screen: Dakota Johnson smokes in Materialists to underline the emotional emptiness of his character; Jeremy Allen White, in The Bearuses smoke to intensify his melancholy; Sabrina Carpenter holds a makeshift mouthpiece in an ironic tone. According to the medium, the cigarette does not get in the way of the shot: it fills it with aura, drama and texture. And the fundamental question, does it have attraction for young people? There is a component of minimal rebellion. According to the BBCsmoking functions as a gesture of light transgression within a generation accustomed to self-care, permanent surveillance and implicit norms of well-being. The aesthetics brat popularized by Charli XCX It combines hedonism, irony and a touch of nihilism: a perfect territory for the cigarette to recover its provocative role, more suggestive than dangerous. Hence, the great paradox when observing the real behavior of Generation Z. While they watch celebrities smoke on screen, young people consume less and less substances. Already we have explained in Xataka how they are succeeding coffee raves —alcoholic-free daytime parties, where you dance with a cappuccino in hand—, and Tinder registers a boom in dry datingwith one in four young people preferring alcohol-free dating. In other words, cool aesthetics no longer have anything to do with actual habit. Should we worry? The problem appears when cultural trends intersect with health data. The WHO remember that tobacco It kills more than seven million people a year and that there is no safe level of exposure. EPData confirms that its global consumption has fallen from 32.7% in 2000 to 22.3% in 2020, but institutions like the CDC —cited by Wall Street Journal— warn that repeated exposure to tobacco images increases the likelihood that young people will start smoking. In fact, the BBC collected testimonies from American doctors who already observe cases of young people who, after normalizing vaping, have switched to cigarettes because “it gives more credibility” or is “more aesthetic.” Constant exposure to so-called “digital smoke”, pointed out by the Spanish Association Against Cancercan normalize a habit that seemed on the way to disappearing. However, a study carried out by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) showed that Tinder profiles of smokers receive between 29% and 52.7% less matches. Young people do not want to date someone who smokes, but they do want to consume – from a distance – the aesthetics of cigarettes on screens. The contradiction is clear: in the video clip it adds glamour; In real life, it reduces romantic interest. Fad or cultural turn? Perhaps the cigarette has not completely returned: perhaps its ghost, its iconography, its gesture has returned. Aesthetics are back, not addiction. The smoke, not the habit. But while celebrities hold it up as if it were just another jewel in the photo, health organizations remember that tobacco continues to kill half of those who don’t quit. And although on the screen it is pure aesthetics, in real life it is still a tangible risk. The cigarette, that old protagonist of classic cinema, today experiences its … Read more

For years the white label was the ugly duckling of the super Spanish. Now it is slowly eating up the market

