Deco joins Boali as Brazilian healthy-food chain expands in Barcelona

Deco’s name on the cap table is the clearest sign yet that Barcelona’s healthy convenience market is moving from niche to mainstream. The FC Barcelona sporting director has joined Boali, the Brazilian chain that opened its first Barcelona restaurant on May 20, 2026, at Via Augusta 47 in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, with a Diagonal Mar site planned for September and three more Spanish openings expected within 12 months.

For Boali, the appeal is not just football glamour. The chain says it was founded in 2015 and describes itself as the largest healthy-food franchise in Brazil and the Southern Hemisphere. Its menu is built around the exact kind of offer Barcelona has been warming to: salads, bowls, wraps, smoothies and protein drinks, the quick-service format that tries to look like a lunch stop and function like a nutrition play.

Deco’s involvement also fits a pattern rather than a one-off endorsement. He first entered the business in April 2025 as a franchisee at Arena Deco Beach in Indaiatuba, São Paulo, before agreeing to support Boali’s European rollout after the company expanded into Portugal. That move matters in Barcelona because it gives a Brazilian chain credibility in a city where wellness branding is crowded and consumers are skeptical of anything that feels like a logo exercise.

Boali’s expansion data suggests this is more than a single celebrity-backed opening. The company says it now has 173 franchise stores across Boali and Mana Poke, with 50 more units already under contract and a target of 280 restaurants by the end of 2026. Boali and Mana Poke together serve about 400,000 people a month, according to the company, and Boali says it bought a stake in Mana Poke as part of a broader growth strategy.

Rodrigo Barros founded Boali after buying the Brazilian operations of Salad Creations, which had 19 restaurants at the time. He has positioned the brand around universal access to healthy food, and Boali’s Portugal push, announced in May 2024, called for about 20 locations, more than 150 direct jobs and more than 10 million euros in revenue by year three.

That is the real test in Barcelona. Deco’s backing can open doors, and it may even nudge Barça players through them. But the chain will only prove itself if it can turn football cachet into repeat purchases, not just one more polished brand-extension tied to the club’s reach.