Israel is rapidly positioning itself at the vanguard of alternative meat and dairy development, with numerous startups working on either eliminating the animal element from the food we consume or finding a way to skirt slaughter and/or dairy farming through cultured meat and dairy products.
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One of the newer players on the scene is Imagindairy Ltd, a foodtech startup that creates milk proteins it says is identical to those in cow's milk.
Imagindairy's proprietary technology allows manufacturers to offer cow-free, sustainable milk and dairy products.
The technology in use at Imagindairy is based on 15 years of research led by company co-founder and CSO Professor Tamir Tuller of Tel Aviv University. It feeds microorganisms instead of cows, and the select microorganisms the company employs are up to 20 times more efficient than cows at converting feed into food, resulting in highly functional milk proteins that boast the same texture, flavor, and nutritional value as milk from cows.
"We are excited to share this news with our partners and colleagues," Imagindairy co-founder and CEO Dr. Eyal Afergan explains.
"The market is eager to develop new dairy analogs based on our animal-free proteins. Once we reach commercialization, more consumers will be able to enjoy eating animal-free dairy products. It's hard for people to make big changes, especially when it comes to the foods they enjoy, but when there's an alternative with the same flavor and experience that is more aligned to their values, it becomes easy," Afergan adds.
Earlier this month, Imagindairy completed a $13 million seed round led by MoreVC, a leading seed stage investor in Israel that manags $275 million across three funds. Other participants included Strauss Group, Entrée Capital, S2G Ventures; Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures; Emerald Technology Ventures and Pierre Besnainou.
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The company will invest the funds raised in expanding its facilities, increasing its professional team, and boosting research and development capacity to meet the demands of its partners.
Imagindairy is currently collaborating with leading dairy companies, offering a complete range of dairy-free proteins.
Strauss Group CTO Eyal Shimoni said, "Imagindairy ticks all the right boxes. This is innovative technology that can help solve world hunger in our growing population; it's a solution that is green and animal-free. We at Strauss group, one of the leading dairy companies in Israel, identified the potential in this start-up in the early stages and have confidence in its managers to help lead the alt-protein revolution toward a better, more sustainable future."
"Imagindairy's innovative technology allows dairy companies to develop new products or reformulate existing products, without involving animals and with a dramatic reduction in carbon-footprint," says Glen Schwaber, a partner at MoreVC.
