Hinoman, an Israeli agri-tech startup, is betting on a tiny, protein-packed vegetable-a member of the duckweed family-to shape the future of global protein consumption. Called Mankai, Hinoman spent close to a decade cultivating this vegetable and developing methods to grow it in a scalable and sustainable way.
In 2019, some cafeterias at Harvard University started serving Mankai smoothies and veggie burgers. Mankai will soon be available at dining establishments on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus as well. Hinoman is also preparing to launch its product at retail in Japan. One of its goals is to build Mankai into a well-known, widely available food brand by 2025.
I recently spoke to Ron Salpeter, Hinoman's CEO and one of its three co-founders, about his views on how consumers' eating habits are changing and what lies ahead in meat and protein consumption.
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