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The white marks continue to get stronger in the retail Spanish. And clearly, with resounding growth both in the ‘short assortment’ chains that have traditionally opted for them (Mercadona, Lidl or Aldi) and among others that have chosen to adapt their offer and give them greater prominence, in the case of Alcampo, Eroski or Carrefour. The trend as such has been seen since some time agobut the latest data published by Worlpanel by Numerator (advanced today by elEconomista.es) are especially forceful. What does the data say? That in recent years the weight of its own brands has clearly grown in the country’s main supermarkets, including Mercadona, the chain that owns higher quota of market in the sector. If in 2023 Mercadona’s white brands (with Hacendado at the head) represented 72.9% of its sales, the latest data from Worldpanel show that this percentage now stands at 77.8%. It is a high figure, but not the highest in the sector. It is surpassed by Lidl, where private labels account for 80.7% of sales. In your case, yes, a slight drop has been recorded: the percentage improves on that of 2023 (79.7%), but reveals a slight decline when compared to that of 2024. Chain % of white label sales 2023 % of white label sales 2024 % of white label sales 2025 Lidl 79.7% 81.9% 89.7% Mercadona 72.9% 74.5% 77.8% aldi 68.8% 69.1% 74.5% Day 54.2% 56.3% 65.1% consumption 33% 35.9% 37.4% Carrefour 29.3% 31.4% 33.3% Eroski 25.6% 28.4% 31.2% Alcampo 21.5% 24.3% 23.8% And the rest of the chains? They have also seen the white label imprint grow. Let’s see. In Aldi it has gone from 68.8% in 2023 to the current 74.5%, in Dia from 54.2% to 65.1%, in Consum from 33% to 37.4%, in Carrefour from 29.3% to 33.3%, in Eroski from 25.6% to 31.2% and in Alcampo from 21.5% to 23.8%. Its quota has not only expanded, it has also done so in a practically sustained manner. The only chains that have recorded a decline or stagnation between 2024 and 2025 are Lidl and Alcampo. The latter is also the only one that remains below 25%. Is there data from the entire sector? Yes. The latest data from Worldpannel by Numerator allows us to go into detail about the main chains, but the picture is not very different if we analyze the sector as a whole. another report Recent research by the consulting firm NIQ shows that, if we talk about food, the market share of distribution brands is around 54%. That was the data at least for September. That of the annual accumulated (first nine months of the year) marks 53.5%. The percentage is interesting because it shows a clear growth trend and is at values ​​never seen before. What is the reason? As is usually the case, the rise in private labels does not respond to a single factor. Multiple causes come into play, although there are two particularly interesting ones. The first is the growth of those known as short assortment chainssupermarkets with a limited selection of products and a strong commitment to their own items. The clearest example is Mercadona, which has managed to achieve a market share of more than 27%but there are others, such as Lidl or Aldi, which according to Worldpanel bring together a 6.9% and 1.9% of quota. And the other reason? The commercial strategy. Supermarkets have been laying the groundwork for years to promote their brands. This is what I suggested in 2024 a Kantar study. Their data must be handled with caution because they are presented by Promarca, a representative of manufacturers and therefore an interested party, but they are curious: according to the report, between 2018 and 2023 the supply of private label products increased by 13% on shelves while that of external items decreased by 23%. That is the general data, if we go down to detail and analyze chain by chain, noticeable variations are observed. In the case of Mercadona for example the study reveals that the presence of manufacturer brands was reduced by 45% in just five years. In the case of Dia the collapse was 42% and in that of Eroski it was almost 31%. An analysis by Kantar and The Battle Group also shows that this loss of footprint was accompanied by an increase in rates: third-party items are sold at prices between 5 and 160% higher than those of private labels. Are there more factors at play? Yes, there are. The prices, the offer and especially a cultural change which has favored private label brands, stripping them of the stigma that weighed on them for years. Mercadona once again sets a good example: Hacendado competes with premium brands and has some products that customers demand, prioritizing even other brands. The big question is how far brands like Hacendado, Auchan or Seleqtia (to name three examples) will be able to expand their share, as they find it very difficult to compete in certain niches in which traditional brands succeed. It is something that Worldpanel already warned about in one of your latest reportsin which he pointed out a certain “slowdown” in the growth of the value share of own brands. Images | Eroski Group (Flickr) Via | elEconomista.es In Xataka | Action supermarkets have gone from being unknown to conquering half of Europe. In Spain they will not have it easy

If when you think of a farm you visualize a red building with white corners, it’s the Swedes’ fault.

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5040-Y80R. That is the approximate designation according to the Natural Color System chart for color ‘red falu‘. It is a registered trademark and It goes beyond being a simple color: implies that a very specific pigment comes into play in its production that gives it that reddish tone and has transcended to the point of being part of the identity of an entire country thanks to its properties. That country is Sweden, and it all started as a waste product from a copper mine. By-product. Dalarna is a region located in the heart of Sweden, and it is home to the Falun Great Copper Mountain. The Vikings They were already exploiting this mine in 850, but the history of color dates back to the 16th century. It was then that they discovered that one of the mining byproducts could be turned into a useful pigment. Leaf From the production of copper they obtained what they called Falu rödfärgor “red mulch,” and was basically a unique mixture of over 20 different minerals. The reddish color was thanks to iron oxide, silica, zinc and copper itself. They started to mix it up with water, but also with other elements such as oils, tar or rye flour, and they discovered that they could obtain a paint with very interesting properties. better than paint. This red mulch mixed with the appropriate ingredients not only gave color to the wood, primary raw material in Sweden for both ships and infrastructure, but also acted especially well as a material protector. It was like an insulating layer, a shield that protected against the elementsprolonging its useful life, making repairs less frequent and, in addition, it was cheaper than importing wood treatments from other countries. The industry soon exploded. HE esteem that, by mid-1760, production was about 25 tons, but by 1930, that annual production exceeded 2,000 tons. Status. Now, it wasn’t cheap. Everyone wanted to paint their house that copper red color, but it turns out that it was a luxury reserved for the highest classes. When the pigment was discovered, and perhaps motivated only by its color, King John III ordered paint the ceilings of his palace with ‘falu red’, imitating the copper of the ceilings of other European palaces. Since then, those with the most power who could get hold of the pigment began to paint their houses. However, as production began to scale and gain traction, the product became cheaper and more people were able to access it, painting, if not all of their houses, the façade that faced the roads (which was what everyone passing by could see). Swedish edges of the 19th century contributed to popularize the image of the red houses of Sweden, immortalizing the idea of ​​rural life in red houses with white corners. One of Carl Larsson’s works The color of a nation. The color 5040-Y80R became the symbol of Sweden to the point that migrants who sought better luck in North America after the dissolution of the norwegian swedish union In 1905 they began to build their farms using this color. The image that many of us have of the red farm was created there. And it became so important to Swedish popular culture that there is a saying that symbolizes that simple life and harmonious in contact with the earth: den röda stugan och potatislandet (the red house and the potato garden). Today, the ‘Falu rödfärg’ is not as vital as it was years ago if we talk about production. The same has descended a lot because there is greater competition and synthetic products for paint the facadesbut it is still an example of “banal nationalism”, a symbol that exists without the need for flags and anthems, since its mere presence evokes belonging. Images| Xauxa Håkan Svensson, FrDr, HCa, Wigulf~commonswiki In Xataka | The world’s technology industry practically depends on a single road: the one that leads to the Spruce Prine mine

