Israeli start-up More Foods has announced a strategic collaboration with Tivol, a subsidiary of the Osem-Nestlé Group, to create a range of pumpkin seed-based ‘meaty’ products for main meals in Israel. This partnership marks a first-of-its-kind venture for Tivol and presents an opportunity for More Foods to combine its unique product offering with the extensive reach of the Osem-Nestlé Group.
More Foods produces plant-based ‘meaty’ products using a limited number of raw ingredients, including pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. These ingredients can be sourced from side streams of the oil seed industry, making them widely available from various locations. CEO Leonardo Marcovitz explains that after extracting the oil from the seeds, a solid nutritious side-stream is obtained, which serves as the basis for their ‘meaty’ products. While these products share some attributes with meat, More Foods’ focus is not on replicating meat but on creating tasty, high-protein, satisfying alternatives that stand on their own.
From a nutritional standpoint, More Foods’ ‘meaty’ product is rich in fiber and protein, low in fat, and contains no cholesterol. In fact, many of its values, such as iron, calcium, potassium, and fiber content, surpass those of meat. However, the aim is not to mimic the nutritional composition of meat, but to offer a clean label option for consumers looking for a healthy and meaty main meal experience.
Already available in foodservice channels, with its products on menus across 100 Israeli restaurants, More Foods is now expanding into the UK and Europe. The company has partnered with a third-party logistics company to serve the UK market and is in discussions with regional distributors to increase its reach across Europe. The collaboration with Tivol in Israel complements More Foods’ efforts to transform the perception and consumption of food in a country where a significant portion of the population identifies as vegetarian or vegan, or is actively reducing meat consumption.
“We are proud to partner with the Osem-Nestlé Group and combine our unique product offering with their market accessibility,” says Marcovitz.
