Remilk: Ori Cohavi and Yochai Maytal Share How They Created Real Dairy Without Cows.

Investment Climate Podcast: Fundraising Playbooks From Food Tech CEOs and VCs

Today's episode is different in an investment climate. I usually interview founders right after they raise capital, but this conversation is about what matters even more: delivering on promises to investors, partners, and, most importantly, consumers.

Remilk is moving from vision to reality. The company is officially launching in Israel, rolling out cafes, and then grocery store shelves across the country, producing real milk without cows. In partnership with God Dairies, one of Israel's most established dairy manufacturers and distributors, this is execution at scale. It might be the moment that redefines, revitalizes, and even saves food tech. This podcast is syndicated through our media partners, Foodtech Weekly and Vegconomist.

Episode 57: Remilk: Ori Cohavi and Yochai Maytal Share How They Created Real Dairy Without Cows.

In this episode, I sit down with Remilk Co-Founder & CTO Ori Cohavi and Upstream Bioprocess Lead Yochai Maytal for the most honest, behind-the-scenes deep dive yet into their groundbreaking cow-free dairy launch with Gad Dairies. We break down the blind taste tests (including my own), why their milk froths, cooks, and tastes indistinguishably from traditional dairy, how they achieved positive gross margins at an industrial scale, and the strategic JV model that’s letting them enter the market differently from any other precision-fermentation company. We also dig into past challenges, the truth behind the board shake-up, global expansion strategy, the path to competing with subsidized dairy, and what it will take for Remilk to reshape the global dairy industry.

Key Facts Remilk:

Goal: To create real dairy without a single cow, bringing a message of hope and joy to our planet, our body… and cows!

Alex’s Top Findings:

75% Less Sugar, Same Experience. By removing lactose, Remilk eliminates the natural milk sugar that quietly adds 5% sugar to every glass. They replace it with a much smaller amount of “table sugar,” leveraging its higher sweetness to keep the sensory profile while cutting total sugar by 75%. The result is a product that tastes like regular milk, with a similar sweetness perception but far less sugar load. This gives them a strong “better for you” angle without asking consumers to sacrifice taste. ” It's actually very similar to the level of sweetness of milk, but it has 75% less sugar. We do not use any lactose in the product. You can put in a quarter of the amount [of sugar] and get the same experience.”
The JV Model: Tech & Brand as Equal Partners. Rather than just selling ingredients, Remilk built a full joint venture with Gad, one of Israel’s premium dairy brands (~₪1B+ business). Remilk brings the protein, formulations, and process know-how; Gad brings market knowledge, brand trust, and distribution. “ We are responsible for the technology, for supplying the end products, and Gad is mostly responsible for the marketing efforts for the distribution. But I think what we are doing is much more than co-branding, so it's much more than being an intel inside or remake inside. When I look at a partnership with Gad and why I think it's going to work, it's because each side brings its strength and each one is complemented by the other in its weaknesses.”
Already Positive Gross Margins (Atypical in Food Tech). Unlike most novel food companies that subsidize early sales, Remilk says it wouldn’t launch if it weren’t already gross-margin positive. Milk is the hardest product economically, but they balance it with other higher-margin products in the portfolio. They emphasize that they w