Mercadona's purchases from Catalan suppliers exceed 4,000 million

In 2021, Mercadona sold 65 million bottles of shower gels and shampoo manufactured at the plant that the Ubesol-Maverick group owns in Ulldecona (Tarragona). Another 32.8 million units of cosmetic products, from make-up to nail polishes, including blushes, lipsticks, eye shadows, and mascaras, came out of the factories that You Cosmetics and Wecolors have in Gavà and Vilassar de Mar, in the province of Barcelona. The Valencian chain sold 65 million rolls of garbage bags in its supermarket network throughout Spain and Portugal, also from a Catalan factory, Saplex, located in Canovelles (Barcelona).

These are four of the 200 reference supplier companies that Mercadona has in Catalonia, a territory where in 2021 it made purchases for a business volume of 4,036 million euros. This figure also includes invoices paid to another 1,700 Catalan SMEs, whether they are service providers or manufacturers of certain specialties. "This volume of purchases from 1,900 suppliers based in Catalonia makes Mercadona one of the main economic engines," says the company chaired by Juan Roig.

Among the Catalan companies that manufacture for Mercadona, Casa Tarradellas, Embutidos Monter, La Selva, and Pastifred also stand out. The chain is also a reference buyer for the primary sector, with suppliers such as Catafruit, Nufri, Golden Export, Frifruit, Girona Fruits, Fructícola Empordà, Fruits Sant Miquel, Grup Cooperatiu Fruits de Ponent and Sat Segrià-Garrigues, Cooperativa d'Ivars, Eco Figs Fruits and Vimofigs. In 2021, the group acquired 58 million kilos of pears, apples, and peaches, among other fruits, 3.2 million kilos of beef, or more than 156,000 kilos of figs from these companies.

Last year, Mercadona executed in Catalonia investments of 80.2 million euros, a figure that was allocated to the improvement of the logistics centers of Abrera and Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, to the construction of a warehouse to distribute online purchases in the Zona Franca of Barcelona and to the renovation of 17 supermarkets to adapt them to the new efficient store model that reduces energy consumption by 40%. In parallel, three new supermarkets were opened, reaching a network of 251 points of sale. Two of these three openings involved the closure of existing stores that did not adapt to the chain's standards. All these establishments and logistics centers now employ a total of 14,615 people.

Other indicators that summarize Mercadona's activity in Catalonia last year are the donation of more than 5,300 tons of food to 157 social entities and charitable organizations and the introduction of improvements in sustainability that have allowed reducing the carbon footprint in the community by more than 8,000 tons of CO2 emissions compared to 2020.