Strauss Group (TASE: STRS) is Israel's second-largest food company, still family-controlled after Sabra's full sale to PepsiCo in November 2024 left Tnuva Chinese-owned and Osem Swiss-owned.
Strauss Group (TASE: STRS) is Israel's second-largest food and beverage company and the last major Israeli-controlled name in a category increasingly owned from abroad. Chaired by Ofra Strauss since 2001, the group runs three core segments: Strauss Coffee, Strauss Israel (dairy and snacks), and a former 50/50 hummus joint venture with PepsiCo that ended in November 2024 when PepsiCo bought out Strauss's stake entirely.
What does Strauss Group actually own today?
Strauss Group's current structure has three parts. Strauss Coffee operates roast-and-ground and instant coffee businesses across Israel, Brazil, and Eastern Europe, built around the Elite brand domestically and the São Miguel (formerly Santa Clara) joint venture in Brazil. Strauss Israel covers dairy, snacks, and desserts sold under the Strauss name domestically, competing directly with Tnuva. The company's ice cream business operates as a joint venture with Unilever in which Strauss holds a 51% majority and Unilever 49%.
Strauss is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under ticker STRS, with the Strauss family retaining a controlling interest through Strauss Holdings alongside the publicly traded float. The coffee division's full history, including its Brazilian and Eastern European operations, runs in Strauss Coffee: A Top-Five Global Coffee Company.
Does Strauss still own part of Sabra?
No. Strauss no longer holds any stake in Sabra. Strauss co-founded the Sabra joint venture by acquiring the original Brooklyn-based hummus company in 2005 and bringing in PepsiCo as an equal 50% partner in 2008. That structure ended on November 22, 2024, when PepsiCo's full Sabra acquisition paid Strauss $240.8 million for its remaining 50% stake in Sabra, plus $3 million for the related Obela joint venture covering Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, for a total deal value of about $244 million.
Strauss CEO Shai Babad described the sale as part of the company's 2024-2026 strategy to "focus on our core businesses," according to reporting in the Jerusalem Post. Sabra had faced falling US market share and an intensified boycott campaign following October 7, 2023, with Food Dive's Sabra sales reporting showing a 5.5% sales drop in Q2 2024 ahead of the deal. Sabra is now a wholly owned PepsiCo brand with no remaining Israeli equity stake. A fuller ownership breakdown of Sabra alongside Tnuva, Osem, and Tara runs in The Four Companies That Feed Israel.
Who leads Strauss Group?
Ofra Strauss has chaired the group since 2001, the third generation of the founding family to lead the company. She is credited with architecting the 2004 merger of Strauss and Elite that created the group's current scale. A full profile of her career runs in Strauss Group's Third-Generation Chair.
Why does Strauss matter in the Israeli food sector?
With Tnuva under majority Chinese state ownership (Bright Food Group, 77%) and Osem fully owned by Nestlé since 2016, Strauss is now the largest Israeli food company still controlled by an Israeli family and governed on Israeli terms. Its coffee business gives it meaningful revenue outside Israel, principally through Brazil, without ceding control of the parent company the way Tnuva, Osem, and Sabra's former Israeli partner all eventually did.
