Israeli Startup Jet Eat Wins European Food Accelerator Network Competition

Ness Ziona-based startup Jet Eat, which developed a technology for 3D printing of vegan meat substitutes, was selected as one of the winners of the 2018 Food Accelerator Network Program competition. The contest is hosted by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), a food innovation initiative made up of a consortium of industry players, startups, research centers, and universities from across Europe seeking to create a sustainable and future-proof food sector.

The winners were announced at the EIT Food Venture Summit in Paris on November 28th, with each receiving an equity-free cash prize of €60,000 ($68,348).

Founded in early 2018 by Eshchar Ben Shitrit, Jet Eat has come up with a sustainable, innovative solution that aims to “digitalize” meat – that is to create a vegan meat alternative using digital processes. Jet Eat’s technology uses plant-based formulations to emulate the appearance, texture, and taste of natural meat. To date, Jet Eat has raised funding from angel investors and is now working on a seed round investment, with an aim to roll out its product by 2020.

The company was selected as a finalist from a group of 41 agri-food technology startups involved in the 2018 EIT Food Accelerator Network program, which ran for four months in Switzerland, Germany, and Israel at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The program looked for initiatives that foster “global revolution in food innovation and production, and its value in society” and gave startups access to tools, connections, mentors, and expertise to help them succeed.

“This prize reflects a remarkable validation from some of the most established representatives in the food industry,” Ben Shitrit tells NoCamels. “This prize was awarded to us, EIT Food pointed out, due to the speed and efficiency of our product and technological development. They gave us this honorable recognition as a serious vote of confidence and belief in what we can further achieve on our food innovation journey.”

Shitrit also said that Jet Eat received an award last week for “Most Innovative Plant-Based Product” from Health Ingredients Europe. 

“Many congratulations to our winners from our EIT Food Accelerator Network Program. The ideas of these startups is to help tackle global food challenges and address the gap between innovation and the realization of genuine business opportunities. It has been a pleasure collaborating with the 41 agrifood startups over the last months and seeing first-hand the disruptive ideas they are working on,” said Benoit Buntinx, Director of Business Creation for EIT Food.