{"id":1216,"date":"2026-03-05T17:54:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/?p=1216"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:54:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T17:54:37","slug":"mercadona-apuesta-por-la-calidad-de-sus-productos-con-su-modelo-de-coinnovacion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/mercadona-apuesta-por-la-calidad-de-sus-productos-con-su-modelo-de-coinnovacion\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercadona is committed to the quality of its products with its co-innovation model."},"content":{"rendered":"

The company encourages direct collaboration with customers to test products and assess where improvements can be made.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quality is a sure value at Mercadona and also one of the main differentiating features that make this brand the preferred brand for families when shopping. Because quality is sought, worked for and managed so that it forms part of the DNA of all the products available on the shelves of its network of shops throughout Spain and Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has taken on the great challenge of continuous improvement in the quality of its products in order to continue to make steady progress. In fact, since 2011 it has been applying its own \u2018Co-innovation Model\u2019, based on the \u2018Apron Strategy\u2019, which has the clear objective of sharing experiences and customs with the \u2018Bosses\u2019 (as Mercadona calls its customers) to then pass them on to suppliers and promote direct and joint collaboration in the production of the best products. In other words, the products it puts on sale have been, and will continue to be, submitted to the verdict of its customers so that they can decide in which aspects they can improve and, therefore, gain in quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At present, this pioneering strategy already has 21 co-innovation centres in Spain and Portugal where more than 150 specialists hold sessions with consumers so that they can try the products and establish the characteristics that the \u2018Boss\u2019 expects of them: firstly, that they are good, that is, that they taste, smell, colour and texture good; and secondly, that they are good, that is, safe for consumption, healthy for the body, sustainable for the planet and socially responsible for society. In this way, Mercadona detects its customers\u2018 real needs in advance and meets them, inverting the standard distribution model - it is the supplier who intercepts the customer's needs - whereas with the \u2019Co-innovation Model' it is the customer who shows the supplier what he wants at any given moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this end, all the company's departments, which encompass 95,000 workers, and its more than 3,000 suppliers, together with their corresponding employees (in total, more than 600,000 people), make up Mercadona's Quality Department, responsible for guaranteeing quality to the \u2018Boss\u2019 in every act of purchase and every act of consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definition process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance that Mercadona attaches to the quality of its range is reflected in the exhaustive process that any product must go through to get the approval, in the literal sense because they work side by side with customers until a reference product meets their demands, tastes and needs. In the first place, the specialist, whether on the shop floor, through official channels, watching the sale or analysing market trends, among others, is in charge of detecting that the \u2018Boss\u2019 has a new need that Mercadona is not offering. Therefore, the \u2018Bosses\u2019 in love (i.e. those who make the effort to go and look for the product, when they do not have it, wherever it is) are listened to through collaborations, both in the company's co-innovation centres and in their own homes, with the aim of defining what characteristics the product must have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, the search and selection of the \u2018totaler\u2019 supplier begins so that it can be produced according to the tastes and interests of the customer. Once located, the purchasing manager and the \u2018totaler\u2019 supplier establish the formula or recipe necessary for the defined attributes to be achieved. Next comes the testing phase, for which the specialist meets again with the \u2018Boss\u2019, either at the co-innovation centres or at their homes, to check whether the product meets their expectations. And if it passes, it goes on sale. However, it is first tested with a \u2018laboratory\u2019, that is, a small group of selected shops to see if it is well received; if the result is favourable, it is then distributed to the rest of the chain's network of establishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the product is in place, the specialist observes how the \u2018Boss\u2019 makes use of it, and the purchasing manager ensures, in collaboration with the \u2018totaler\u2019 supplier, that quality is met every day. Even so, everyone is alert and attentive to the interest in the product and if any improvements are detected, either through buyer feedback or sales slippage, among other things, they return to work with the \u2018Bosses\u2019 to address it. However, more than 80% of Mercadona's innovations are finally kept on the shelves, as they are well worked on before they are launched onto the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passion and demand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Mercadona's \u2018totaler\u2019 suppliers and one that shares its same quality and innovation policy is Nueva Cocina Mediterr\u00e1nea (NCM), the company from Alcantarilla that supplies the prepared Russian salad dish for the 1,600 shops it has in Spain and Portugal. \u00abWe have tried not to renounce our roots, creating a product that maintains the flavour and quality of this healthy recipe, together with the application of new technologies, innovation in production processes and quality controls so that thousands of people can have this product in Mercadona every day\u00bb, says the company's general manager, Luis Miguel Garc\u00eda de Andr\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quality is a constant throughout the entire production process at Nueva Cocina Mediterr\u00e1nea. \u00abFrom the choice of raw materials from suppliers selected at source, to the incorporation of the most up-to-date and efficient machinery for manufacturing through standardised processes, to the advantage of having our own laboratory, without forgetting the recruitment of talent for the different work teams that allows us to maintain control and supervision in all areas of the company\u00bb, he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has also implemented a quality and food safety management system in accordance with the IFS standard to meet all these requirements. In addition, it applies measures for the management of the environment, energy, waste, pollutants and gases, with the aim of caring for and preserving the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic alliance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cooperation that exists between Mercadona and Nueva Cocina Mediterr\u00e1nea demonstrates the commitment that both national companies are developing in pursuit of consistent quality, so that the \u2018Bosses\u2019 always win every time they purchase and consume any of their products. In the same way, they maintain a direct and continuous communication operating under long-term commitments and favouring co-innovation opportunities.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

La compa\u00f1\u00eda impulsa una colaboraci\u00f3n directa con sus clientes para que prueben los productos y valoren en qu\u00e9 aspectos pueden mejorarse La calidad es un valor seguro en Mercadona y tambi\u00e9n uno de los principales rasgos diferenciales que convierten a esta marca en la preferida por las familias para hacer la compra. Porque la calidad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1218,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1216\/revisions\/1218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuevacocinamediterranea.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}