Finistere
Ventures, a global agrifood investment leader, OurCrowd,
Israel’s most active venture investor, Tnuva,
Israel’s largest food manufacturer, and Tempo
Beverages, the leading Israeli beverage company, today announced the
creation of the largest consortium focused on championing FoodTech and
AgTech innovation in Israel. Centered on Israeli technologies throughout
the food and beverage value chain – from alternative proteins and
nutritional value improvements, to functional ingredients and supply
chain efficiency – the consortium will invest up to $100m in local
best-in-class agrifood startups.
The partnership was created following the Israeli government’s
establishment of an innovation incubator in Northern Israel focused on
FoodTech. Finistere Ventures, OurCrowd, Tnuva and Tempo Beverages will
be bidding to operate the incubator being built as part of Kiryat
Shemona’s planned innovation center, to intensify their investment in
the Israeli FoodTech community.
Together Finistere, OurCrowd, Tnuva, and Tempo, will actively encourage,
support and invest in Israeli entrepreneurs building new companies to
meet evolving consumer demands and transform the current ag and food
chain. Thanks to the partners’ extensive industry network, entrepreneurs
will also be able to gain direct access to leading global food and
beverage giants such as PepsiCo, Bright Food, Heineken and Nutrien.
Co-Founder and Partner at Finistere Ventures Arama Kukutai said, “Israel
has become a top innovation hub in the FoodTech and AgTech arena. We are
committed to expanding our local partner network and, most importantly,
increasing our investment in, and support of, Israeli disruptors across
the entire food and ag value chains as they look to penetrate the global
market.”
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, “FoodTech is now one of the hottest dishes
on the Israeli innovation menu. When four innovation master chefs
Finistere, OurCrowd, Tnuva, and Tempo get together to cook and create
the newest companies the results are going to be scrumptious.”
The consortium brings together two leading venture investors: Finistere
and OurCrowd. OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor, has $1B
in commitments and has made investments in 170 companies and funds,
including foodtech portfolio company Beyond Meat – ((NASDAQ:BYND),
which recently completed 2019’s most successful IPO and is currently
trading at a value of over $4 billion). Finistere Ventures is a global
$150 million fund dedicated to investments in agrifood technologies and
supported by investors such as AVAC, Bayer, Ireland’s Strategic
Investment Fund, Nutrien, PepsiCo, and Unigrains. Entrepreneurs will
gain access to OurCrowd’s extensive Israeli startup power including a
community of 30,000 registered investors from over 180 countries and
Finistere’s global network of the leading agrifood investors,
accelerators/incubators, and public research institutions. In fact, the
two firms already work together in partnership with U.S.-based Radicle
Growth Fund, which recently announced its intention to make seed
investments in Israeli FoodTech and AgTech companies as well.
As the leading Israeli food and beverage companies, Tnuva and Tempo have
a long history of promoting FoodTech innovation, working with startups
and academic institutions. With extensive operations in Northern Israel,
they have a stronghold on the local food industry and changing
consumer/sustainability needs, as well as a rich ecosystem of farmers,
employees and industry contacts to leverage for emerging entrepreneurs.
With tremendous global partners like Bright Food, Heineken Enterprises,
PepsiCo, Soda Stream, and more, Tempo and Tnuva hope to create open
innovation forums through the consortium.
Tnuva CEO Eyal Malis said, “Today, more than half of Tnuva’s activity is
located in the north of Israel. The Ministry of Economy’s decision to
establish the FoodTech project in the Northern city of Kiryat Shemona is
a unique opportunity for us to reach groundbreaking results, and the
fact that we have joined a number of strong partners with extensive
activity and experience creates a strong foundation to promote and
advance FoodTech innovation around the world.”
Tempo Chairman and CEO, Jacques Beer said, “The food industry, a
traditional industry at its core, is experiencing the challenges of the
new world, one of rapid change and innovation, in both product and
process. At Tempo, having internalized the need and desire to be at the
forefront of this development, we have innovated and renewed all our
areas of activity. In both products and processes, we have worked
closely and intensively with our international partners. This is the
knowledge and experience we seek to bring into the consortium. We are
confident that together with our partners, we will develop in Israel’s
Northern region, the next great technological breakthroughs of Israel in
the world of FoodTech.”
With each partner offering unique experience, knowledge and resources,
the consortium will give entrepreneurs guidance across a broad range of
activities, including technology development and due diligence, team
building, business development, seed and Series A investment strategies,
and the production and marketing of food.
About Finistere Ventures: Finistere Ventures is a leading global
agricultural technology and life sciences venture capital investor with
offices in Palo Alto, San Diego, Ireland and Israel. Its team has
developed and invested in some of the most successful AgTech companies
of the last 20 years—building and backing companies worth more than $5
billion. Visit Finistere.com.
For a detailed analysis of early stage ag and foodtech funding activity
and specific trends in Israel, please review Finistere’s “2018
Early-Stage Agtech Report.”
About OurCrowd: OurCrowd is the leading global equity
crowdfunding platform for accredited investors. Managed by a team of
seasoned investment professionals and led by serial entrepreneur Jon
Medved, OurCrowd vets and selects companies, invests its own capital,
and invites its accredited membership of investors and institutional
partners to invest alongside in these opportunities. OurCrowd provides
support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors,
and creates growth opportunities through its network of strategic
multinational partnerships. The OurCrowd community consists of almost
30,000 registered investors from over 180 countries. Rated “the most
active venture investor in Israel” by Pitchbook, OurCrowd has $1B in
commitments and has made investments in 170 companies and funds.
OurCrowd already has 34 exits to date. OurCrowd exits include: Beyond
Meat’s IPO (NASDAQ:BYND);
JUMP Bikes sold to Uber, Briefcam sold to Canon, Argus sold to
Continental, Crosswise sold to Oracle, and Replay sold to Intel. To join
OurCrowd as an accredited investor, visit www.ourcrowd.com.
About Tnuva
Tnuva Group is Israel’s biggest food conglomerate, 1.7B $ revenue,
holding ~16% market share of the total F&B Israeli market. Operating
from farm to fork, through 26 production and operational sites country
wide, Tnuva holds an important role in Israel’s economy and agriculture,
as over 80% of its raw materials are locally originated. Tnuva is market
leader of the Israeli dairy market as well as various frozen goods
categories.
About Tempo Beverages
Tempo, the longest established beverage company in Israel, is the market
leader in alcoholic beverages (Beer, wine and spirits) and the co-leader
of the non-alcoholic beverages market (With leadership position in
premium water, energy drinks and malt beverages). Tempo has powerful
long lasting alliances with large global business partners such as
PepsiCo, Heineken, Nestle Waters, Pernod Ricard, San Benedetto, XL
Energy and others. The company employs a workforce of just over 1,200
employees, and supplies its products directly to about 11,000 customers
nationally. Tempo’s annual turnover is around € 350 Million.
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