Founded December 2018
Stage Technology development
Investor Trendlines Incubators Israel
CEO Halim Jubran, PhD
Phytolon’s technology exploits the quality and benefits of betalains, a class of pigments found in plants, combined with the development of a novel technology for the reliable and cost-effective production of a wide range of betalain-based colors.
This technology is based on many years of leading research and groundbreaking inventions in the fields of plant metabolomics, genetics, and biochemistry, conducted and achieved by a research group from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science.
Phytolon Senior Scientist Tal Zeltzer, Ph.D. (center), answers questions during FoodTech IL, part of Israel’s AgriFood Week, 22-26 September 2019.
Phytolon took second place at the FoodTech Innovation Competition, 28 October 2019. Halim Jubran (3rd from left)
Hargol FoodTech and Phytolon are two of top 30 global start-ups selected at SLINGSHOT 2019, Singapore, 11-13 November 2019.
Phytolon is aiming to take the food color market by a storm with its betalain-based natural products. Consumers today are demanding natural substitutions to replace harmful artificial food colors, and the industry seeks new solutions that comply with consumer needs and meet the industry’s stringent requirements. Phytolon is uniquely positioned to meet this dual challenge by producing novel, natural, healthy and cost-effective food colors from a proprietary technology licensed from the Weizmann Institute.
Read more about this opportunity (PDF) or contact CEO Halim Jubran, PhD for details and more information.
12 years’ experience in biochemistry and biotech; previously, scientist at Forrest Innovations Israel & Brazil; postdoctoral fellow, biotechnology, Weizmann Institute of Science; PhD, MSc, biochemistry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Freiburg
Tal holds a PhD in biotechnology and food-engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Tal is a specialist in fermentation and downstream processes, and has a strong background in molecular biology and biochemistry.
Maya holds a PhD in computational biology, and an MBA. Maya brings a deep understanding of the field, with several years of experience in business development and marketing at leading biotech and agtech companies.
Guy is a key inventor of Phytolon's technology at the Weizmann Institute of Science where he led central research projects on the biochemistry of betalain-based colors and plant-metabolomics.
Sharon is a food technology engineer with several years of experience in the food industry. She is a specialist in food-ingredient-related processes.
Adel holds a BSc in biotechnology and food engineering, with a strong background in process engineering.
Steve is an attorney and CPA with 35 years’ of impressive achievements in managing and advising venture-backed, high-growth companies. Steve is the former CEO of Martek Biosciences, and former chairman of Enzymotec.
The need for new natural food colorants is growing due to consumer demands for healthier food colorants to replace the synthetics that may have adverse effects on our health. The lack of reliable natural alternatives with respect to quality and cost-effective production has made the use of natural food colorants a challenge for the food industry.
The food colorant market, which is expected to exceed $3.75 billion by 2020, is equally divided between natural and synthetic products.
