Buyers, Investors Gobble Up Israeli Foodtech

PepsiCo Inc.’s Monday announcement of its acquisition of Israeli home water carbonator company SodaStream International Ltd. for $3.2 billion drew attention to Israel’s food and drink industry. In May, Israel-headquartered flavor and fragrance company Frutarom Industries Ltd. was acquired by NYSE-listed Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) for $7.1 billion. Israeli foodtech startups are also gaining attention from investors, both local and international, with companies working on anything from artificial meat and alternative protein sources to vacuum sealed pizza and a vegan crypto coin.

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Bellow are some of CTech’s most popular food and foodtech stories, highlighting the trends and success stories of the Israeli industry in the first eight months of 2018.

Interview | Under PepsiCo, SodaStream’s marketing-savvy CEO says he is not going to pipe down. Once the target of SodaStream’s marketing barbs, PepsiCo announced it will acquire the Israeli outfit Monday. In an interview with Calcalist SodaStream’s CEO said he has no intention to start playing nice. Read more

Alternative protein startups win Calcalist’s foodtech innovation competition. InnovoPro, a startup developing a way to extract concentrated protein from chickpeas, and Hargol FoodTech, a commercial grasshopper farming startup, were selected out of 10 finalists. Read more

This startup promises to keep pizza fresh for eight weeks. Israel-based startup Timeless Foods makes firm disposable plastic containers for vacuum packaging of delicate foods. Read more

IFF to acquire Frutarom for $7.1 billion. The U.S.-based flavor and fragrance company will pay 67% in cash and 33% in stock for the Israel-headquartered company. Read more

Futuristic pod-to-meal startup raises $10 million. Israeli foodtech startup Genie develops “ovens” it says can cook a pod of freeze-dried foodstuff into a restaurant-grade meal in 2-3 minutes. Read more

The Goal: Printing the Perfect Burger from Cellulose. A new food printer adds extra punch by using infrared light to simultaneously cook the food as it prints. Read more

Lab-grown meat startup SuperMeat raises $3 million. The company aims to bring edible lab-grown poultry meat to the market within three years. Read more

Israeli rabbi says lab-grown pork meat is Kosher. Abstinence from eating pork is a pinnacle of Jewish religious dietary laws, which also prohibit the consumption of meat and dairy together. Read more

Plant breeding startup Rootility raises $10 million. The Israel-based company develops root-focused plant breeding methods that increase crop yields, and improve plant tolerances to heat, cold, and soil-borne diseases. Read more

Vegan startup launches “cruelty-free” digital coin. The company describes itself as a global decentralized vegan “nation” based on blockchain technology. A national vegan flag is in the works, according to a company spokesman. Read more

Israel to build a foodtech Hub near Lebanon’s border. The Israeli government approved the allocation of $27 million to build a food-tech research institute, startup accelerator and a micro industry hub in its northernmost city Kiryat Shmona. Read more

Nutritional data startup Nutrino raises $8 million. Israel-based Nutrino collects and analyzes nutritional data and operates a database used by food, fitness, and digital health companies. Read more