Brand story
The houses of Portugal: who makes our sardines
From century-old northern canneries to the Algarve and Lisbon's illustrated tins — the makers behind our shelves.
Ramirez is a family company founded in 1853 and describes itself as the oldest canned-fish producer still in operation. Today it cans in the Porto region and offers one of the widest ranges in Portugal, from classic sardines in olive oil to boneless fillets and lower-salt recipes.
NURI is made by Conserveira Pinhais in Matosinhos, which has worked there since 1920. The fish is still prepared and packed by hand, and each tin is wrapped in its familiar printed paper.
Minerva is the leading brand of A Poveira, a cannery from Póvoa de Varzim on the northern coast. The brand dates from 1942 and follows the traditional method: the fish is steam-cooked before it is packed.
Further south, Conservas Santos is the Algarve's answer. The Campos Santos and Conservas Santos brands were born in Albufeira in 2010, created by a family that had already spent 25 years in the food trade. The tins say it plainly — "Proudly produced in the Algarve" — with sardines in olive oil, with lemon and in tomato.
José Gourmet is the youngest name on our shelves. It was founded in Lisbon in 2008 by Adriano Ribeiro, a pilot, and Luís Mendonça, a designer and illustrator, who came up with the idea while living in Macau. Every tin is illustrated by a Portuguese artist, which is why the packaging looks as good as the fish tastes — and the range goes beyond sardines into pâtés and gift packs.
Bom Petisco is the everyday Portuguese tin. It is one of the best-selling sardine brands in the country, the one many Portuguese families grew up with, and the range runs from olive oil and tomato to spicy, BIO and a skinless-and-boneless fillet in extra virgin olive oil. The five-tin tasting pack is the simplest way to work through the whole range at once. When someone asks where to start with Portuguese sardines, this is the tin we hand them first.
The three northern houses are the easiest to compare: buy the same recipe — sardines in olive oil — from each and taste them side by side. Then add a Bom Petisco tin, an Algarve tin and an illustrated José Gourmet tin to taste how wide Portugal's range really is.
