The unusual craze, which encourages single people to search for partners in supermarkets using a secret fruit-based signal, has sparked chaotic scenes in Spain and led to calls for police to restore order.
In recent days, many Spaniards who are not in a relationship or married have been attracted by claims that between 19pm and 20pm, in the Mercadona supermarket chains, they can find a romantic adventure, especially if they put a pineapple upside down in their shopping cart.
It seems that actress and humorist Vivi Lin is largely responsible for this phenomenon, who posted a video on the TikTok social network of herself pushing a cart around the Merkadon store, talking about the alleged window display.
"The meeting time in Merkadona is from 19:20 to XNUMX:XNUMX," she said.
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On the official TikTok account, the supermarket posted this fruit tree with the caption: "A pineapple on the Merkadon shelf is waiting for you to get a date."
The pineapple maneuver supposedly ends with pushing the cart to the wine section of the store and hoping that the person you find attractive responds positively.
As the story went viral, it led to unusual and sometimes inappropriate scenes.
Reports from Madrid mention groups of teenagers pushing carts around stores in the evening without buying a single product.
A man was dressed up as a giant pineapple by his friends at a grocery store as part of his bachelor party.
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In Bilbao, the police were called to one of the Mercadone markets between 19 and 20 hours due to a disturbance, although they were not obliged to intervene.
The song, which is circulating online, further fueled the trend's success with the lyrics: "In the wine section / My heart is racing / Looking for someone special / What my soul needs."
This is not the first time that an upside-down pineapple has been used as a code.
It was used by swingers, people interested in changing sexual partners, to find each other.
While the latest use of the fruit for these purposes may have proved popular with some, certain reports indicate that pineapple mania has not gone down well with many Mercadona employees who are left to clear out the merchandise.
One video shows a worker pushing boxes of fruit from the shelves into the warehouse as it was getting close to 19 p.m.
The company says that the trend "was not initiated by them, but arose spontaneously".
Some observers took a critical stance.
"Falling into the clutches of a campaign designed through social networks can be innocent, as is the case with 'Pineapplegate', with all the jokes and childishness it generates," wrote social commentator Suzana Quadrado in La Vanguardia newspaper.
She warned that it also shows how the virtual world "can condition social behavior and turn users into spokespeople for free".
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