The Food Innovation Hub That May Surprise You

Written By: Katherine Plueger

Two years ago, The Atlantic published a provocative piece detailing the long-term threats to our collective brainpower and ingenuity should the “influx of talent” — namely, international students and skilled immigrants — continue to slow.1 The fact is, the U.S. status as a global center for innovation has been waning for some time. For more than a decade, analysts have speculated that “our primacy is in jeopardy,” due in large part to the declining investments and reputations of our top universities,2 STEM education catch-up, and numerous federal policies.

Last year, in global rankings, the U.S. fell out of the top 10.3

Today, it’s clear that innovation can (and does) come from anywhere in a globalized world. What interests us these days, is where innovation is coming from in food. Connecting the dots led us to Israel.

Map of the world's 60 most innovative economies
Image Credit: Bloomberg

A known technology center, and annually featured in TIME magazine’s 100 Best Inventions, Israel currently ranks 7th on Bloomberg’s Global Innovation Index. In honor of these achievements, global status as “a start-up nation,”4 and bragging rights to over 400 food-tech startups alone,5 we’d like to share just a handful of players and their game-changing approaches to feeding the world:

Agriculture

  • SupPlant, sensors to help growers irrigate efficiently.6
  • Watergen, a device enabling farmers (and those suffering from drinking water shortages), to extract water from the air.7
  • Beehome, an AI-powered beehive designed to increase pollination capacity and decrease mortality rates.8

Lab Grown

  • Aleph Farms, developers of lab-grown collagen set to debut in 2024.9
  • Mass-scale cell production, to make kosher-certified, cultured meats accessible, courtesy of a collaboration between Tnuva and Pluristem.10
  • Brevel, cultivators of microalgae11

Food Waste

  • ANINA Culinary Art, creators of beautiful foods made from ugly produce.12
ANINA's technology
Image Credit: ANINA

Nutrition

  • Day Two, players in precision nutrition with investments from Mayo clinic and others, and an HQ relocated to the U.S.13
  • Nanobébé, a baby bottle that preserves the nutrients of breastmilk.14

While the advancements above are obvious disruptors, we believe there is another important contribution from Israel — Israeli cuisine — a source of great inspiration, especially considering their top spot as the healthiest country in the world.15 So, we’ll leave you with a few lesser-known favorites to spark your next brainstorm:

  • Jerusalem Mixed Grill, grilled meats seasoned with onion, garlic, juniper berries, black pepper, cumin, turmeric and coriander
  • Sabich, a plant-based sandwich of fried eggplant, eggs, hummus and tahini
  • Bamba, a peanut-butter flavored Cheetos-like snack
  • Choko Cham, a glass of real chocolate, topped with hot milk

And if summer travel plans include London, DO NOT LEAVE without a meal from Honey & Co., run by an outstanding Israeli husband and wife chef/pastry chef duo with experience in the acclaimed Yotam Ottolenghi’s kitchen. One for the bucket list.

Katherine Plueger

Vice President, Strategy & Insights

Katherine Plueger conducts category, competitive and consumer research to develop the actionable insights that lead to better strategy for our clients.

Katherine Plueger, Vice President, Strategy & Insights

[1] “America’s Innovation Engine Is Slowing”, The Atlantic, 7/19/20
[2] “How America Risks Losing Its Innovation Edge”, Time, 1/03/19
[3] “South Korea Leads World in Innovation as U.S. Exits Top Ten”, Bloomberg, 2/02/21
[4] “The Israeli Technological Eco-system”, Deloitte Israel, 2022
[5] “Israelis are Masters of Food innovation. Here’s why”, Israel21c, 6/08/22
[6] “4 Israeli inventions feature in TIME magazines 100 Best Inventions for 2021”, Times of Israel, 11/10/21
[7] “11 Israeli Inventions that have changed the world for the better”, Interesting Engineering, 5/20/19
[8] “Israeli innovations featured in Time’s 100 Best Inventions of 2020”, Jerusalem Post, 12/07/20
[9] “Israeli start-up is set to launch lab-grown collagen in 2024”, Nutra Ingredients, 4/08/22
[10] “Israel’s biggest food maker enters JV to put ‘affordable cultured food on the table’ “, Food Navigator, 1/18/22
[11] FoodHack, 2022
[12] Aninafoodtech.com
[13] FoodHack, 12/13/21
[14] “27 Best Nutritional Startups from Israel”, Toastfried, 2022
[15] “10 Healthiest Countries in the World”, Conde Nast Traveler, 1/10/20