Next Bite: Opportunity Night – FoodTech Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Carasso Center

Summary

Next Bite: Opportunity Night, held at the Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center as part of FoodForward – Israel’s Food Hub, brought together researchers, startups, investors, industry leaders and government representatives to advance foodtech innovation in Israel. The event featured an expert panel, startup pitches, Technion technologies ready for commercialization, and the announcement of Kokomodo as the winner of a 35,000 NIS development award at the Carasso Center.

 

Next Bite: Opportunity Night was held in collaboration with the Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center, T3 – Technion Technology Transfer, t-hub, the Technion Innovation & Industry Relations Unit, and the Ministry of Economy and Industry. The evening was moderated by Prof. Avi Shpigelman, Scientific Director of the Carasso Center, and Dr. Yair Glick, Director of the Center.

The event opened with remarks by Prof. Yuval Garini, Vice President for Innovation and Industry Relations at the Technion, and Prof. Uri Lesmes, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering. This was followed by a professional panel moderated by Prof. Boaz Mizrahi, with the participation of Prof. Marcelle Machluf, Yotam Zach from the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Dr. Anat Solomon from The CORE by CBC Group, and Dr. Tami Meiron from Fresh Start FoodTech Incubator. The panel focused on the challenges and opportunities in connecting academic research, entrepreneurship, investment and industry in the fields of food, foodtech and biotechnology.

Later in the evening, a startup pitch session featured companies seeking investment and strategic partners for their next stage of growth. The presenting companies were Kokomodo, Ambrosia Bio, Kiinns, DeliGene and CaseNova. Each company presented its technology, market need, development stage and vision for the future.

While the judging committee deliberated, four technologies developed at the Technion and now approaching commercialization were presented by Prof. Guy Mechrez, Prof. Yoav Livney, Biatris Misler from Prof. Avi Schroeder’s group, and Prof. Boaz Pokroy. These presentations were designed to expose new entrepreneurial opportunities and connect academic research with entrepreneurs and investors.

At the end of the evening, Kokomodo was announced as the winning company and will receive 35,000 NIS for development activity at the Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center.

The event concluded with a networking session on the Center’s production floor, enabling direct conversations and new connections between researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, investors and industry partners.

The Carasso FoodTech Innovation Center and FoodForward will continue working to strengthen Israel’s food innovation ecosystem by connecting academia, industry, government, entrepreneurship and capital, and by advancing food technologies from idea to real-world implementation.