What PoLoPo does

PoLoPo is an Israel-based biotechnology company founded in 2022 that produces protein-enriched potatoes using plant molecular farming technology. The company's core innovation is a patented solution that, when applied once during the growing process, enables any potato variety to naturally increase protein production, with the effect sustained across all future growing cycles. The resulting potatoes process identically to conventional potatoes but yield finished chips with approximately 3x more protein, positioning the product for the better-for-you snack segment. PoLoPo claims to be the first company to grow protein-rich potatoes at commercial scale.

The company operates a direct B2B partnership model, supplying protein-rich potato ingredients to consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and snack food manufacturers developing high-protein snacks, clean-label chips, and better-for-you SKUs. PoLoPo's go-to-market is consultative and field-sales driven, with a 'Partner With Us' call-to-action on its website indicating co-development of products with brand partners. The company has assembled a small core team of three executives (Co-Founder & CEO Dr. Maya Sapir-Mir, Co-Founder & CTO Dr. Raya Liberman-Aloni, and VP of Business Development Ido Eliashar) supported by five advisors across regulatory, IP, industry strategy, U.S. trials, and supply chain functions.

PoLoPo has raised approximately $2.32 million in total disclosed funding, including a $2.3 million seed round in March 2023 led by FoodLabs with participation from CPT Capital, HackCapital, Milk & Honey Ventures, Plug and Play, and Siddhi Capital, plus a smaller EIT Food tranche in October 2025. The company has co-funding relationships with the EU and EIT Food, and maintains accelerator partnerships with Plug and Play, Food Labs, and Generate. PoLoPo is headquartered in Gan Shlomo, Israel, and operates as a privately held company with no publicly disclosed revenue or named commercial customers.

Name

PoLoPo

Legal name

POLOPO Ltd.

Website

https://polopo.tech

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PoLoPo is an Israel-based biotech company founded in 2022 that produces protein-enriched potatoes using patented plant molecular farming technology, supplying ingredient potatoes to CPG brands and snack manufacturers developing high-protein, better-for-you snack products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-based protein ingredients

NAICS

Potato Farming (111211)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Root & Tuber Vegetable Farming (Carrots, Beets, Radish, Turnip, Sweet Potato) (AFAGADAC)

Keywords

• Plant molecular farming
• Protein-enriched potatoes
• Alternative protein ingredients
• Biotech food ingredients
• High-protein snack inputs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ness Ziona

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Protein-Rich Potato Ingredient Sales: PoLoPo grows and supplies protein-rich potatoes as ingredients to food brands and snack manufacturers. The enhanced potatoes can be processed into potato chips with 3x more protein compared to conventional potatoes, creating value for brand partners seeking better-for-you snack formulations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

PoLoPo is a biotechnology company that uses plant molecular farming to grow protein-rich potatoes at commercial scale. Its patented solution is applied once to any potato variety to permanently enhance natural protein production, and the resulting potatoes are supplied as ingredients to CPG brands and snack manufacturers for use in better-for-you, high-protein snack products such as potato chips with 3x more protein than conventional chips.

Product overview

PoLoPo operates as a single unified product offering focused on growing protein-rich potatoes at scale. The company's proprietary patented solution is applied once to any potato variety, enabling it to naturally increase protein production permanently across all future growing cycles. The potatoes are grown using standard agricultural infrastructure, and the resulting produce is processed into potato chips with 3x more protein than conventional chips. The core product (enhanced potato varieties) and the end product (Better Chips snacks) form a single value chain from farm to finished snack.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Protein-Rich Potatoes Patented potato varieties engineered to naturally increase protein production through a proprietary solution applied once, with enhanced protein levels sustained through all future growing cycles. The potatoes are farmed and grown using standard agricultural practices and supplied as ingredients to CPG brands and snack manufacturers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x more protein in finished potato chips compared to conventional chips

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Food LabsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFood innovation accelerator and ecosystem partner shown in the trusted-by section, likely providing acceleration services and network access.
• Plug and PlayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal innovation platform and accelerator present in PoLoPo's trusted-by logos, suggesting participation in their food and agriculture innovation programs.
• GenerateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFood and agriculture innovation partner indicated through logo display on PoLoPo's website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Moolec Science: Plant molecular farming company producing animal proteins (e.g., meat, dairy, egg proteins) in crops such as safflower and peas. Co-listed with PoLoPo in the same Nature publication on plant molecular farming, making it the closest direct peer by technology platform.
• Alpine Bio: Plant molecular farming company engineering crops to express valuable proteins and compounds. Direct molecular-farming peer with overlapping technology stack and alt-protein end-markets, also referenced alongside PoLoPo in the Nature publication.

Emerging players

• Nambawan Spain: Plant molecular farming company referenced alongside PoLoPo in the Nature publication. Shares the molecular-farming platform approach to producing proteins in crops, representing an emerging regional peer in the same category.
• California Cultured: Plant cell-culture company producing cocoa and coffee compounds via cell-culture rather than farming. Co-listed with PoLoPo in the Nature publication; overlaps in the broader plant-based production space but uses cell-culture rather than open-field molecular farming.
• Pluri Biotech: Cell-based production platform company co-listed with PoLoPo in the Nature publication. Adjacent cellular-production peer with overlapping end-customers in alternative protein and food-tech, but operates in cell-based rather than plant-molecular-farming technology.
• Brightseed: Plant-based ingredient discovery company using AI to identify bioactive compounds in plants. Comparable as a plant-derived specialty-ingredient supplier targeting CPG brands, though its discovery approach differs from PoLoPo's molecular-farming protein enhancement.

Broad incumbents

• Perfect Day: Precision-fermentation dairy protein producer supplying whey and casein to CPG brands. Comparable as an alt-protein ingredient supplier to PoLoPo's CPG target customers, but operates via fermentation rather than plant molecular farming and at much larger scale.
• Ingredion: Large global ingredient supplier serving CPG and snack manufacturers with specialty starches, proteins and clean-label solutions. Comparable as the type of established B2B ingredient incumbent PoLoPo would need to displace or partner with in the snack-application space.
• Cargill: Global agribusiness and food-ingredient giant with broad protein, starch and oilseed ingredient portfolios serving CPG customers. Comparable as a deep-pocketed incumbent that could partner with, acquire, or compete against PoLoPo in plant-derived protein ingredients.
• ADM: Global food-ingredient and agricultural-processing major with an alternative-protein venture unit. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving CPG brands with plant-based proteins and a likely competitor or acquirer for emerging molecular-farming players such as PoLoPo.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PoLoPo