Nestlé’s Israel food unit Tivall has teamed up with More Foods, a Tel Aviv-based manufacturer of vegan meat analogues.
The exact nature of the partnership is unclear, although, in a joint statement, Tivall and More Foods said they would “create a portfolio of innovative, pumpkin seed, meaty products for main meals”.
Just Food asked for further information on the tie-up but More Foods said: “The details of the collaboration cannot be disclosed at this time.”
In the statement, the companies said they were targeting the “growing demand for healthy and sustainable food options”. They plan to use More Foods’ “expertise in plant-based technology” and Nestlé’s “extensive market reach”.
Through the Tivall brand, Nestlé markets chilled and frozen meat-substitute products in Israel.
More Foods sells into Israel’s foodservice market, with its products available in “more than 100 restaurants”. Asked by Just Food, the company did not confirm if the deal with Nestlé would mean an entry into the country’s retail channel.
“This collaboration represents an important milestone in our journey to broaden our market presence, reach a larger customer base, and further our mission to make nutritious, meaty, centre-plate, plant-based products more accessible to consumers worldwide,” Leonardo Marcovitz, the founder of More Foods, said in the statement.
More Foods has already embarked on its international expansion, with its goods distributed in France, the Netherlands and the UK.
Nestlé markets meat-free products under the Garden Gourmet brand in Europe. In March, the company announced it would pull the Garden Gourmet meat-free and Wunda alt-dairy brands from retail in the UK and Ireland.
Mezeast, a Middle Eastern brand of seasoning mixes, sauces, spreads and pastes, is another line being discontinued by the Swiss food giant in those countries.
The world’s largest food maker’s deal with More Foods follows investment by Danone in two alternative-protein businesses in Israel earlier this year.
In April, Danone invested in cell-based dairy and infant-formula manufacturer Wilk Technologies.
Tel Aviv-based Wilk, which launched in 2020, produces cultured human breast milk and animal milk.
The publicly-listed company has a number of patent applications, and one approved patent, on laboratory production processes that replicate the milk-producing cells of humans and other mammals.
The French giant also backed Israeli animal-free dairy business Imagindairy. The company, set up in 2020, makes its products through a technique called precision fermentation.
Meanwhile, in the US this week, it was announced cultivated chicken from Upside Foods and Good Meat will soon be available in the US following regulatory approval from the country’s Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Cell-based chicken products from both companies have been subject to a “historic two-agency regulatory process”, with both also vetted – and cleared – by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
