Bicentury, the latest success story in Girona’s economy

Girona is proud to host several market leaders. One of the most outstanding companies in the region is Bicentury, whose products are manufactured mostly in the firm’s facility in Quart, right by the Àngels road. In 2014 Bicentury’s turnover was €32m, up 10 per cent from the previous year.

The company’s excellent performance is largely down to the work of its marketing and R&D departments, which have allowed Bicentury to become the benchmark firm in the field of dieting foods. Josep Arcas, Bicentury’s Managing Director, told this newspaper that “we will continue to rely on our R&D and production facility in Quart to keep up with growing demand and meet the new needs of consumers”.

Only two months ago, the Agrolimen-owned firm launched four new recipes based on their traditional corn and rice cakes. The new products were jointly developed by chef Jordi Cruz, who worked closely with the company’s innovation team.As the company underwent a brand makeover --Josep Arcas says that they are “forever innovating”--, they also brought four new cakes to market: mushrooms, truffle and parmesan; dark chocolate, orange and orange blossom; white chocolate, lemon and coconut, and popcorn flavoured.

The plant in Quart occupies 15,000 square metres and includes a pharmaceutical lab. The Managing Director remarked that they employ nearly 300 staff who follow the most stringent quality control processes. He also spoke about the company’s expansion abroad, the fact that it is the domestic market leader and its double-digit growth.

Since it was born in 1980, Bicentury has insisted that a healthy, balanced diet and taking care of your body are perfectly compatible with eating tasty foods. The firm’s mission is “to prepare food that helps you watch your weight in a responsible manner and without giving up on pleasure”.

A world giant

Food giant Nestlé has a factory in Girona city, where it currently employs 700 staff. Nestlé is due to invest €102m in a new facility that will produce Nescafé instant coffee. By 2017, the company estimates that this will be its largest instant coffee plant in Europe and will rank third worldwide, after the ones in Bazil and Mexico.