Teva Deli: From Community Kitchen to National Brand

Every great food brand has an origin story, but few are as compelling as Teva Deli's. What began as a community kitchen serving plant-based meals to Village of Peace families has grown into one of Israel's most recognised vegan food brands.

The story starts in the 1970s, when community members began producing tofu, seitan, and other plant-based proteins for internal consumption. The recipes were born of necessity. One hundred and thirty-eight people had committed to a fully plant-based lifestyle in a country where vegan food options were virtually nonexistent. So they created their own.

Those early products were simple but flavourful, drawing on both African American culinary traditions and the ingredients available in the Negev. Tofu was pressed by hand. Seitan was kneaded and shaped in communal kitchens. Recipes were tested, refined, and passed along.

Over the decades, as word spread about the quality of their products, demand grew beyond the community. Local shops in Dimona began stocking Teva Deli products. Then regional distributors took notice. By the 2000s, Teva Deli products were available in supermarkets across Israel.

The breakthrough moment came in 2013, when Domino's Pizza Israel selected Teva Deli to supply the vegan pizza base for their pilot vegan pizza programme. It was validation that community-made, plant-based food could compete at the highest commercial level.

Today, the Teva Deli factory employs over 50 workers from the community and produces more than 200 different plant-based products. The product range includes seitan-based meat alternatives, tofu varieties, spreads, sauces, ready meals, and bakery items. Every product is developed using recipes refined over nearly six decades of plant-based cooking.

But Teva Deli is more than a business. It is a community institution. The factory provides employment, the products feed families, and the brand carries the Village of Peace's message of plant-based living to consumers across Israel and beyond.

As global demand for plant-based food continues to surge, Teva Deli stands as proof that authentic, community-rooted food brands can compete with, and often surpass, corporate alternatives.