Meet the 11 Finalists of Calcalist’s Foodtech Innovation Competition

On Monday, October 28, Calcalist, Israeli food processing company Tnuva, and accounting firm KPMG will announce the winner of their annual food innovation competition for Israeli startups. Dozens of Israeli foodtech companies participated in the competition, and the 11 finalists will present their technology at Calcalit’s Food Tech 2019 conference, which will be held at Tel Aviv coworking space Labs.

Below are the finalists:

DayTwo

Founder: Lihi Segal

Funding: $48 million

Investors: aMoon, Ofek Ventures, Johnson & Johnson, Seventure Partners, Israeli basketball player Omri Casspi

Founded in 2015 and based in Tel Aviv, DayTwo Ltd. offers personalized nutrition optimization suggestions based on feces analysis to determine gut microbiome DNA. According to DayTwo, the company's nutrition suggestions are designed to reduce the risk of diabetes and other metabolic diseases. In December, the company announced a plan to open a $5 million lab that will allow it to process over 100,000 feces samples a year.

Tamiz

Founder: Tami Steinfeld

Funding: $100,000

Tamiz develops and manufactures dairy products from non-soy vegan dairy-alternatives. The company currently supplies three product lines to health food stores throughout Israel: vegan spreads and spreadable cheeses, vegan yogurts and drinks, and vegan hard cheese.

Yoran Imaging

Founders: Yoav Weinstein, Eran Sinbar

Funding: $1.5 million

Investors: private investors

Yoran Imaging develops packaging analytical monitoring (PAM), a non-intrusive in-line inspection system for heat-sealed packages. The company’s system can be used for containers, blisters, canisters, pouches, sachets, and tubes.

Equinom

Founders: Gil Shalev, Itay Dana

Funding: $10.25 million

Investors: Fortissimo, Hazera 1939, Dan Danzinger, Roquette

Equinom Ltd. is a computational breeding company developing non-GMO specialty crops for the food industry, including high-protein legumes designed to be used in innovative plant-based food products. Founded in 2012, Equinom has a number of contracts under its belt, including a multi-year contract with U.S.-based hummus maker Sabra Dipping Company LLC, and a commercialization agreement with Japan’s Mitsui & Co. Ltd.

Soos Technology

Founder: Yael Alter

Funding: $1.8 million

Investors: Takwin, Mikal, SIBF, Alon Gozlan

NR Soos Technology Ltd. develops incubation technology that controls the sex-development process in poultry embryos and changes genetic male embryos into functional female chickens capable of laying eggs. The company's technology controls changing environmental conditions during the hatching process to determine gender without harming eggs or chicks, enabling the egg industry to increase business productivity business and optimize efficiency.

Verstill

Founders: Yechiel (Jonathan) Ben Zvi, Ido Maor, Matan Edvy

Funding: $550,000

Investors: Alex Haruni, Termaips Technologies, F&F

Verstill Distillation Systems develops technology to more quickly and cost-effectively produce spirits. The company’s molecular distillery is able to control the flavor composition and complexity of whiskey, and bring high-quality spirits into the market in a matter of weeks instead of years, according to the its website.

Zero Egg

Founders: Liron Nimrody, Tammy Meiron, Amiel David

Funding: $1.05 million

Investors: The Kitchen, New Crop Capital

Zero Egg Ltd. develops and manufactures a plant-based liquid egg that tastes, looks, and functions like a real egg, the company says, and can be used as an egg substitute in any recipe, including to make omelets and mayonnaise. The company’s egg substitute has no cholesterol.

Phytolon

Founders: Tal Zeltzer, Halim Jubran

Phytolon Ltd. develops technology for the production of natural food colorants through fermentation, using baker’s yeast cells as biofactories. The company’s food colorants are plant-based pigments in a variety of colors and applicable to a wide variety of food products.

TIPA Compostable Packaging

Founders: Daphna Nissenbaum, Tal Neuman

Funding: $49 million

Investors: Greensoil, Chestnut holdings, Horizons Ventures, Blue Horizon Ventures, Triodos Organic Growth Fund

Founded in 2010, TIPA Corp Ltd. manufactures and designs plastic-like bags and packaging that are fully compostable as an alternative to conventional plastic packaging. The company’s products disintegrate under compost conditions—high humidity, high temperature, and the presence of microorganisms—within 180 days, according to company statements. The compostable plastic is made up of 20%-60% plant-based ingredients such as non-genetically modified corn, depending on the type and shape of the packaging.

AgrIOT

Founder: Assaf Sufa

Funding: $1 million

Investors: private investors

AgriIOT Group Ltd. develops IoT-based technology to help manage fertilizer levels based on the nitrogen content in plant leaves by measuring the greenness of the leaves through the use of sensorless IoT technology, digital image processing, and advanced optics. The company’s technology then provides farmers with accurate fertilizer and watering recommendations.

Kinoko-Tech

Founders: Jasmin Ravid, Daria Feldman, Hadar Shohat

Kinoko-Tech Ltd. produces various gluten-free, cholesterol-free, and non-GMO food products based on an alternative protein mushroom tissue called mycelium, which grows on legumes and grains.