Nuri

The name has two competing origin stories, both told with conviction in Matosinhos. The more likely: one of Pinhais's founding partners, the company's first international salesman, fell for a Spanish woman named Nuria while opening European markets in the 1930s and named the label after her. The alternative: the Arabic word for light, which is what a perfect sardine is judged by, the brightness of its eyes and the shimmer of its skin. Both are plausible. The brand launched in 1935 and the packaging has not fundamentally changed since.