Strauss Group history

Israel's independence in 1948 brought a new expansion to Elite's operations.

A major success for the Strauss company was its Milky brand of puddings; the company also launched its own hummous and techina products, then found international success with the Strauss Ice Cream brand, launched in the 1951.

A major milestone in Elite's history came in 1956, when the company acquired a new factory site in Nazareth.

The company added a new wafers wing to the site in 1958.

In 1970, the company launched production of its first sugarless chewing gum products.

In 1992, Elite bought its first foreign facility, Union Kaffee, in Poland.

The company sold off a 50 percent stake in Strauss Ice Cream to Unilever in 1995 and spun off that operation as a separate business.

1999: Elite enters Bulgaria.

In 2000, the company acquired Café Très Cuaracoes, based in Belo Horizonte, in Brazil.

Strauss Group acquired the Max Brenner chain in 2001, and in subsequent years the chain grew and spread internationally.

2004: Strauss and Elite complete merger to form the Strauss-Elite Group.

In 2006 Michael received the Manufacturers Association of Israel’s Lifetime Achievement award, and one year later, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Mark of Honor in recognition of a lifetime achievement and long-standing contribution to economic development.

Following Strauss Group’s first step in a journey that began in 2011 with the formation of the Israeli Foodtech community, Strauss was awarded a tender by the Chief Scientist of Israel’s Economics Ministry to set up a technology incubator.