FoodTech start-up ChickP, Ltd. has named Liat Lachish Levy as the new CEO and has finalized Round A of $8M in total. This investment round was led by a group of executive investors from Singapore under Genisys Capital Private, Ltd., and backed by strategic partner and plant-based nutrition food tech company Growthwell Foods, Ltd. with its leading investor, Temasek Holdings. This follows earlier investments totaling $10M.

Liat Lachish Levy brings more than 20 years of executive experience in global corporations, specializing in FMCG retail and food service. She has led a number of global business ventures, accelerating growth while building strategic partnerships with top multinational companies including Kraft-Heinz and The Kellogg Company. She has an MSc in Organizational Behavior Studies, and a BA in Criminology & Sociology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel.

“I am excited to join ChickP and lead it to global scale-up in an area that is, without a doubt, the most relevant in the food industry today,” enthuses Lachish Levy. “Completion of the current round of funding is an expression of confidence from our investors and partners in the company. I am glad to join ChickP at this unique moment, and to lead business expansion into the global market.”

“Over the past few months, ChickP has been planting the seeds for accelerated growth in the US, Europe, and Asia,” adds Lachish Levy. “This investment will bring greater scale-up and commercialization capabilities with our partners for our chickpea isolate ingredient, in multiple territories. Moreover, the expansion of ChickP’s team and opening of our new offices, including an R&D center and applications lab, will support local commercial activities.”

“As ChickP enters the European and the US markets in ‘full steam,’ it pleases me to welcome Liat as our new CEO, and to bring her leadership and commercial experience to leading the company’s strategy for the years to come,” states Ram Reifen, MD, founder of ChickP. “ChickP offers an innovative plant-protein ingredient, backed by research and supported by a highly talented team of foodTech, nutrition, and R&D experts. It has all the components for success in meeting the growing demand for plant-based nutrition.”

“There are many untapped opportunities for ChickP,” continues Levy. “Consumers are seeking high protein content, allergen-free properties, and neutral taste. The functional and nutritional characteristics of our IP chickpea isolate are among the key characteristics that drive demand in use for functional products, performance nutrition, dairy alternatives, and snack and cereal segments.”

ChickP recently doubled the annual production capacity of its concentrated non-GMO, chickpea protein isolate - all crafted in a new, modern BRC-approved facility. Coupled with the latest investment, this will help the company reach it global goals. The company also signed agreements with distribution partners in the US, Asia-Pacific, and South Africa and is exploring further opportunities in other markets to bring its products into new countries and regions in the near future.

ChickP was founded in 2016 by Ram Reifen, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist and professor of human nutrition who was driven by a desire to create a protein that can help feed the world while benefiting consumers and food manufacturers. The company’s ingredients are based on patented technology developed at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Reifen devoted years of research to the whole chickpea and to fighting malnutrition in children and mothers.