Calcalists startup contest that aims to find the next great FoodTech innovation, in partnership with Tnuva, has reached its final stage. The team of judges together with accounting firm Somekh Chaikin, KPMG's member firm in Israel, has selected 11 leading companies among dozens of entries that will take part in the final event.

Amai Proteins

Founder: Ilan Samish

Investors: The Kitchen - FoodTech Hub, Israel Innovation Authority, Zora Ventures

Amai Proteins Ltd. produces sweet proteins as sweeteners and sugar substitutes, which it claims are tasty, cheap, and environmentally friendly.

The company produces designer proteins suitable for the food market when the sweetener being its first product, creating a healthier sugar substitute than those currently on the market. Although there are several companies in the field of sugar substitutes, the company has no competitors in the technology of designer proteins.

Robin Food

Founder: Shai Rilov

Investors: None provided

Robin Food is a non-profit that developed an app allowing its users to coordinate food transfers to avoid wasting resources, by sharing excess food between consumers and people in their community.

The company plans to expand tint cooperation between restaurants and users. For example, a restaurant that knows it has a supply of fish for the next few days can advertise on the app and offer discounts for users.

The final stage will be to connect organizations with commercial excess with aid organizations or other major bodies. The company currently operates a restaurant and catering service specializing in salvaged food waste.

Blue Tree Technologies

Founder: Yuval Klein

Investors: None provided

Blue Tree Technologies Ltd. is a sugar reduction platform for industrial applications in the drinks industry. Its objective is to selectively remove sugars from natural drinks without any addition of additives. its first product is pure sucrose-reduced orange juice.

The natural juices industry has been in decline for several years due to the high sugar found in them. Reducing sugar in natural juice will allow more people who have stopped consuming juices for health reasons to return to consuming them.

Blue Trees main competitor in Israel is Better Juice, which offers a similar product, but uses different technology.

SavorEat

Founders: Racheli Vizman, Oded Shosayev, and Ido Braslevsky

Investors: Israel Innovation Authority, private investors, Millennium Food-Tech

SavorEat Ltd. is developing a new generation of meat replacements. Its product combines 3D printing, automated cooking devices, and unique plant-based materials that allow it to create a variety of meat-like textures and designs.

The companys solution is designed to use infrared light to cook the burger as it prints, adjusting the serving to match the consumers specific dietary needs. The raw material the company uses does not necessitate refrigeration and is gluten and allergen-free.

The meat-substitute industry has been booming in recent years and Israel boasts several companies active in the space. SavorEats product stands out because it also offers the cooking process providing the user an end-to-end experience.

Verticanna

Investors: Israel Innovation Authority and Yoav Zeif

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Verticanna claims that through the platform the company manages to produce one gram of medical cannabis at a cost of half a dollar compared to almost a dollar that it costs to produce today.

Trellis

Founder: Ilay Englard

Investors: None provided

Trellis, incorporated as ATPlabs Ltd. has developed an AI-powered food system intelligence platform to reduce food waste. The company says its product accurately forecasts crop production, supply chain fluctuations, and market trends, which can result in lower costs, improved quality, and reduced excess.

To achieve its forecasts, the company's system uses information available online, such as satellite imagery, and weather reports, and is connected to the customer's information systems. According to the company, it managed to save 10% in waste and increase productivity by 3% in the tomato-growing industry.

Tevel Aerobotics Technologies

Founder: Yaniv Maor

Investors: Maverick Ventures, OurCrowd, Ziv Aviram, Amichai Steimberg, Avi Gross, Eyal Desheh

Tevel Aerobotics Technologies has developed a drone with a robotic arm that allows farmers to determine which fruit is ripe and pick it. The drone offers convenient access to the fruit and gathers information about their quality, quantity, and fertilizer and water levels. The flying robot can move in six directions and works with all fruit varieties. The company aims to solve personnel shortages in agriculture.

Future Meat Technologies

Founders: Yaakov Nahmias and Eran Groner

Investors: S2G Ventures, Tyson Ventures, Emerald Technology Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, Bits x Bites, Monde Nissin

Future Meat Technologies Ltd. is a biotechnology company that develops technology for the GMO-free production of meat directly from animal cells, without the need to raise or slaughter animals.

The company's technology is based on research conducted in the laboratory of Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, founder of the Center for Bioengineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The company is developing a technological platform for industrial-scale production that enables economical and scalable production of meat-free meat products, in order to free the world from animal dependence.

The technology simulates the fermentation processes of existing foods like yogurt or beer. Since its inception in 2018, the company has successfully created a bank of cells from various sources such as poultry and beef and adapted various formulas to create muscle and fat tissue.

BeeWise

Founder: Saar Safra

Investors: lool Ventures, Atooro Fund, ARC Impact, Beach investments, Fortissimo Capital

BeeWise Technologies Ltd. developed autonomous beehives that operate by utilizing AI-powered precision robotics and a network of cameras and sensors. The company's platform enables real-time detection and automated solution to 97% of the problems that may arise.

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Where FoodTech meets the plate: The 11 finalists of Calcalists Food Innovation Contest - CTech