Finistere, OurCrowd, Tnuva, and Tempo Awarded Government Tender to Operate Israel’s FoodTech Incubator in the North
Winning consortium focused on championing FoodTech innovation in Israel to invest over $100 Million into startups
Kiryat Shemona, June 11, 2019 — Finistere Ventures, a global agrifood investment leader, OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor, Tnuva, Israel’s food manufacturer, and Tempo Beverages, the leading Israeli beverage company, today announce that their consortium has won the tender to operate the FoodTech incubator from the Israel Innovation authority. The incubator named “Sparks” will be located in Kiryat Shemona in the north of Israel and will invest in advanced technology startups that will drive the food industry, which is the world’s largest market, estimated to be in excess of $12 Trillion dollars.
Israel Minister of the Economy Eli Cohen, in a meeting in his offices with the consortium leaders said, “After the Israeli success in cyber, autonomous cars and medical devices we are now targeting FoodTech as the next big thing. This is an important milestone in establishing a full FoodTech ecosystem in Israel’s north.”
Finistere Ventures Co-Founder and Partner Spencer Maughan said, “Finistere has always believed in connecting global technology ecosystems to Silicon Valley capital and we have had a long-standing commitment to the Israeli startup scene.”
OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, “FoodTech and AgTech Innovation is at an all-time high and we are excited to be part of this initiative to establish Israel as a world leader in the FoodTech arena. Our group represents the best of Israel’s food industry and leading venture capital groups from Israel and around the world.”
Tnuva CEO Eyal Malis said, “The real winner in this tender is Israel’s north and Kiryat Shemona, where we are going to fund over 40 new FoodTech companies that will create hundreds of new quality jobs. Together with our partners, we are going to invest significant resources and knowledge, making this new incubator a massive success.”
Tempo Chairman and CEO, Jacques Beer said, “Our group represents deep technology and commitment to FoodTech, with the strong backing of global and Israeli leaders. Joining Tempo and Tnuva are world giants such as PepsiCo, Bright Food, Heineken, Bayer, Nutrien and more.”
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 food chain – from alternative proteins and nutritional value improvements, to functional ingredients and supply chain efficiency. Thanks to the partners’ extensive industry network, entrepreneurs will also be able to gain direct access to leading global food and beverage giants.
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 recently trading at a value of close to $10 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.
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.
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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 mktg.ocdvlp.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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Media Contacts:
Leah Stern, OurCrowd Director of Communications
P: +44 747 019 6826
Erica Camilo, Connexa Communications for Finistere Ventures
C: 1.610.639.5644
Erica@connexacommunications.com
