CarobWay CEO resurrects ancient crop to boost bakery and pasta innovation

08 Sep 2021 --- Food and agri-tech start-up CarobWay is bringing the age-old crop carob to the modern table as a super-nutritious, highly sustainable food crop. The Israel-based start-up cultivates locally grown carob trees to boost carob-based product development, noting its potential as a new source of protein and how it can be used in food applications like pasta and bakery.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Udi Alroy, CEO and co-founder of the company, details the novel ingredient’s potential in food applications and how he expects the demand for the crop to evolve.

“Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a highly nutritious crop that contains minerals and polyphenols. The sugar structure is low in glycaemic index (GI), which has to do a lot with the nutritional profile of the carob itself. It is also low in sodium and low in fat,” he explains. “We call it a ‘super crop’ because we can use 100 percent of the crop, which has been growing for thousands of years in Israel.”

Carob is a highly resilient species of tree that flourishes in arid climates, mainly in Africa and Asia, says Udi Alroy, CEO of CarobWay.According to Alroy, CarobWay is bringing two main things to the market. 

“Firstly, we are looking for long-term relationships with food manufacturers that will enable us to provide them a long-term solution for the shortage of raw materials, which has an issue especially today with climate change.”

“The second thing is that we bring new cultivation methodologies into the business, and that has a lot to do with the agri-tech within Israel that provides a variety of technologies from pollination to irrigation to fertilization and mechanical harvesting.”

Additionally, the company can use 100 percent of the carob, thus taking each ingredient into a specific food industry, adds Alroy. 

The carob fruit pod consists of about 90 percent pulp and 10 percent seeds by weight at full maturity. Carob seeds have been the most valuable part of the pods exploited industrially to produce locust bean gum (LBG), a common natural ingredient. 

Opportunities for applications 
CarobWay is currently developing a variety of solutions for F&B manufacturers. 

“We are looking at applications from pasta to bakery into a variety of food applications that serve the gluten-free market and the non-allergenic markets,” continues Alroy. 

“An additional idea is to move into the meat alternatives arena, providing a variety of natural solutions. We are developing how to enhance the use of carob as a new source of protein, as well as moving into low GI beverages as well.”

Carob sugars and fibers are widely used in the food industry, mainly in carob powder. CarobWay will utilize the whole carob fruit and market each ingredient toward different food applications and uses. 

For example, carob provides a natural sweetener suitable for beverages. The sugar is very sweet, provides energy and is a good fit for diabetes or digestive health issues. 

Carob also contains high-value, functional protein that can enhance a variety of food and beverage products. Carob fibers can be used effectively in cereals and bars. This “superfruit” contains a high nutritional value and has no regulatory barriers. 

A highly sustainable cropCarob fibers can be used in cereals and bars. This “superfruit” contains a high nutritional value and is gluten-free and non-allergic.
Global warming, environmental stresses and other limitations demand increased attention to minor or neglected crops, especially a multifunctional crop, such as carob. 

Carob is a highly resilient species of tree that flourishes in arid climates, mainly in Africa and Asia. Genotypes of the carob tree demonstrate good tolerance to drought, low soil fertility, brackish water, pollution and high temperatures (up to 50°C). 

The key ingredient in developing a sustainable carob crop is using advanced agri-tech know-how to grow the trees more intensively and efficiently, explains Alroy.

Carob can grow on non-arable land – including deserts – where no other crops can grow without significant, often unsustainable investments. “We can potentially grow this super-crop on arid land, which covers 46 percent of the surface of the planet,” states Alroy.

“Growers should get a safe, stable income as they invest in the future of food,” he further details. 

“With climate change, increasing wildfires and diminishing water supplies, farmers are on the frontline, taking all the responsibility in the supply chain. We will change that by creating a complete value chain that is beneficial to all partners involved from grove to table. We are currently establishing long-term business arrangements with global partners.” 

CarobWay is currently engaging in multi-annual supply agreements to enable a stable and secure supply chain of a variety of healthy ingredients derived from carob for food and supplement manufacturers worldwide.

By Elizabeth Green