Tiv Ta'am Holdings 1 Ltd

Tiv Ta'am Holdings 1 Ltd operates the Tiv Ta'am supermarket brand in Israel. The chain was founded in 1989 by Kobi Tribitch and Tzachi Lipka and developed from a retail business into a national food enterprise combining supermarkets with food production and processing. Its name, commonly translated as “quality taste,” is associated with an assortment that includes pork and other products that do not comply with Jewish kosher dietary rules. This positioning makes Tiv Ta'am unusual in the Israeli grocery market and has given it a distinct customer base among consumers seeking non-kosher meat, imported foods, seafood, wine, and other products that may be unavailable in more conventionally kosher-oriented supermarket chains. The company is notable not only for its product range but also for its trading hours. Many branches have traditionally remained open during the Jewish Sabbath and Jewish holidays, other than Yom Kippur, and some locations have operated around the clock. This operating model has made the chain a visible option for customers who shop on the Sabbath or on holidays, while also making it a recurring subject of public debate in Israel, where retail opening hours and the sale of non-kosher food intersect with religious, cultural, and commercial issues. By 2020, the chain had more than 40 branches across Israel. Beyond supermarkets, Tiv Ta'am has been involved in the production and supply of food products, including hot dogs, chicken, fish, seafood, dried fruit, cheeses, and wine. It has also been described as Israel’s largest producer and supplier of non-kosher meat. The company therefore combines the roles of retailer, food manufacturer, and distributor rather than functioning solely as a store network. Its meat and prepared-food activities have included production at the Mizra facility, which became central to a proposed acquisition in 2007 because the facility’s contractual relationship with Tiv Ta'am supported the continued sale of pork products. Tiv Ta'am previously had interests outside food retail. Its activities formerly included the import, marketing, and distribution of telecommunications switchboards and an investment in the telecommunications satellite company Satcom Ltd. The Satcom holding was sold in 2007, followed by the sale of the company’s holdings in Tadiran Telecom in September 2008. These transactions marked a retreat from telecommunications and reinforced the strategic importance of food retailing and food processing to the business. The brand has also faced reputational and religious controversy. In 2006, the investigative television program Kolbotek alleged that Tiv Ta'am was selling meat after its expiration date. In 2007, the program broadcast footage showing cats in one of the company’s storerooms eating food. Tiv Ta'am responded with a reported advertising campaign intended to repair its public image. Separately, Haredi Jewish groups and other critics have opposed the chain because of its sale of pork and other non-kosher products, with some calling for boycotts. A proposed sale to businessman Arcadi Gaydamak in 2007 highlighted the tension between Tiv Ta'am’s commercial identity and attempts to make it more religiously acceptable. Gaydamak publicly proposed converting the chain to kosher operations and changing the Mizra factory’s output from pork to chicken. The transaction collapsed within days after the parties failed to resolve commercial terms, including a dispute over the purchase price, and analysts questioned whether a kosher conversion would undermine the customer proposition that made Tiv Ta'am distinctive. Tiv Ta'am remains an active Israeli supermarket and food brand whose identity is closely tied to non-kosher food availability, extended opening hours, and vertically integrated food operations.

Tiv Ta'am was established in Israel in 1989 by Kobi Tribitch and Tzachi Lipka. It subsequently expanded into a national supermarket chain, building an identity around products that are not kosher, including pork and other non-kosher meats. In the Israeli grocery sector, this gave the business a differentiated role: it served customers looking for foods that many kosher-oriented chains do not sell and maintained a visible presence in debates over religion, retail, and public life. The chain’s operating model also distinguished it from many competitors. A substantial number of its branches stayed open during the Jewish Sabbath and Jewish holidays, with the exception of Yom Kippur. Some branches operated continuously. These hours, combined with the chain’s non-kosher assortment, made Tiv Ta'am a practical shopping destination for secular consumers and others seeking access outside conventional religious schedules. By 2020, the brand had more than 40 branches throughout Israel. Tiv Ta'am’s business extended beyond store operations. It produced and supplied processed and fresh food, including hot dogs, chicken, fish, seafood, dried fruits, cheeses, and wine. The company was identified as Israel’s largest producer and supplier of non-kosher meat. Its relationship with the Mizra production facility was particularly important to the brand’s identity because the facility supplied pork products and had contractual arrangements supporting their sale. The company also briefly maintained interests in telecommunications. Its former activities included importing, marketing, and distributing telecommunications switchboards, as well as holding an interest in Satcom Ltd. Tiv Ta'am sold its Satcom holding in 2007 and disposed of its holdings in Tadiran Telecom in September 2008. These divestments reduced the company’s exposure to telecommunications and left food retail, manufacturing, and distribution as its central activities. Tiv Ta'am experienced serious public criticism in the mid-2000s. In 2006, the investigative program Kolbotek alleged that the chain had sold meat beyond its expiration date. In 2007, the program aired footage of cats moving through a Tiv Ta'am storeroom and eating food. The reports damaged the brand’s image, and the company responded with a reported $500,000 advertising campaign designed to rebuild consumer confidence. The chain also faced criticism from Haredi Jewish communities and other religious groups because of its non-kosher range, particularly its sale of pork. Some critics supported boycotts. In June 2007, businessman Arcadi Gaydamak made a public offer to buy Tiv Ta'am and promised to convert the chain to kosher operations. He also proposed that the Mizra factory produce chicken rather than pork. The proposal generated substantial attention because it would have removed the defining feature of the business. The transaction collapsed a few days later. Converting the chain was considered commercially and operationally difficult, partly because of Mizra’s contractual relationship with Tiv Ta'am, while the parties also disagreed over the purchase price. Company co-founder Kobi Tribitch reportedly refused to reduce the price by $10 million. Analysts suggested that the chain’s non-kosher proposition was central to its customer base and that a conversion could destroy much of its market appeal. Tiv Ta'am therefore continued as an Israeli supermarket and food-processing brand whose differentiation rests on non-kosher products, extended trading hours, and a combination of retail and manufacturing capabilities. The available reference material does not establish a current chief executive, ownership structure, precise headquarters location, or detailed recent financial performance.

