Catalonia has more than 200 technological hubs, most of them concentrated in Barcelona and its surroundings. Now, it adds a new piece, with a marked international accent. This time it comes from Taiwan: The company TCI, specialized in the development and manufacturing for third parties of food supplements and skin care products, has chosen L'Hospitalet de Llobregat to install its first production and research center in Europe.
The company will invest 20 million euros in a 4,250 square meter warehouse, where it will set up a plant equipped with production lines, three laboratories, offices, and an exhibition space for clients. The forecast is to start operations in May 2027, with an initial staff of 15 qualified professionals that will expand as production capacity grows.
The decision represents a new step in TCI's international expansion. Founded in Taipei in 1980, the company works developing and manufacturing products for other brands, serving nearly a thousand clients in 68 countries. With a portfolio of more than 2,600 patents and registered trademarks, a global workforce of over a thousand employees, and a turnover of nearly 220 million dollars in 2025, the group already has production centers in Taiwan, China, India, and the United States. Now, the L'Hospitalet center will become the first in Europe.
In an initial stage, the L'Hospitalet plant will be dedicated to the production of single-dose liquid sachets and functional jellies, two categories of food supplements that are experiencing growing demand in the European market. Later, the facilities will also take on a research and development function, with the creation of new formulations adapted to both European consumers and the continent's regulatory framework.
Technology will play a central role in this new center. The plant will incorporate digital production management systems based on AI, automated processes with robotics, and measures aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint. The goal is to reproduce in Catalonia the industrial model that the company already applies in its facilities in Taiwan.
The plant will open in L'Hospitalet after TCI established its European headquarters in the Netherlands in 2019, from where it has developed its commercial activity on the continent until now. With the new Catalan center, it will take another step, incorporating productive capacity to bring manufacturing closer to its European customers and reduce response times to market changes.
"Producing in Europe means being close to consumers and responding more quickly to their needs," highlights TCI's General Manager in Europe, Yin Liu. The company's president, Vincent Lin, also argues that the investment responds to a long-term commitment: "Barcelona is for us a long-term commitment to Europe."
The project, which has had the support of Acció, coincides with the Catalan Government's strategy for the 2026-2030 period, which sets the goal of attracting 600 international investment projects and mobilizing 6,000 million euros. It wants to attract them with Catalonia's technological ecosystem, its ability to attract talent, and its international connectivity, which put it on the radar of international companies to grow, as TCI has now done.