The white Iberian lynx of Jaén seemed like a feat of nature. I was actually just stressed.

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In recent days, a photograph has flooded social networks and headlines. In it you can see an Iberian lynx with white fur that a priori marked a historical moment: the first case of albinism in the Iberian lynx species and precisely in Jaén and that pointed to a genetic anomaly that reduced the pigmentation of the coat without affecting the color of the eyes. But the reality has been very different (and a little disappointing). The importance. A priori, this photograph taken by Ángel Hidalgo marked something historic and could have changed the perception that biologists had of the species. But in the end it was not like that, as specialists have been able to see of the Life Lynx Connect Project: He’s just stressed and got gray hair (the same thing that happens among humans). The context. Ángel Hidalgo, 29, has been using cameras for years phototrapping to document the fauna of the southern peninsula. “When that white figure appeared on the screen, I knew I was looking at something unique. I call it the white ghost of the Mediterranean forest,” he reported on his social networks. His image, accompanied by hashtags such as #linceblanco, went viral in a few hours on social networks. At first, several media outlets pointed to a case of leucism, well documented phenomenon in birds and mammals, but never scientifically confirmed in Iberian lynxes. However, the inspectors and biologists of the Iberian Lynx Recovery Plan quickly came out to clarify the misunderstanding. “The animal exists, the photograph is authentic, but it is not leucism,” explained Javier Salcedo, Andalusian coordinator of the Plan. “This is a temporary alteration in pigmentation that may be related to high levels of stress or an episode of physiological weakness. It is completely reversible and does not pose a risk to the health of the specimen.” When stress dulls the color. The color of mammalian fur depends on the amount and type of melanin synthesized by cells called melanocytes, as occurs in humans. A melanin that is highly controlled by different hormonal pathways that are sensitive to many external factors such as cortisol that can partially block the activity of melanocytes. The problem in this case is that cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and therefore greater stress reduces the activity of these melanocytes. This phenomenon has been described in a wideo range of animals, from laboratory mice to arctic foxes and primates, in published studies in Nature, Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research either Scientific Reports. Even humans experience it: the well-known “grayness due to stress” responds to the same mechanism. In the case of the Iberian lynx, an animal especially sensitive to disturbances in its environment, a prolonged period of tension—due to territorial competition, scarcity of prey or human noise near its breeding areas—is enough to activate these processes. Lessons from a biological mirage. The media commotion also reflects a contemporary phenomenon: how social networks can transform a simple image into scientific news. In this case, misinformation about leucism and albinism spread faster than technical clarifications from experts on X or Instagram. In this way, we are reminded that in conservation science, physiological details matter as much as big numbers. A single lynx that changes its color due to stress can reveal accumulated tensions in an entire ecosystem, but not a very rare mutation in its genetics that causes that curious coat. Cover | Angel Hidalgo In Xataka | The most fearsome animals in the world: when nature is much more dangerous than humans

