The pineapple dating craze is taking over everyone’s Instagram and TikTok feeds, but, this time, the trend didn’t originate in the United States. Those who are single in Spain and Portugal are now looking for partners at their local Mercadonas by placing upside down pineapples in their shopping carts.
They then bump into the carts of potential partners in the wine section. Single Spaniards are drawn to locations of the supermarket chain Mercadona between 7 and 8 pm every day, with the promise of possible romance.
Spanish actor and humorist Vivy Lin seems to be the one that brought this trend to the mainstream by posting a video during the alleged window of time when those who are single meet at the Mercadona.
As the pineapple dating craze gains popularity, incidents have been noted at Mercadonas in Spain
In Madrid and other Spanish cities, there have been several reports of bands of teenagers pushing shopping carts around without buying any products. However, teens are known for such horseplay. In more radical instances, Mercadona saw a fellow dressed up in a full pineapple costume as part of his bachelor celebrations.
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Reports in another major city, Bilbao, have coincided with the chaos that has hit Madrid’s dating scene. Some Mercadonas in the Basque capital have had to call law enforcement to deal with situations that have gotten out of hand.
It’s not the first time pineapples are used as code
Over the last few decades, pineapples have become some sort of an erotic symbol. They have been used by the swinger community to signal to each other that they are interested in swapping partners.
But how did this even come to be? Pineapples have long been symbols of hospitality, welcoming, and friendship. These characteristics have contributed to their adoption in the swinger community as a friendly, none threatening symbol for couples to engage with each other. However, it should be noted that there is no real historical tradition or relation between pineapples and swingers.
This new dating trend in Spain has left Mercadona workers in disarray, mainly because they have to clean up and re-organize unpurchased goods. There have been videos showing Mercadona workers pushing pineapple shelves towards storerooms as 7 p.m. approaches.
The supermarket chain has publicly stated that they did not launch the trend. Instead, their store was hit by it.
Mercadona, however, has used this trend to its advantage. On its official TikTok account, it addressed the trend with a post captioned: “The pineapple on the shelf at Mercadona is waiting to get you a date.”
