Gen Z's quest for the perfect meet-cute has led them to the most ordinary settings: Grocery store,
Single people in Spain are lining up at Mercadona stores, a popular chain of supermarkets, to buy some items in the hope of finding some natural romance.
Fed up with the relentless online dating landscape, young adults looking for love are taking the quest for love at first sight from the apps to the streets — just like in the movies.
“This doesn’t happen on apps,” Lydia Izquierdo, 19, told The New York Times last week. The Barcelona student has visited her neighborhood Mercadona three times recently in hopes of increasing her chances of meeting her life partner after seeing a speed-shopping dating method go viral on TikTok.
They are not leaving everything to chance. Maybe by borrowing From swinger cultureThe pineapple is seen as an appropriate signal to other single individuals that you're there to mingle, not just get groceries.
Those who are ready to make their approach are advised to playfully bump their cart with the client they have their eyes set on.
Pineapples have to be stored upside down, and canned pineapple will not work, as Izquierdo found on his second attempt when the fresh fruit had sold out due to the dating craze. On his third attempt, a store employee was guarding the pineapple stand.
Despite her failed attempts, Izquierdo told the Times she plans to return.
According to Spanish media, the trend was popularised by comedian Vivi Lynn, who reportedly first observed “dating time at Mercadona” when she noticed a large number of single men and women filling the aisles between 7pm and 8pm.
Soon after, videos of well-dressed and hopeful single people pushing their shopping carts through crowded stores began to pop up on Spanish social media.
Pineapples are just the first sign of being single. US-based Spanish influencer Ana Gildersleeve explains the rules of engagement to her 915,000 viewers On TikTokHe said people looking for a long-term relationship should grab a bag of lentils, “because [they] They last a long time in your kitchen, while those who want to develop a relationship with them can buy lettuce for a short time.
According to one report, this new dating method has caused chaos in some Mercadona locations, such as in Bilbao, where the police had to be called to calm down the romantic din. A recent BBC report,
