Pingo Doce

Key Information

Company type	Private, SA
Industry	Retail
Founded	(1980)
Founder	Ana Carriço
Headquarters	Lisbon, Portugal
Area served	Portugal
Products	Supermarkets
Parent	Jerónimo Martins (51%) Ahold Delhaize (49%)
Website	pingodoce.pt
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Pingo Doce (Sweet Drop in English) is one of the largest supermarket operators in Portugal, with 482 stores as of 2023 (just behind Continente which is the largest food retailer in the country^[1]).^[2]

It belongs to the Portuguese company Jerónimo Martins and the Dutch-based Ahold Delhaize. Since 1992, Pingo Doce has been operated as a joint venture by Jerónimo Martins, in which it holds 51% and the Dutch retail chain Ahold Delhaize 49%.^[3] In the 1990s, Jerónimo Martins acquired Brazilian supermarket chain Sé Supermercados, which became the Brazilian equivalent to Pingo Doce. In Poland, since 1997 the group has established Biedronka, the country's largest food retail chain. In the early 2000s, Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição / Grupo Pão de Açúcar, bought out Sé, rebranding its stores as Pão de Açúcar and CompreBem.^[4]

Since 2008, the chain uses its current logo, repositioned itself in the market, merged the Feira Nova supermarkets and hypermarkets into the Pingo Doce brand and has done aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns in order to maintain its position.^[5] The Jerónimo Martins Group began establishing local businesses in Colombia in March 2013 through Ara.^[6] From 2008 to 2010, Pingo Doce took over the Feira Nova brand.^[7] In 2021, Pingo Doce popularized the slogan "Quem trouxe, quem trouxe? Foi o Pingo Doce!" (Who brought [it]? Who brought [it]? It was Pingo Doce!) with a catchy Christmas jingle.^[8]

In April 2025, Pingo Doce launched what it described as the first restaurant in Portugal to implement AI-powered self-checkout terminals. Located in the Comida Fresca unit at Alegro Sintra shopping center, the system recognizes food items directly on customers’ trays using advanced image recognition. The technology was developed by the French startup Retail Robotics Solutions, which specializes in computer vision for foodservice automation. According to Pingo Doce, the AI solution aims to reduce wait times and improve the overall customer experience.^[9][10][11]

1. ^ "Pingo Doce Runs The Biggest Store Network In Portugal, Survey Finds". European Supermarket Magazine. 2023-03-23.
2. ^ "Pingo Doce vai abrir 50 restaurantes este ano para ser maior rede em Portugal". ECO (in European Portuguese). 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
3. ^ "Pingo Doce". 2015-03-15. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
4. ^ "Jerónimo Martins vende cadeia Sé à Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição". 2016-03-04. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
5. ^ "História | Pingo Doce". Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
6. ^ "Distribuição alimentar | Negócios Jerónimo Martins". 2015-04-27. Archived from the original on 2015-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
7. ^ "História | Pingo Doce". 2015-04-07. Archived from the original on 2015-04-07. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
8. ^ Farinha, Ricardo (2023-12-23). "Quem trouxe, quem trouxe? Como nasceu a música sensação do Pingo Doce" [Who brought it, who brought it? How Pingo Doce's sensational song was born].
9. ^ do Mar, Diana (2025-04-07). "Pingo Doce opens first restaurant in Portugal with AI checkout". Jornal de Negócios. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
10. ^ Pires, Ruben (2025-04-07). "Comida Fresca at Alegro Sintra now offers AI self-checkout". Jornal Económico. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
11. ^ "Comida Fresca at Pingo Doce becomes first AI-powered restaurant in Portugal". Marketeer.pt. 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2025-04-16.

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