Israeli food-tech startup attracts $15 million for chickpea innovation
Their chickpea innovations have already been launched in the United States, Europe and Israel.
By ZACHARY KEYSERInnovoPro's chickpea-based milk(photo credit: Courtesy)
Israelis love hummus, and what is hummus made out of? Chickpeas. So it is only fitting for an Israeli tech company to revolutionize the chickpea protein, correct?Enter InnovoPro.InnovoPro, an Israeli foodtech innovator, became the first company in the world to market a 70% chickpea-protein concentrate. Companies worldwide are able to use it in dairy alternatives, meat analogues, sports nutrition, baked goods, snacks, spreads and ice-cream products. Its products have already been launched in the United States, Europe and Israel.InnovoPro’s chickpea innovation raised $15 million in Series B funding (when a company is past the initial start-up stage) led by Israeli venture-capital fund Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). Other investors included Custos Privatstiftung; Wolfgang Leitner, CEO of Andritz AG, a leading engineering solution company; CPT Capital, one of the premier global foodtech investors; and some strategic financial investors.InnovoPro intends to use the new funding to increase production and form partnerships for business development and joint ventures.“Foodtech innovation has the ability to create real impact on a global scale, impacting the planet, our eating habits and manufacturing processes,” JVP founder and chairman Erel Margalit told The Jerusalem Post. “Innovopro’s super-food solution is the next-generation alternative protein global industry has been looking for.”JVP Founder and Chairman, Erel Margalit (Credit: JVP)Chickpeas, which are 20% pure protein, have been genetically enhanced by InnovoPro into a protein concentrate that gives companies new choices for a nonallergenic source of protein, unlike soy- and corn-based products, to incorporate into their brands, allowing for the development of a broad range of food products for a multitude of audiences, the company said in a press release.“The world needs new, innovative protein, alternatives to the milk and meat industry that exist today.” Margalit said. “Innovopro’s chickpea protein is a revolutionary product that plays an essential role in the food industry’s response to creating the next wave of plant-based, protein- replacing protein from animals.“CEO Tali Nechushtan and the international team [are] utilizing new technological innovations, alongside the partnerships forged with food manufacturers worldwide, developing tasty, vegan and healthy products.”
Over the past three years, InnovoPro has received various awards, including Most Innovative Protein of the Year at the Protein Summit in 2018 and Most Innovative Start-up in Israeli Foodtech in 2018. In 2019, InnovoPro earned a Seal of Excellence from the European Commission and is now a member of EIT Food, a European Knowledge and Innovation Community.“The growing demand for plant-based protein is setting new records with every year that goes by,” Nechushtan said in the press release. “We believe that InnovoPro will lead the new alternative-protein category and be the one to introduce products with added health and nutritional values to customers.”“Since chickpeas are considered by consumers as a superfood, our next generation of ingredients will not just be offering tasty and ‘free from all’ properties, but health properties as well,” she said.CEO of InnovoPro Taly Nechushtan (Credit: InnovoPro)
