Illustrated Coastal scene inspired by Galicia, near Vigo.

Pay Pay

Vigo, Galicia, Spain

Pay Pay is the flagship brand of Conservas Cerqueira, a Vigo cannery founded in 1890 that is now the last major sardine canner still operating inside the city itself.

✦ Artisan & small-batch

100% family-owned, fourth generation (Conservas Cerqueira), independent of any multinational. (Qualifies on family independence, not small scale — output is industrial at ~40M cans/year.)

At a glance

Country	Spain
Region	Galicia
City	Vigo
Founded	1890 Founded 1890 in Vigo by João Baptista Cerqueira; Conservas Cerqueira was one of the founding members of ANFACO (Spain's national canned-goods association) in 1904.
Company	Independent, family-founded cannery (Conservas Cerqueira, S.A.)
Price	$ — budget
Species	Sardina pilchardus (European pilchard) — the EU-reserved name for a true sardine
Made at	Conservas Cerqueira, Vigo

Notable facts

Founded 1890 in Vigo by João Baptista Cerqueira; one of the founders of ANFACO (Spain's national canned-goods trade association) in 1904.
The last big cannery still manufacturing inside Vigo proper, as the city's industry — once roughly fifty factories — has largely relocated or closed.
Runs two plants (Vigo and a newer facility in Rianxo, opened 2023), producing about 40 million cans a year, employing ~170 people, with roughly €50M in annual revenue and exports to five continents.
Portfolio spans four brand lines: Pay Pay, Pay Pay Oro, Buenos Días, and (La) Ramona.
Sardine range covers olive-oil, sunflower-oil, lemon, spicy, tomato, and escabeche (vinegar) styles, in both full-size sardinas (RR120 format) and smaller sardinillas (RR90 format).
Certifications referenced on-site include Dolphin Safe and ISO 9001/IFS Food quality standards.

Behind the tin

Pay Pay is packed at Conservas Cerqueira in Vigo, Spain.

Origin

Pay Pay is the flagship brand of Conservas Cerqueira, founded in Vigo in 1890 by João Baptista Cerqueira and among the founding members of Spain's ANFACO trade association in 1904. More than a century later it's the last major sardine cannery still running inside Vigo city limits, as most of the port's roughly fifty historic canneries have closed or moved on. The company now runs two plants — the original Vigo site and a newer facility opened in Rianxo in 2023 — turning out about 40 million cans a year under four brand lines: Pay Pay, Pay Pay Oro, Buenos Días, and (La) Ramona.

The core Pay Pay sardine range is built around a simple, supermarket-friendly matrix: full-size sardinas and smaller sardinillas, each available in olive oil or sunflower oil, plain, spicy, or lemon-finished, plus tomato-sauce and escabeche (vinegar-marinade) styles.