Hargol FoodTech

Did you know? Hargol FoodTech grasshoppers are kosher and halal.

Hargol FoodTech (formerly Steak TzarTzar) has developed optimized methods and technology to enable grow large quantities of grasshoppers quickly in captivity.

Hargol uses unique technologies to grow and harvest large quantities of grasshoppers in captivity quickly, efficiently, and under sanitary conditions. The result is a reliable, sustainable, and high-quality protein source. Hargol’s products will include grasshopper protein powder, food additives, nutritional supplements and pet food.

As the world’s first commercial grasshopper framer, Hargol FoodTech is offering a new protein source to meet the tremendous market need and opportunity.

• Superior nutrient content: up to 70% protein, all essential amino acids, omega-3, omega-6, iron, zinc, folic acid, chitin
• Year-round production as opposed to limited seasons in the wild results in a continuous supply to meet growing demand
• Reduced egg incubation period increases annual cycles from 1 to 10
• Innovative cage structure for vertical farming enables growing 10x more biomass per m² while improving sanitary conditions
• Optimized feeding reduces growing costs and improves nutrient content
• Zero waste, all materials converted into product
• Efficient growth and production methods reduce resources and increase margins
• Neutral taste/flavor, minimal processing

2019: Recognized and recommended by Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (1st place, Animals)

• 2019: Raised NIS 4 million (~$1.1 million) on ExitValley crowdfunding platform
• Q1 2018: Launched product
• Accelerate R&D on feed alternatives and grasshopper density while increasing production capacity
• Completed 16 breeding cycles
• Q4 2017: Established world’s first commercial-scale grasshopper farm

Selected Awards

Hargol FoodTech has won a number of international competitions:

• 2019: Winner, Global Challenges Israel
• 2018: Winner, Tnuva and Calalist Next Innovative Move competition
• 2018: SEAL award (Sustainability, Environmental Achievement & Leadership)
• 2018: 1st runner up, Future Agro Challenge 2018
• 2017: Winner, FoodVision USA Trailblazers
• 2017: Winner, Tel Aviv WeWork Creator award
• 2017: The PITCH finalist, Journey Conference
• 2017: Winner, Innovation for Humanity, Samurai House, Japan
• Disruption in Agriculture, Alltech Pearse Lyons Accelerator, Ireland
• 2017: Winner, Get in the Ring Israel
• 2017: Winner, TLV Startup Challenge, StarTAU, Israel
• 2017:Winner, Get in the Ring Global (Middleweight category winner), Singapore
• 2017: Winner, Green Impact Summit, Adelson School of Entrepreneurs/IDC, Israel

CEO Dror Tamir (2nd from right) on the panel Alternative Proteins: Trend or Transition, at the Feeding the Future event, London, 26 September 2019.

Hargol does it again! CEO Dror Tamir (2nd from right) battled to victory in the middleweight category at the Get In The Ring Global competition in Singapore.

Hargol FoodTech CEO Dror Tamir (right) accepts the StarTau TLV Startup Challenge prize from the Uruguayan Minister of Agriculture Carolina Cosse.

In the Media

Hargol has received significant media attention. Selected articles:

2019

• NoCamels: Among the “10 disruptive Israeli companies changing the food-agri industry”
• The Marker: $300 a kilo: 2 billion people already eat grasshoppers; in Israel, less
• ynet: Hargol raises NIS 4 million on ExitValley (Hebrew)
• Israel21c: Save the world, eat a grasshopper (recipe included)!
• Food Navigator: Israeli Innovation: Grasshoppers as a protein alternative that could feed the world
• Behold Israel: Israeli Innovation: Grasshoppers as a protein alternative that could feed the world
• ynet (Hebrew): Grasshopper delicacies and buses in the sky: The start-up floor opened at the Peres Center for Peace

2018

• Haaretz (English and Hebrew, subscription): Locust Schnitzel? Israeli High-tech Firms Cooking Up the Future’s Meat Alternatives
• The New York Times: Why Aren’t We Eating More Insects?
• The Straits Times: Sirius VC hops on grasshopper food trend
• Times of Israel blog: WeWork and Hargol FoodTech: Grasshopper Protein Powder!
• Times of Israel (here and here)
• Solution Nation: One Nation is Disproportionately Responding to the World’s Most Intractable Problem
• iAID: Grasshopper Farming Startup Announces $5 Million in Orders
• Tablet: A meal on six legs
• Video interview with Ben Friedman, The Future of Everything Festival, New York

2017

• onlife: Hot trends worth adopting for the new year (Hebrew)
• Forward: Are the fried locusts in my taco kosher?
• ThinkBusiness: Ten firms leading the Agtech revolution
• Start-Up Nation Central: Food Wars: A New Hop
• AgWired: Feeding the world with grasshopper protein
• Alltech: Hargol: A stroke of genius and grasshoppers
• Israel21c: 14 disruptive food-tech startups that will change how you eat
• Hargol FoodTech featured in the Russian media
• Hargol FoodTech in Feed Navigator and AgFunder
• ynet:  A healthy Israeli delicacy: protein from grasshoppers(Hebrew)

Hargol is now funding on Exit Valley.

The Hargol Opportunity

• Edible insects are gaining momentum as a high protein alternative that is efficient to produce, low cost, and requires minimal resources.
• With insects already an integral part of the diet of more than 2.5 billion people, and growing awareness of insects’ advantages in new food markets.
• Consumed by over 1 billion people, grasshoppers are the world’s most edible insect.
• Grasshoppers provide superior nutrient content at over 70% whole protein, plus lipids, iron, zinc, and more.

To feed the expanding world population, the world is actively seeking high protein food from sustainable sources and at affordable costs.

Edible insects provide a high-quality protein alternative that is efficient to produce and requires minimal resources. Insects are an integral part of the diet of more than 2.5 billion people globally. With an increasing awareness of insects’ advantages in new food markets, there is a growing opportunity for quality insect products that can be mass produced efficiently and economically.

Current products are based on crickets, mealworms, and flies. Grasshoppers are a superior protein source in every aspect, but growing challenges have limited grasshopper-based products in the market.

Grasshoppers are the world’s most popular edible insect. Consumed and considered a delicacy by more than 1 billion people around the world, grasshoppers enjoy high market demand and prices.

The U.S. protein ingredient market exceeds $35 billion (Nutrition Business Journal). By 2054, alternative protein will comprise 33% of the total protein market, with 50% from insects, algae, and bioengineered proteins (Lux Research). The edible insect business in Europe is projected to reach $380 million in 2020 (New Nutrition Business).