White brand and prepared dishes

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If there is a formula for commercial success, Mercadona seems to have found her. The Valencian chain continues to grow and reinforces its market share, which already exceeds 27% at the state level and even reaches 34.1% in Levantewhere he enjoys a special force. Behind these data there is a lucky combination of factors among which are mainly three: their ability to capture great purchases and their commitment to White marks and prepared dishes and ready to eat. The big question is … Does Mercadona have a roof? What happened? That Mercadona seems to have no roof in its commercial expansion. The Last data of Worldpanel by numerator show that their market share is 27.3% If we attend to the value of purchases, a percentage that makes the Juan Roig chain highlight in the sector. And not only because it is the one with the greatest weight (Carrefour and Ifa follow, with quotas of about 10%, and Lidl, with 6.9%). The Valencian company has continued to strengthen over time and takes an increasing bite of household consumption. Is it still growing? Yes. And more than its competitors. The WorldPanel study shows that during the first eight months of 2025 Mercadona expanded its quota 0.7% compared to the same period of 2024. Lidl, Eroski, Dia, Consum, Aldi or the IFA group also grew, but at a lower pace. As a reference, at the end of last year Worldpanel I calculated that the market share of the Juan Roig chain was 26.4%. Eight months later that percentage has grown until the barrier of 27%has exceeded. How have you done it? Mercadona’s growth does not respond to a single cause. At stake they enter Many factorsalthough perhaps one of the most relevant is that the Valencian chain has managed to reach many buyers, loyalty and (fundamental) to get ‘against’ the trend of global consumption. We explain ourselves. Mercadona not only leads the sector as regards value quota. He also does it in buyers (91.3%) and in faithfulness (29.9%). It grows on both fronts and also takes an overwhelming advantage to the rest of the competitors. And what about the trend? That is another key. WorldPanel technicians have detected that, although in general the “great consumption” (label that identifies the goods for daily use, low price and high demand) has grown 3.5% during the first months of the year and the “food inside the home” does so at a rate of 5.4%, the Spaniards are selective when filling the fridge. What does that mean? That we make a greater number of visits to the supermarket, compare prices and take smaller baskets. “Households complete the purchase by visiting more than one chain, even the same day,” The report requireswhich points out that over a year we visit on average about 6.5 different chains and there are those who even go to more than one in the same day to make the purchase. Mercadona seems to have the formula to get off the way of that trend and that its clients leave their establishments with the full cars. “Capitalizes the big baskets preventing your buyer from completing your purchase in other chains”, collect the study. That trend explains its high market share, especially pronounced In the Levante“its main area of ​​influence.” There the consultant estimates that Mercadona’s footprint rises to A resounding 34.1%. Is there more? Yes. Mercadona’s boom coincides with that of two other products for which Roig’s chain has clearly opted. The first is the white mark. Although in recent months Worldpanel has appreciated a “deceleration” In the growth of this type of products (those that look the distributor brand, as a landowner in the case of Mercadona or Auchan if we talk about Alcampo), its evolution in the set of 2025 is being good, with a clear increase. To be more precise, the consultant has detected a 1.7 -point rise between January and August. So much so, in fact, that the white mark It is already 45.9% of consumer spending. A year ago that percentage marked 44.2% and in 2023 it was 43%. The reality is that little by little these teachers have gone shaking stigmasexpanding its presence in the baskets regardless of the fluctuations of the economy. What does Mercadona sell? That is another key to the good streak of the chain. As Slide EFE, in the Mercadona baskets they have gained weight strategic products such as eggs and fish, but also a merchandise for which the chain has clearly opted over the last decade: the prepared dishes. The agency indicates that they are already present in 19.5% of purchases and in Your report The consultant estimates that the value of this type of food ready to consume has shot 49% in just three years, between 2022 and 2025. These data confirm the Mercadona aim, which has been betting on its line at least eight years ‘Ready to eat’with a rich range of prepared dishes that includes from entrants or pizzas to lentils and meatballs. In Your last annual report The company revealed that in 2024 it had 1,260 stores with that section and since then it has not stopped expanding it, with New openings In recent months. Roig himself He has recognized who believes that in the middle of the century homes will no longer have kitchens. People will feed with the dishes he buys out of home. Does the format matter? Yes. And that is something that has also helped Mercadona. The WorldPanel study shows that so far this year the activity has grown in the Short assortment chains (such as Aldi, Dia, Lidl and Mercadona) and the regionalwhich also have been experiencing a positive evolution for some time. On the contrary, they have ‘punctured’ hypermarkets, “the format that suffers the most in what we have been from year,” They clarify The authors of the study. That has taken its toll on the French chain Carrefour, which has lost customers through that way. Images | Wikipedia (Carloss) In Xataka … Read more

