RAMAT GAN, Israel – ansā, a pioneer in on-demand zero-pollution roasting, today announced it has secured $6M in a Seed Round investment, led by Millennium Food-Tech R&D Partnership (TASE: MIFT), the largest R&D partnership on TASE which focuses on Food-Tech investments. Millennium Food-Tech is joined by Closed Loop Ventures Group and New Climate Ventures, two of the leading US-based early-stage funds focused on initiatives that promote circular economies and impact driven investments.
ansā’s roasting technology allows for on-demand roasting to take place in the office setting. In doing so, ansā brings a gourmet hyper-fresh coffee while eliminating unnecessary international transportation of coffee beans and the multilaminate packaging required to artificially preserve viability of coffee which was roasted months prior to consumption.
ansā’s countertop roasting solution is targeted at the workplace coffee segment in which the need for sustainable and eco-friendly solutions is often paired with the employees’ desire to upgrade their coffee experience and the employer’s efforts to bring employees back to the office in the post-pandemic era.
The investment by Millennium Food-Tech, a leading Food-Tech fund will enable the company to advance R&D and complete the productization efforts of the ansā “Barista” stand-alone roaster that will be followed by the production of thousands of units to be deployed initially in the US workplace market segment.
“We are honoured to have Millennium Food-Tech join our quest to change the world of coffee. “ said ansā CEO, Yuval Weisglass. “Their vast experience in bringing innovative solutions and disrupting the legacy food industry is key to the success of ansā and is exactly what we were looking for in the investors that we partner with.”
After the serviced office coffee market suffered a 75% drop in sales volume during the 2020 pandemic, it is now quickly recovering and is expected to return to its pre-COVID state by 2024. The market has seen an 8% demand increase for environmentally friendly and sustainable offerings compared to last year, totalling an astounding 52.6% of businesses that demand suppliers comply with sustainability practises. Operators are responding to market demands, offering more sustainable and high-quality coffee and other break-room perks. ansā is leading the on-demand non-industrial and sustainable roasting revolution alongside this growing market demand.
“Our fund is focused on the Food-Tech space, and we’ve seen the growing interest in healthy, sustainable, and eco-friendly solutions, across the board. Nowhere perhaps is this true more than the coffee industry that surfers greatly from a sub-optimal supply chain and the many negative by-products that brings,” says Chanan Schneider, CEO of Millennium Food-Tech. “We have great confidence in ansā’s ability to leverage its unique technology and lead a transformation in this huge market that will benefit the coffee producers, the coffee service providers, and perhaps most importantly – the coffee drinkers themselves that could finally enjoy coffee that is just as good for the palate as it is for the planet.” Adds Schneider.
With units already deployed in offices across Israel, ansā is now launching its early availability program for its preferred operators in the US.
About ansā
ansā is a deep-tech start-up pioneering an innovative coffee roasting solution. ansā’s proprietary, patent-pending technology uses volumetric heating to roast green coffee beans, enabling an optimal technique for non-industrial coffee roasting with the highest quality of fresh coffee for consumers.
At scale, this solution has the potential to decentralize the coffee supply chain, leading to a more balanced profit share for coffee producers and resellers, while dramatically improving various aspects of sustainability. The Israel based company was founded by three experienced entrepreneurs with the vision of disrupting the coffee market by providing an innovative roasting solution, focusing initially on the office/workplace segment. Learn more at www.ansa-coffee.com.
About Millennium Food-Tech R&D Partnership (TASE: MIFT)
Millennium Food-Tech, managed by Chanan Schneider (CEO) and Guy Rosen (Chairman), is focusing on investments in the Food-Tech industry. The partnership, which is the largest R&D partnership on TASE, raised approx. $ 40 m, targeting, and investing in the most promising companies in this field. So far it has invested in 8 companies: Savoreat which digitally prints plat-based meat alternatives and is traded on TASE for approx. NIS 130 m.; Phytolon which produces natural food colorants; TIPA which develop, manufacture and sells compostable flexible packaging and compostable packaging solutions; TripleW, that turns organic waste into bio-materials in a true circular economy; Alpeh Farms, that produces cultured steak and raised recently US$ 105 m; Yofix Probiotics that develop, produces and sell clean-label delicious plant based dairy alternatives; Egg’n’up, that develop a plant-based egg alternative;Nokku which develops an all-in-one direct-to-consumer platform that combines product sampling, market research, and loyalty tools for FMCG brands, Learn more at www.millennium-ft.com.
