Exporting Ingenuity: Israeli Mobile Tech, Software And…Food?

Whether it’s the 100+ Israeli companies listed in the U.S., M&A, or strategic partnerships, Israel technology is making its way into the global Fortune 100. While IOI analyst Katsman continues to like G. Willi Foods (WILC) for their leading kosher export business, there is more applied Israeli technology to the food industry than the general public realizes.

In Tuesday’s Globes, there’s an interesting article about Nestle’s (NSRGY) cooperation with Israeli food company, Osem. Seems the Swiss recognize Israel’s value proposition in various industries as I wrote about Novartis’ recent acknowledgement of Teva’s (TEVA) superiority in the generic pharma field.

Who knew about packaged food though?

“Snack foods developed and first produced at the Osem development center in Sderot will be included in Nestle’s products worldwide,” Nestle executive VP and CTO Werner Bauer told Globes yesterday. Of the 23 global development centers Neste maintains globally, Osem’s Sderot center focuses on snack foods, like kid-favorites Bamba and Bisli. I thought these were primarily Middle Eastern-type snacks but it appears Nestle has global ambitions for the habitual stainers of kids’ clothing.

On a different front, Bauer spoke about Osem’s acquisiton of Israeli infant formular manufacturer Materna. Nestle’s CTO said to expect some surprises from Nestle in this field and that Nestle aspires “to have a substantial presence in infant formula in every country, offering a broad range of products that will include snacks for infants.” Bauer cited the proximity of Osem’s manufacturing facility to its development facility in Sderot as one of the reasons why Osem is becoming a global training center for Nestle staff.

With so much Sderot residents have had to put up with over the recent past, it’s great to hear/read some positive developments coming forth from a city that’s suffered over 1000 missiles over the past year alone. Amazing.

Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in TEVA as of 6/24/08.

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