Galp Goody: stop by to fuel up, stay for the flavours

The Galp Goody in Arco do Cego doesn’t look much like the traditional image of a petrol station. There are customers sitting there working with a coffee in front of them, people popping in to buy something for lunch, and local residents stopping by to pick up some bread to take home.

“It’s a very urban shop. We’ve managed to tap into the local micro-market, which is very important to us,” explains Rita Matos, Head of Convenience at Galp.

Just a few metres from offices, universities and residential areas, this shop has become a prime example of the transformation Galp has been undertaking in its food offering. A change that breaks with the traditional image of convenience stores: cold sandwiches wrapped in plastic, shelves of crisps and the idea that people shop there out of necessity, rather than by choice.

“For many years, we supplied energy for vehicles. Today, we supply energy for people,” sums up Rita Matos.

From petrol station to neighbourhood destination

The Arco do Cego branch was one of the first to adopt the new Goody concept in early 2023. “We have lots of customers who come just for the store and the café, not to fill up,” says Rita.

The store has become part of the daily routine for those who live or work in the area: some have breakfast there before heading to the office, others grab a quick meal at lunchtime, some take a coffee break, and others pop in at the end of the day to pick up a snack for their children.

This development reflects a more profound shift in the way Galp approaches convenience: “We’ve moved away from thinking in terms of product categories and now focus on moments of consumption.”

A customer who walks into a Galp Goody in the morning has different needs to someone who pops in at lunchtime, a family taking a break on a journey, or someone making the most of the time whilst their electric vehicle is charging to grab a bite to eat.

With over 700,000 customers a day in Portugal and Spain, the challenge lies in catering to all these different situations without losing sight of the reality of each individual store. In an urban location such as Arco do Cego, this means competing directly with local cafés and bakeries. At motorway service stations, the priority is different: to offer quick, convenient and high-quality solutions for those on the move.

Pão de Deus that tastes like Pão de Deus and prawn rissoles
 

To bring about this transformation, Galp reviewed recipes, sought out new suppliers and reformulated some of the most iconic products in its range. The aim was not to reinvent Portuguese classics, but to get closer to what consumers recognise as authentic.

“The brioche croissant is now a genuine brioche croissant, typical of Porto. The Pão de Deus is the Pão de Deus that the Portuguese know and love. The croquettes are made to the traditional recipe and the rissóis really do contain prawns,” explains Rita Matos.

It is these details that help change the perception of anyone entering a Goody store for the first time. “When a Portuguese person thinks of a pão-de-deus, they imagine it filled with coconut. That’s what we aim to deliver,” he explains.

To achieve this, Galp works with various national suppliers, often seeking out a specialist for each product.

The latest trends are also present at Goody

Respecting traditional flavours does not mean being stuck in the past. At Goody shops, innovation is part of the recipe and stems from the very same question that guides the entire range: what are consumers looking for today?

“Trends help us to innovate and often allow us to test products in one country before rolling them out to another.”

It is this approach that has brought products such as cookies – which quickly became customer favourites – or ‘dots’, small filled pastry balls that reflect some of the latest international pastry trends, to the shop windows. The matcha and strawberry dot first arrived in Spanish shops, where the trend was already circulating on social media, before crossing the border into Portugal.

Many of these products are designed for a younger audience, accustomed to discovering new trends on TikTok and Instagram. “This target audience loves these highly Instagrammable coffee drinks. They come with a cookie that’s also highly Instagrammable,” says Rita Matos.

“We want to find the people who make the best pão-de-deus, the best brioche croissant or the best croquette. We want every product to live up to the expectations that Portuguese people have when they choose it.”

Another hit was Café Biscoff. Created by chef Juan Bosco, it combines the popular spiced biscuit with a coffee drink and, within a few months, secured a prominent place amongst the brand’s best-selling drinks. “It’s now competing with the ‘meia de leite’ and the ‘galão’. For us, it was a spectacular result,” says Rita.

But innovation doesn’t always come from abroad. Last summer, Galp decided to focus on a Portuguese classic: ‘bolas de Berlim’, inspired by those found on the beaches. They were such a hit that, this year, they crossed the border and reached Spanish shops. In less than a month, they became one of the best-selling products in the sweet pastry category.

“We’re always making the most of the best of both countries and bringing that innovation with us,” sums up Rita Matos. “Sometimes we test a product in one country and then take it to the other.”

The future is also served at the table

The transformation of Goody’s stores is far from complete. For Rita Matos, the next step is to make the experience even more integrated, bringing the digital world closer to the physical store.

“My dream was for a customer to know there’s a Galp two kilometres away, open the Mundo Galp app, place their order and, when they arrived, have everything ready to collect or enjoy in the store,” she explains.

Convenience is therefore no longer just about the speed of service, but also about how the customer plans their visit.

At the same time, Goody continues to step outside the four walls of its shops to be where the Portuguese people are too. This year, it returned to summer festivals with a food truck, made an appearance at events linked to the national football team, and has been seeking to raise the brand’s profile amongst new audiences.

The aim remains to change a perception that still persists. “If we ask people on the street, ‘Are you going to Galp for breakfast?’, there are probably still plenty of people who don’t associate us with that,” admits Rita Matos.

But she believes that this change happens one visit at a time.

“Anyone who comes in, discovers what we have to offer, and comes back.”

Because, these days, a stop at a Galp Goody is no longer just about filling up the car. It’s about starting the day, taking a break, having lunch, discovering something new, or simply taking home a ‘Pão de Deus’ packed with coconut. And it is precisely this ability to cater to different moments that defines the brand’s new ambition.

Convenience and mobility: the electrification bet

Convenience is also a priority in electric mobility. With one million charging sessions completed by May 2026, more than 10,000 charging points across Portugal and Spain, and an ultrafast charging corridor connecting Porto to the Algarve, Galp has been investing in a network that combines technology with user experience. The goal is to make every stop easier to manage, with food, convenience and other services available at key locations across the network.