The food industry is living its highest price drop since 2014. There is a clear suspect: white brands

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Manufacturers in the food sector are living an interesting phenomenon. They go up Industry prices in general, Upload the CPIgo up What they pay consumers in stores when they buy food and yet The rates That applies the food industry have been in free fall for almost a year. Moreover, the sector is facing its highest price decrease since early 2014. Behind that apparent nonsense there is a clear suspect: the effect of white brands and The fight that is getting rid of supermarkets. We explain ourselves. A percentage: 3.3%. Among the many indicators that periodically publishes the INE there is one that helps us better understand a key link of trade, which connects industry with the chain of distributors that take their merchandise to stores. The so -called Industrial Price Index (IPRI) records the oscillations in the right prices in That “first stage” of “internal market”, when the articles leave the factories and do not yet incorporate other added expenses, such as transport, marketing or VAT. Your approach is different from that of IPCwhich takes into account the prices paid by consumers. The INE calculates the IPRI for large sectors every month and sometimes the indicator leaves us some surprise, as happened in June, when it showed an annual fall of the 3.3% In the food industry. What does that mean? That month food manufacturers decided to reduce their rates. Why is it important? For what that percentage means. What reveals to us is a Price drop In the food industry, an adjustment of the rates with which the products leave the factory. The most curious thing is that this fall is not the dominant tonic in the industrial sector. On the contrary. Even beverage manufacturers saw in June how their industrial prices experienced A 2.7% rise. He IPRI General registered one 0.8% rise and if We go down to detail We observed that the indicator rose in most industrial branches. It only retreated in oil refinement, the chemical, metallurgical sector … and food. The annual IPC rate, which reflects the prices paid by consumers, also It was positive: In June it rose 2.2%. If we talk about the specific IPC of non -alcoholic foods and beverages of the purchase basket, it also grew 2.8%. It matters what … And imports when. If we look back, to the context, we observe two interesting data. The first is that the price index of the food industry has already a few months adjusting down. In June he scored a variation of -3.3%, but in May he had already done -2.7%and in April 2.2%. Actually the indicator has been going back. The second fact that we must take into account is that the food industry I had a decade without registering such a pronounced price drop. To find a major year -on -year drop, you have to go back to February 2014. What is the reason? The million dollar question. In a context of industrial inflationwith energy, a 3.5% And the increasing industrial prices, why do those in the food sector descend? In An article in which he delves into that phenomenon, Javier Romera, from The economisthe remembered yesterday that the reduction of the industry arrives in a context marked by a crucial factor: the rise of white brands and their growing competition In supermarkets. THE GREAT PULSE OF THE SECTOR. The industry price adjustment therefore coincides with a key moment for manufacturers, marked by the pulse with supermarket chains and The growing weight that white marks have (those of the distributor itself, such as Auchan, Hacondado or Seleqtia). All this also after years marked by a deep inflationary crisis that has made the big chains that manage supermarkets try to contain prices. The phenomenon is not new and Manuel Morales, manager of the IFA group, in An interview with The economist: “If they don’t react, brands are dead.” His notice, he remembered, comes in a context in which white brands have a greater weight in the linear of supermarkets. “Already almost 50% add up and will continue to grow because they have increased quality and differentiating prices is increasing,” Morales foreshadowed. With that backdrop, the food industry has begun to Cut your profitability. In the first quarter it stood at 6.81% after falling for the first time since 2022. Does the white mark grow so much? Yeah. Last year Promarca presented A report which shows that in just a five years, between 2018 and 2023, the presence of white -branded goods in supermarkets increased by 13%. The opposite path followed the articles sold with the brand of its manufacturer, which during that same period they retreated 23%. Promarca represents manufacturers and is therefore interested in, but their report provides a valuable track. Promarca estimates that in a five years they have disappeared from the super more than 3,600 Products marketed by manufacturers outside the distribution chains while theirs, those of the white brand, added 1,800 only in the feeding and hygiene sections. The calculation was made after analyzing six large chains. The Statista platform estimates that the market share of the white brands grew between 2005 and 2015, fell for a few years and would rebound again in 2019 until they were in 2024 in about 46%. Other studies consider that their mark on the linear of supermarkets is greater and already exceeds 50%. Images | Arno Senoner (UNSPLASH) and Alcampo In Xataka | The favorite ice cream in Spain are from Mercadona and have no “brand”. And there is a Valencian company making gold with them

