Israeli food-tech company InnovoPro raised $15 million in a B round funding, led by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), a leading Israeli venture capital fund.
Additional strategic investors in this round included Custos Privatstiftung, Wolfgang Leitner, CEO of Andritz AG a leading engineering solution company and CPT Capital, one of the premier global food tech investors as well as additional strategic and financial investors. Prior investors funding round include Migros, Switzerland’s largest retailer and others.
InnovoPro will use the new capital for scaling up the production, through increasing production capacity and for forming business development and marketing joint ventures. The company is aiming to expand and to identify partners to launch the next generation factory for the production of chickpea protein.
InnovoPro is targeting an over $40 billion market of protein ingredients, which is searching new opportunities for providing alternative and more sustainable protein-rich products.
While chickpeas naturally contain some 20% protein, InnovoPro is the first company in the world to launch a 70% chickpea protein concentrate, an innovative plant-based protein that adds value to both producers and consumers. InnovoPro’s product extends customers’ choices for a new, clean-label, non-GMO and non-allergenic source of protein and brings excellent food-technology properties as well as benefits in terms of functionality, health, nutrition, taste and mouthfeel. These properties render it highly suitable for developing a broad range of food products that meet a range of demands from diverse target audiences across the globe.
Said JVP Founder & Chairman, Erel Margalit: “The world needs new, innovative protein, alternatives to the milk and meat industry that exist today. Innovopro’s chickpea protein is a revolutionary product that plays essential role in the food industry’s response to creating the next wave of plant based protein- replacing protein from animals. CEO Tali Nechusthan and the international team have brought to life a globally scaling company, utilising new technological innovations, alongside the partnerships forged with food manufacturers worldwide developing tasty, vegan, healthy products”.
Over the past few years, InnovoPro has led breakthrough innovation in developing products based on its chickpea protein, making InnovoPro’s protein the chosen solution for leading companies worldwide to embed in new products launches. In order to support its global customers, InnovoPro has developed prototype food products based on its chickpea protein in various categories such as dairy alternatives, meat analogues, sports nutrition, bakery, snacks, spreads and ice cream. Various products based on InnovoPro’s chickpea protein have already been launched in the USA, Europe and Israel.
Added Taly Nechushtan, CEO of InnovoPro: “The growing demand for plant-based protein is setting new records with every year that goes by. 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.” Nechushtan explained that “this is a huge market in transformation that is leaning towards more balanced nutrition, nutrition that will not only be plant based, but also healthy and sustainable. Consumers are demanding that the food industry provide more alternatives and more diversified options than just soy and corn”.
“We see InnovoPro as more than just a promising startup” added Michal Drayman, JVP Partner, “over the past two years we have made significant progress in the worldwide food market and succeeded in creating strategic partnerships with the biggest names in the industry. The capital raised will be used to position Innovopro as one of the top alternative protein companies in the world”.
The prize-winning company has been recognised as an innovator of disruptive technology in the food industry. Over the past 3 years InnovoPro garnered several awards such as ‘Most Innovative Protein of the Year’ at the Protein Summit in 2018, and ‘Most Innovative Startup in Israeli Food-Tech’ in 2018. In 2019, InnovoPro has been awarded for the ‘Seal of Excellence’ by the European Commission and was chosen to be a member in the EIT Food rising stars community. For more visit http://www.INNOVOPRO.com