1. 2020Network exceeds 40 Israeli branches

   Reference material describes more than 40 Tiv Ta'am branches operating throughout Israel.

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2. 2008Tadiran Telecom holdings are sold

   The company sells its remaining referenced telecommunications holdings in Tadiran Telecom in September.

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3. 2007Storeroom footage triggers reputational response

   Television footage showing cats in a storeroom leads the company to run an image-repair advertising campaign.

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4. 2007Proposed Gaydamak acquisition collapses

   A proposed purchase and conversion of Tiv Ta'am to kosher operations fails over commercial and operational disagreements.

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5. 2007Satcom holding is sold

   Tiv Ta'am disposes of its holding in telecommunications satellite company Satcom Ltd.

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6. 2006Food-safety allegations become public

   Kolbotek alleges that Tiv Ta'am sold meat after its expiration date, creating a major public-relations problem.

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7. 1989Tiv Ta'am is founded

   Kobi Tribitch and Tzachi Lipka establish the business in Israel.

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A nationally distributed Israeli supermarket and food-processing brand serving consumers seeking non-kosher products, broad specialty grocery selection, and shopping access during the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.

• Tiv Ta'am supermarketsSupermarket retail1989

  The core retail network offers everyday groceries alongside specialty and imported foods. The stores are particularly associated with non-kosher products, including pork and other meats, and many locations have historically traded during the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, except Yom Kippur. Some branches have operated 24 hours.

• Non-kosher meat and pork productsMeat and prepared foods

  Non-kosher meat is the brand’s most distinctive product area. Tiv Ta'am has been described as Israel’s largest producer and supplier of non-kosher meat, with pork products forming a central part of its public identity and a frequent focus of religious criticism.

• Processed foodsFood manufacturing

  The company’s food-processing activities include products such as hot dogs and other prepared foods. The Mizra facility is associated with production for the Tiv Ta'am business and became central to the failed 2007 proposal to replace pork production with chicken.

• Fish, seafood, dairy, fruit, and wineSpecialty groceries

  Tiv Ta'am’s broader assortment includes fish and seafood, dried fruits, cheeses, and wine. These categories complement its meat offering and help position the chain as a destination for specialty and non-kosher grocery shopping rather than only a conventional supermarket.

• 2007Tiv Ta'am image-repair advertising campaign

  Israel

  Following television footage of cats in a store storeroom, Tiv Ta'am mounted a reported $500,000 advertising campaign intended to improve public perceptions of the chain.

  Outcome. The campaign represented the company’s immediate response to a food-handling and hygiene controversy; the available material does not provide an independent measurement of its commercial effect.

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• 2008Sale of Tadiran Telecom holdingsM&A

  The company continued to unwind its previously reported telecommunications interests.

  What changed. Tiv Ta'am sold its holdings in Tadiran Telecom in September 2008.

  Aftermath. The transaction further emphasized food retail, food production, and distribution as the company’s principal activities.

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• 2007Rejecting the proposed Gaydamak acquisitionM&A

  Arcadi Gaydamak proposed buying Tiv Ta'am and converting its stores to kosher operations, while changing the Mizra facility from pork production to chicken production.

  What changed. The transaction did not proceed after the parties failed to resolve the feasibility of conversion and purchase-price issues, including a reported $10 million disagreement.

  Aftermath. Tiv Ta'am retained the non-kosher positioning that distinguished it in Israel’s supermarket market.

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• 2007Divestment of Satcom holdingM&A

  Tiv Ta'am had previously participated in telecommunications activities in addition to food retailing and processing.

  What changed. The company sold its holding in telecommunications satellite company Satcom Ltd.

  Aftermath. The sale reduced Tiv Ta'am’s involvement in telecommunications and concentrated the business more clearly on food-related operations.

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• 2007Cats filmed in a Tiv Ta'am storeroomControversy

  Kolbotek broadcast footage showing cats in one of the company’s storerooms eating food. Tiv Ta'am responded with a substantial image-repair advertising effort.

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• 2006Allegations involving expired meatControversy

  Kolbotek alleged that Tiv Ta'am was selling meat after its expiration date. The allegation generated public criticism and became part of the chain’s broader food-safety controversy.

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• Religious criticism over non-kosher assortmentControversy

  Haredi Jewish groups and other critics have opposed Tiv Ta'am’s sale of pork and other non-kosher products, and some have supported boycotts of the chain.

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• 2008Tiv Ta'am exits Tadiran Telecom investment

  In September 2008, Tiv Ta'am sold its holdings in Tadiran Telecom.

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• 2007Arcadi Gaydamak proposes acquiring and converting Tiv Ta'am

  Businessman Arcadi Gaydamak offered to purchase Tiv Ta'am, make the supermarket chain kosher, and shift the Mizra factory from pork production toward chicken. The proposed transaction soon collapsed over feasibility and price issues.

  M&A
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• 2007Tiv Ta'am sells Satcom holding

  The company sold its holding in telecommunications satellite company Satcom Ltd., continuing its withdrawal from non-food activities.

  M&A
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1. Tiv Ta'am
2. Tiv Ta'am official website