Mercadona is one of the best-known supermarket chains in Spain. It was born in 1977 within the Cárnicas Roig Group, which was owned by Francisco Roig and Trinidad Alfonso. The butcher shops of his family business were transformed into groceries at that time.
Juan Roig and his wife, together with his brothers Fernando, Trinidad and Amparo, bought the business from their father in 1981, the year in which Mercadona began its activity as an independent company. Its first logo was different from the current one.
The name of the company was written twice. In one of its representations, the term was separated into “merca” and “donut”. The two words were placed inside a wicker basket with lace around the edges.
The other representation of the company name was more legible, as it used a larger typeface, in all caps, and with rounded corners. The image of the chain was renewed keeping this source. The color red was changed to green. The basket was replaced by the symbol of a shopping basket with different products. The slogan “trusted supermarkets” was also added.
A widespread theory about the origin of the Mercadona name indicates that it was born as a simple play on words in Valencian, fusing the terms mercat (market) and dona (woman). However, the company denied this explanation.
Juan Roig assured that his family had noticed the name of an Italian brand of pasta called Mercadonna. They eliminated an ene and registered the company in 1977. A message from their official Twitter account published in 2021 responds to a user’s doubt and states it this way: “We inform you that the origin of the Mercadona name comes from Francisco Roig, brother of our president, when they saw the name on some Italian pasta in Italy and decided to take a n off it”.
