Mercadona has been at the centre of the debate. Photo credit: dodotone/Shutterstock
If you grab a ready-made lunch from Mercadona and eat it in the supermarket, you could be at the centre of a growing row between Spain’s supermarkets and its bars and restaurants. The hospitality industry wants supermarkets serving food and drink for customers to consume on the premises to face the same rules and costs as traditional hospitality businesses. It is now asking political parties to take up the issue ahead of the next government, although no new tax has been introduced.
Hostelería de España, the national organisation representing the hospitality sector, has included the proposal in a list of 30 requests sent to political parties. It argues that businesses offering similar services should face equivalent tax, health, labour and licensing obligations. The organisation says the current differences put bars and restaurants at a disadvantage when competing with supermarkets that have expanded their ready-to-eat food ranges. The proposal is a request from the hospitality industry, not an announced government measure. Any change would depend on whether political parties adopted it and a future government decided to act.
Why supermarkets have become part of the dispute
The argument centres on the growth of prepared meals sold by supermarkets, including food that customers can eat in designated areas inside the store. For traditional cafés, bars and restaurants, these services increasingly overlap with what they offer, particularly for people looking for a quick lunch without sitting down for a full restaurant meal. Mercadona has been at the centre of the debate because of its expansion of ready-to-eat food and spaces where customers can consume it. Other supermarket operators have also developed similar services.
José Luis Álvarez Almeida, president of Hostelería de España, raised the issue publicly in May, arguing that supermarkets were moving into territory traditionally occupied by bars. The association has now taken the complaint into the political debate, seeking changes that would apply to businesses offering comparable services rather than targeting Mercadona alone.
The organisation wants food and drink served for consumption in public areas within commercial premises, clubs and associations to be subject to the same requirements as equivalent services in bars and restaurants. That would mean addressing differences in taxation, food safety rules, employment obligations and licensing. The precise changes would need to be defined by policymakers; the proposals do not set out a new tax rate for supermarkets.
The industry says the rules should be the same
Hostelería de España argues that traditional hospitality businesses face obligations that may not apply in the same way to other businesses offering food for immediate consumption. It believes this creates an uneven playing field, particularly for independent establishments that must meet the costs of running a bar or restaurant.
The organisation represents around 320,000 establishments, including bars, restaurants and cafés. The sector accounts for 6.7% of Spain’s gross domestic product, while the restaurant industry alone contributes 4.7%, according to figures cited in its proposals. It also generates direct employment fo
Those figures form part of the association’s case for giving hospitality a stronger position in economic policy. Its demands extend beyond supermarket food counters, covering taxation, recruitment, small businesses and the preservation of traditional restaurants. For customers, the practical question is whether any future changes would affect the price or availability of prepared meals in supermarkets. There is no confirmed answer yet. The proposal does not automatically mean higher prices, and no change to supermarket charges has been announced.
Other demands include protecting the 10% VAT rate
The supermarket dispute is one of 30 proposals Hostelería de España has sent to political parties ahead of the general election scheduled for 29 November. Another major demand is to protect the reduced 10% VAT rate currently applied to hospitality services. The organisation is concerned about calls at European level for Spain to remove the reduced rate and apply the standard 21% rate instead. It argues that a rise could affect demand, employment and businesses already facing high operating costs.
The association is also calling for changes to the cost of hiring extra staff. It says an additional social security contribution of €31.22 per day for extra workers makes temporary recruitment more expensive, particularly when businesses need additional staff for weddings, banquets and large events.
It wants the contribution surcharge removed, arguing that hospitality businesses should not face an extra cost that it says does not apply in the same way to agriculture. Other proposals include increasing the tax-exempt value of meal vouchers to €14, reducing administrative paperwork for small businesses and self-employed workers, and improving support for traditional restaurants in rural areas. The organisation also wants a dedicated Directorate-General for Hospitality and Tourism within the Ministry of Industry and Tourism.
What happens next?
Hostelería de España has asked to meet political parties to discuss its proposals and seek their inclusion in the next legislature’s agenda. That leaves the supermarket demand at the stage of an industry request: it would require political support and subsequent regulatory decisions before any new obligations could take effect.
For now, shoppers can continue buying prepared meals from supermarkets under the rules currently in place. Whether future legislation brings supermarket food counters closer to the regulatory framework for bars and restaurants will depend on the decisions taken by the next government.
The hospitality sector is making its position clear before the election. It wants businesses serving food to customers on their premises to compete under equivalent conditions, regardless of whether the meal is bought in a traditional restaurant or a supermarket.