A worker takes stock as consumers empty shelves of food at a Trader Joe’s grocery store, gathering supplies as coronavirus fears spread in Encinitas, California, March 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mike Blake.

CTech – Israeli R&D partnership Next Food is targeting to raise at least $7.5 million in an IPO, a prospectus filed with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has revealed.

Next Food is set to become the first R&D partnership to be traded on an Israeli exchange following a change in the TASE’s regulations from last February according to which limited R&D partnerships can go public. Up until that change, the TASE only allowed partnerships in the sectors of oil and gas exploration and movie production to be traded on the exchange. An R&D partnership is a limited partnership of two partners, a general partner running the partnership (Next Food management) and a limited partner (Next Food trust).

Chanan Schneider founded and until recently ran the FRESH START FoodTech Incubator in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, set up by major players in the food and beverage market in Israel, including Tempo, Tnuva, OurCrowd, and Finistere. Guy Rosen, vice chairman of Tnuva, will act as the chairman of Next Food.

Next Food intends to invest in several foodtech companies operating in varied sectors, targeting companies that are relatively close to making sales. Next Food has already invested in its first company, SavorEat, which develops meat alternatives through 3D printing technology. Next Food invested $1.75 million in the company and plans to lead a $3.5 million seed round according to a valuation of $7 million.

SavorEat’s tech was developed by Professor Oded Shoseyov, with the company expecting to complete its prototype over the next 12 months. SavorEat believes it requires $12 million in total investment to reach that stage and that should everything go to plan its product will be ready to be marketed in two-and-a-half years.