Barcelona Power

Barcelona closes a year in which gastronomy was supposed to be the protagonist. In 2025, Catalonia has been recognized as a World Region of Gastronomy, the first territory in the world to receive this title. A recognition that speaks of talent, product, culture… and a way of understanding cuisine that goes beyond chefs or Michelin stars.

It was an opportunity to make visible everything we already have: markets that are living heritage, shops that care for seasonal products, bars and grocery stores that maintain the essence of the neighborhood. And yes, initiatives have been promoted (routes, maps, workshops), but the general feeling is that, in Barcelona, something has been missing: movement, involvement, street. And that, as a retailer, worries me. Because when things don't happen, it means something isn't connecting. There's a lack of shared vision, momentum.

Barcelona is going through a strange moment. There are construction works that hinder mobility, a thick political climate, and many of us feel that the city has lost its rhythm. Opportunities are announced (the America's Cup, this gastronomic capital status, other strategic projects), but it's hard for them to be noticed. It's hard for them to reach the daily life of those who open their shutters every morning.

Five years ago I published Retail Power, a guide that was born in the midst of the pandemic to help businesses react. Those were tough times, but also times of action. We had to reinvent shop windows, digitize processes, take care of the customer more than ever. And we learned something that is still valid today: moving, even a little, is always better than standing still.

Today I don't propose another manual. But I do propose an attitude: activating Barcelona Power. It's not a campaign, nor a slogan, but a way of thinking about the city as a place where things can happen. Where every business, every neighborhood, can once again contribute, propose, push.

What do I mean by this? Not always waiting for the perfect plan. To act from where we are. Like when a shop organizes a workshop, a market recovers traditional recipes, a bar recommends local products, or a school teaches how to cook with what we have nearby. It is in these gestures that change begins. Because all of that counts. And what counts, builds a city.

We know what it means to lead from the local level; we just need to recover that energy and start acting

Barcelona Power is about that. About not waiting for someone to fix it, doing what is in our hands, from our stores, markets or projects. Sometimes it will be something small. But if it adds up, it's worth it. We've done it before. We know what it's like to lead from the local, from the small, from the day to day. We just have to recover that energy and start acting.