04 Feb Developing self-drying fruits and vegetables
A new approach to sun-dried tomatoes….. Here’s more fascinating foodtech out of Israel…
NRGene Technologies has launched Supree, its newly established foodtech subsidiary specialising in innovative fruit and vegetable varieties that naturally self-dry on the vine while maintaining nutritional value and flavour.
Supree’s first product line is a unique semi-dried tomato variety that stands out for delicious taste, high nutritional value and one-year frozen shelf-life.
The uniqueness of these varieties is in their skin’s structure that is filled with microcracks which enables natural moisture evaporation.
“This natural drying process preserves the rich taste, vibrant colour, vitamins, and antioxidants, resulting in a superfood that loses about 80% of its original weight when ripe, intensifying flavour and nutritional concentration.
Supree’s semi-dried tomatoes are perfect for various culinary applications from snacks, salads and cooked dishes, baked goods, and even desserts. The thawed product retains its quality, texture, and nutritional value and is available throughout the year, regardless of the growing season.
The tomatoes can also serve as a versatile natural ingredient. Tomato powder derived from these tomatoes enriches processed food products across various industries, including meat products, meat substitutes, healthy beverages, and snacks.
Presently, Supree is targeting premium B2B markets in Israel, Europe, and the Middle East, including restaurants, hotels, catering companies, and food manufacturers.
Great potential market size
Supree anticipates that its semi-dried tomatoes will create a new category within the $16-billion market for dried tomatoes. Additionally, the tomatoes may serve as a substitute product for the $10.2-billion dried fruit market, the $4.4-billion frozen fruit market, and the $60-billion superfood market.
Elevating sustainability and cost efficiency, Supree’s tomato varieties enable optimal seasonal growth, eliminating the need for artificial heating or cooling. Immediate post-harvest drying, packaging, and freezing significantly reduce fruit loss along the supply chain. In addition, mechanical harvesting is planned and is expected to bring substantial savings in labour cost, ultimately reducing tomato prices.
To facilitate the production and processing of the first product, Supree has signed a partnership agreement with Tzabar Tech, which strengthens the agricultural foundation and promotes technological innovation in agrifood-tech. Together, the companies will establish a joint venture, with Tzabar Tech providing its expertise in farming and trading of agricultural produce to support the unique growing and post-harvesting processes of the tomatoes.
NRGene’s CEO, Gil Ronen, emphasised, “Israeli farmers aspire for unique products that can be exported to global markets, aiming to increase their income and strengthen the Israeli economy. Supree focuses on developing innovative agricultural products manufactured in Israel for the global market.
“NRGene’s technology will allow Supree to reach markets rapidly with highly unique products. To maximise the project’s success, we decided to collaborate with Tzabar Tech and are confident that our joint efforts will bring even greater success to the project.”
Tzabar Tech’s CEO, Gilad Mintz, stated, “The collaboration between Tzabar Tech and Supree presents an excellent opportunity to integrate innovative growth technologies, while allowing farmers to improve work processes and achieve more profitable yields.”
Source: Supree