that of white brands

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Silent but overwhelming, White marks They have been gaining weight in the Spanish purchase basket for years. Also in summer. A report Recent of Kantar reveals that the teaching linked to large distributors, such as Mercadona or Alcampo, have become more and lighter in an industry until not so much linked to large manufacturers: that of ice cream. So much so that according to Kantar, white brands almost monopolize 70% of the market value. The big question is … How have they achieved it? A percentage: 68.5%. White brands, those associated with distribution chains such as Mercadona, Carrefour, Aldi or Alcampo, have more and more weight in one of the most visited supermarket sections in summer: that of ice cream. It shows it clearly a Kantar report revealed by The economist which reflects that the badges of the distributors have been imposed on brands with a long journey in the sector, such as frigo, dairy, maxibon or häagen-dazs, already monopolizing 68.5% of the market value. A key: the price. To understand the growing weight of white brands in the ice market, several keys must be handled. One of them, fundamental, is the price. A box can cost more or less depending on whether it is a brand associated with chains such as Carrefour or Mercadona or a traditional firm of the sector. For example, A tarrine Belgian chocolate Häagen-Dazs of 460 mml costs 7.29 euros while another of Carrefour Sensation with the same flavor and 500 ml is announced by 2.65. An American manufacturer boat with 460 ml of cheese cake with strawberry syrup slope 6.29 euroswhile a similar Eroski Seleqtia option of 390 g is sold by 4.35with what the kilo comes out 2.5 euros cheaper. The article may not be exactly the same and time to decide the purchase, other factors beyond the cost, such as the quality or perception of the brand, but the price difference plays a crucial role. Last year Aecoc ShopperView conducted a study that shows that rates are still the factor that opts for purchase decisions for 73% of the interviewees. Beyond ice cream. That white marks have gained land to large manufacturers such as Unilever, Nestlé or General Mills until almost 70% The market value is not explained only by the drift of the ice cream sector. The trend coincides with another equally important: the General expansion of the distributor brands in the shopping baskets. Other Recent reportalso of Kantar and disseminated by Expansionshows that in two decades, between 2003 and 2024, its value quota has been duplicated. Of supposing 20% ​​it has been touching 44%. That weight gain has come accompanied by A change in role of brands such as Auchan or Landing. After years of crisis and price increase, the distributor’s badges have managed to make a hole thanks to their aggressive cost policy, winning a quota that has not yielded either with inflation or the exit of the crisis. Ice cream leave an example, but not the only one. In 2023 A ALIMARKET study He showed that white brands had made almost 82% of the volume of sales in drugstore and perfumery. It matters what … and where. Another important factor is where we buy ice cream. The report De Kantar shows that last year 81.6% of the market value was monopolized by organized distribution chains, especially supermarkets and self -service stores. It is an overwhelming percentage and also shows a clearly ascending trend. Just four years ago that same footprint was 78.5%, several points lower. The operators specialized in discount gain ground and the hypermarkets, which monopolize 12.2% of the ice cream business. The phenomenon is interesting because that growing weight of supermarkets coincides with an expansion within the chain sector that stands out precisely for their commitment to white brands, which is known as specialized operators in short assortment. In 2024 Mercadona was the main market share signature of the country, with A weight of 26.6% in food distribution. IFA, Carrefour, Lidl, Eroski and Dia also stand out in the sector, with a wide range of distributor brands. The backdrop. Beyond what or where customers buy, the refrigerator industry faces a complex scenario at the doors of summer. The sector has been watching with concern months The increase of the coconut oil due to environmental factors in Southeast Asia, a challenge to which the climbing of the price of cocoa is added international A record speed In Spain. According to The latest data of the INE, ice cream are now 3.8% more expensive than a year ago, a percentage that almost doubles the general CPI, which last month stayed at 2%. If we look further back, before the pandemic, the average price of the liter of ice cream has become more expensive 33%. Images | Michel Stockman (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | A squirrel could cross Spain jumping from supermarket in supermarket: how we have obsessed with the purchase

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