Madrid, Sep 3 (IANS): A new social media-driven fad using a code, chiefly based on pineapples, but also involving vegetables and grocery products, in a popular Spanish supermarket chain for people looking for dates created some pandemonium in some of the stores, and even police being called.

Many single Spaniards have been thronging stores of supermarket chain Mercadona between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. following claims they can find romance at that time, particularly if they put a pineapple upside down in their shopping trolley and push it into the wine section of the store, the BBC reported.

The trend was driven largely by actor and humourist Vivy Lin, who posted a video on TikTok of her pushing a trolley around a Mercadona store, talking about the purported window for romance. "The time to hook up in Mercadona is 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.," she is heard saying.

The supermarket also went along with the gag, posting a pineapple on its official TikTok account with the caption: "The pineapple on the shelf of Mercadona waiting for you to get a date."

According to a social media post, the process involves placing a pineapple upside down in one of the two closest corners of the cart, and wheeling it to the wine aisle to find others with similarly placed pineapples in their trolleys. To indicate interest in someone, the hopeful person could bump their trolley against theirs, indicating that they would like to chat. If the feeling is mutual, they could bump back, or just start talking, it said.

It also warned other items in someone fancied's trolley will indicate their intentions - chocolates or sweets would signal the hope for long-term relationships or something more serious, but legumes or lettuce means they are looking for something more casual.

Another signal of interest, as per the post, is placing a jar of gazpacho in the fancied person's trolley "by accident".

As the trend became viral, unusual sights and some disorder was witnessed in several stores.

In Madrid, groups of teenagers reportedly just pushed trolleys around stores during the 'dating hour' and then left without buying anything.

Then, one man was dressed as a giant pineapple by his friends inside a store as part of his bachelor party celebrations.

In Bilbao, police were called to a Mercadona branch due to disorder in the "romantic" time slot, but their intervention was not

needed.

However, there have also been reports that the pineapple mania is not popular with many Mercadona employees who are left to clear up unpurchased goods, the BBC reported.

One video showed a worker moving pineapples away from shelves into a storeroom as 7 p.m. approached.

Despite going along initially, Mercadona has sought to clarify that it did not launch the trend, which was "spontaneous".