LONG READS Issue 1031 · September 29, 2024

Hidden Harvest

Bioharvest CEO Ilan Sobel has unlocked his best secret from inside some fruity fiber — a spigot to the fountain of youth

Hidden Harvest
Photos: Avi Kantob
He went from being a senior executive for Coca Cola to discovering the hidden natural gifts embedded in our fruits and vegetables. Today, Bioharvest CEO Ilan Sobel has unlocked his best secret from inside some fruity fiber – a spigot to the fountain of youth

The only thing better than working with what you love is believing that the work you’re doing can make the world a better place. Bioharvest Sciences CEO Ilan Sobel says he’s fortunate to have found both when he invested in Bioharvest Sciences back in 2020. “Sometimes,” he said, “G-d shows you a keyhole. And it’s up to you to find the key and push that door wide open.”

Bioharvest Sciences is an Israeli startup biotech company that has figured out how to harness the health-boosting properties hidden inside plants and their fruits. Its technology isolates their active and beneficial compounds in fruits and plants, and reproduces them at an industrial scale without having to grow the plant themselves.

“I always say to people who are non-believers, take a look at the secrets in G-d’s creation and tell me you still don’t believe,” Ilan says. “G-d gave us 500,000 plants on Day Three of creation. And today, the world utilizes, literally, a fraction of those plants. There are secrets hidden there, and it’s our challenge as mankind to be able to find the right way to unlock the secrets in those plants.”

Home at Last

After hearing Ilan rhapsodize about the powers of the plant world, it comes as a surprise to hear about his previous work experience. His résumé doesn’t quite read like that of a plant enthusiast. Ilan has lived in Shanghai and Bangkok, where he worked as the senior executive for the Coca-Cola Company for 18 years. Those years helped him understand how to build brands with an international imprint. Then Ilan moved with his wife Gabi and three young kids to Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he worked for the Coca-Cola Company, and was senior vice president and general manager of the Glaceau Business Unit, manufacturing and marketing Vitaminwater and Smartwater.

Continue reading with Mishpacha.

Create a free account to keep reading.

Everything you need to stay close to Mishpacha.
← Previous installment Picture This: Chapter 23 Next installment → Picture This: Chapter 24