Co-founded by former executives from Mondelēz and Nielsen, Gil Horsky, and Esther Barak-Landes, FLORA Ventures, is a VC fund that aims to invest in innovative technological solutions that address global food production and consumption challenges.

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FORBES BUSINESS FOOD & DRINK
Former Mondelēz, Nielsen Execs
Join Hands To Tackle Food
Sustainability With The Launch
Of $80 Million FLORA Ventures
Douglas Yu Senior Contributor
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0 Jul 19, 2023, 08:00am EDT
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FLORA Ventures launches to focus on investing in early-stage agrifood companies across Israel and
... [+] FLORA VENTURES
FLORA Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to
investing across the agrifood industry, has officially launched with

2. commitments of $50 million, with hopes to close the remaining $30
million by the end of 2023.
The Tel Aviv-based fund was co-founded by Gil Horsky, former senior
director of Mondelēz’s venture unit SnackFutures; and Esther Barak-
Landes, founder and CEO of Nielsen Innovate. It is reportedly the largest
agrifood-focused VC in the country, according to IVC data.
The duo completed their initial raise in only four months from strategic
partners, including Sadot, a co-op bringing together more than 185
Kibbutzim; several family offices; Haifa Group, a leading player in plant
nutrition and special fertilizer; and Harel Group, Israel’s largest insurance
and finance group. FLORA Ventures also claims to be the first VC to tap
Kibbutzim, a collective concept rooted in the Israeli agricultural
communities, as anchor investors.
“These agricultural co-ops, influenced by the socialist concept of living
together, mainly came from Eastern Europe over 100 years ago,” Horsky
explained, noting how the fact that one-third of Israel is desert has pushed
Kibbutzim to come up with some of the most notable agricultural
innovations, such as drip irrigation.
“It’s the first time they’ve ever backed and been involved in an agrifood
tech fund as one LP,” he said, providing farmland and other resources for
FLORA’s future portfolio to test their technologies.
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Robust Development In Israeli Foodtech

3. Israel has emerged to become a hotbed of agricultural and food
innovations with interest across alternative protein, robotic delivery
platforms, and climate tech skyrocketing over the years. A recent report
from The Good Food Institute Israel revealed how local foodtech startups
ranked second in the world after the U.S. in terms of funding size with a
total investment of $454 million pouring into alternative protein alone in
2022.
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The amped-up competition in the Israeli foodtech space has already
created a ripple effect in the U.S., when Horsky was working for Mondelēz,
during which the snacking powerhouse made a seed investment in Torr
FoodTech. “We’re talking about 850 startups, and some of the best
agrifood companies here in Israel,” said Horsky.
FLORA Ventures has so far invested a stealth mode startup Arrakis Bio
that’s poised to revolutionize the production and utilization of human
collagen and gelatin. Moving forward, it will mainly focus on pre-seed,
seed, and series A companies across Israel and Europe by writing an
average check size of $1-4 million depends on the stage of each company,
and evaluate potential deals based on its “3 Ps” principle — people,
potential, and purpose, which respectively represent founders’
backgrounds, market size and projected returns, as well as future impact.
Additionally, a robust entrepreneurial scene in Europe is expected to help
FLORA’s future portfolio companies scale together when they enter the
U.S.

4. “On the high level, our investing thesis touches upon two complementary
universes — planetary health and human health. These could be functional
ingredients, food as medicine, sustainability, and regenerative
agriculture,” Barak-Landes said.
“Our investment cycle will be around four to five years, so we are going to
dedicate half of the fund in the first few years to our initial investments,”
Barak-Landes added, “and then we are deploying the rest 50% for follow-
on investments.”
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Douglas Yu
Award-winning food & beverage journalist with experiences across entrepreneurship
and venture capital. Insights have previously been... Read More
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