Dispatches from the Israeli Food Tech Ecosystem
When I first attended the Greencircle NY-Israel food technology conference in New York City last year, I never imagined that I would be living in Israel just a year later, experiencing the food technology program for myself. I moved to Tel Aviv in mid-January on an exchange program and since then I have been experiencing the richness of the culture, language, cities, people and places of Israel. Although the high-tech innovation was a huge success, my main goal was to immerse myself in the culture and history of Israel as a whole. In the short time I have been here, I have learned that the foundation of the country is in its entrepreneurial mindset.
As I met many local Israelis, I was struck by the large number of people working in the high-tech industry. It makes sense to consider the early history of Israel from the founding of the land. As a new nation facing existential threats, Israel’s defense system has been adapting to new situations, avoiding over-reliance on traditional methods. There is a strong culture of questioning everything, which is evident in both political protests and companies that promote an environment of critical thinking. This environment encourages innovation not only for entrepreneurs but also for electricians, who develop new ideas and structures within existing organizations.
Food technology and ag tech are booming industries in Israel, driven by the country’s limited natural resources, water scarcity, and the global climate crisis. According to the Good Food Institute of Israel, some protein startups in the country have raised $454 million by 2022, making up 30% of climate technology investments. In addition, Israel ranks second in the world, behind only the US, in protein investment. The Israel Innovation Authority, an independent public-funded agency, is a key driver of the country’s food technology development, providing a variety of practical tools and funding platforms to meet the needs of the domestic and international ecosystem.
Leading universities such as the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Technion University in Haifa, and Tel Aviv University also contribute to food technology innovation through academic research. However, beyond government funding and academic research, I am particularly interested in the intangible aspects of Israeli culture that foster a high concentration of innovators and an environment that allows for risk-taking.
Roee Nir, the founder of Forsea, a farmed fish company that makes eel products, told me what makes Israeli founders different, “We are Israelis, and we communicate a lot within ourselves. We like to meet, we like to share ideas, and we like that this is a very centralized industry that is emerging in Israel.”
Similarly, Anat Natan, the founder of Anina Culinary Art, praises Israel’s imagination, creativity, and traditionalism. When asked where this idea came from, he told me that “Looking back, the Jews needed to live. Although we are very advanced as a country in many ways, we are a nation in the making. We are only 75 years old.
In this series, I will continue to explore that early thinking and developments in Israel’s food technology industry through interviews with founders and investors. I will consider how startups are established, the innovations that are happening, and the impacts on Israel’s agricultural industry, the environment, the economy, and even its conflict with Palestine, because no analysis of food technology in Israel would be incomplete without looking at the complex political situation. The food chain is a complex web that intersects with all aspects of society, which is especially true in a place as diverse and varied as the Middle East.
Stay tuned for my first interview tomorrow!
Joy Chen is a contributor to Spoon and has been writing about robots and other proteins for the past year and a half. Although he is originally from the United States, he is currently studying at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel.
