Carlos Moreno, alias “Watermelon King”, revealed in the Program Espejo Público that his fame began thanks to a mother of four children. The woman complained in front of him about how expensive the fruit was, and it was then that the merchant proposed to sell watermelons at prices hard to believe: two pieces, between one and two kilos, for 1€. And not only does it have offers of this product that is so popular in the summer. On the posters of its premises, which it has baptized as La Trastienda ( avd. Cerro de Rubal, 16), you can read phrases like “6 bricks of Puleva milk for 1.50€”, “1 kilo of sliced cured ham for 10€” or “4 bottles of olive oil for 17€“.
The truth is that La Trastienda has long been on the lips of the Parleños. As early as 2023, Antena 3 noticed the store when Moreno spread the word that it was selling boxes of low-cost Christmas products: panettone at 3€, a kilo of prawns for 10€, roscones de Reyes at 8€… The surprising thing is that these prices are still seen today in the same place. And the question on everyone’s mind (logically) is: what’s the catch?
the supermarket of the future?
Moreno revealed in an interview for the newspaper Food Retail that its low-cost store model “is the future”. The trader contacts the producers directly, with whom he fixes the price of the food “without bargaining”. He assures that he does not mind paying more for orders than the large supermarket chains. This is profitable because your warehouse is both a store and a warehouse at the same time. There are no intermediaries.
A business with fans on social networks
The owner of La Trastienda is not only the king of the watermelon or the low-cost supermarket model. Now he is also the king of the networks. Although he does not use his website, Moreno has an internet presence thanks to his Facebook accounts, TikTok and Instagram. Through them, he publishes his offers and, on many occasions, he himself appears speaking forcefully about his products.