The Rabobank Food & Agri Innovation Fund invests in the Israeli InnovoPro. This food tech company extracts protein from chickpeas that can be used as an ingredient for plant-based products such as dairy-free yogurt, vegan ice cream, veggie burgers and energy bars.
InnovoPro from Tel Aviv, which was founded in 2015, has raised about $18 million in a second financing round from investors, including the Rabobank fund. The bank did not say in a statement how much the investment vehicle contributed. Rabobank is full of praise for the innovation of the Israeli company, which responds to the trend that consumers 'want to see healthier and more sustainable plant-based solutions.'
Billions in food technology
According to the bank, InnovoPro is the first company in the world to develop and market a 'revolutionary 70% chickpea protein concentrate with exceptional properties of neutral taste, high nutritional values and high functionality.' For example, the protein has no aftertaste, is non-GMO and is not considered an allergen. With these properties in the protein, according to the bank, it is very suitable for the development of a wide range of food products.
According to Rabobank, approximately $4,8 billion was invested in food technology in the first half of this year. In all of 2019, this was $7 billion. The bank therefore expects the volume of investments to continue to rise. The global vegetable protein market is estimated to be worth $40 billion. It is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 11% to approximately $75 billion by 2027.
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