Innovative Student Designs From Hydroponic Planters to Edible Packaging Showcase at Holon Tech Exhibition
The Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) is currently hosting the "Out in the Open, Academia and Industry" exhibition, showcasing innovative design projects developed by students that have transitioned from campus concepts to market-ready products. The exhibition highlights the blurring lines between academic innovation and industrial application by presenting each project alongside its original prototype and its final commercial version or advanced development stage.
A standout success is the Tevaplanter, a hydroponic planter created by designer Eran Zarhi as his final project. This planter allows plants to grow without soil using a special water-conductive ceramic. Zarhi raised over $6 million through crowdfunding, and more than 200,000 units have been sold worldwide. Another notable project is NakedPak, developed by Naama Nicotra, which features edible food packaging that dissolves during cooking, aiming to reduce single-use plastic waste. Supported by the Israeli Innovation Authority, NakedPak plans to launch its first products in the U.S. within the year.
The exhibition also features practical innovations such as an accessible chip bag designed by Noa Berda in collaboration with Strauss Group, enabling easy one-handed opening. Since 2022, all Strauss salty snack packages have adopted this design to assist people with limited hand mobility. Additional projects include Bowly by Flevo, a dog bowl that doubles as a game to stimulate natural instincts, selling over 15,000 units and expanding to U.S. and Israeli markets.
Other successful products include Fred, a frog-shaped measuring tape designed by Idan Arbel and produced commercially by Koziol since 2011, and a detachable bag for wheelchair users designed by Yair Tzur, which is sold globally with a focus on the U.S. market. Dr. Stern Geva’s Juicepair combines a lemon squeezer and salad serving spoons, selling around 10,000 units worldwide. Tal Domanovich designed a soft tool bag for Kapro Industries that allows hands-free work and tool accessibility, now in serial production.
Additional featured designs include Vino, a combination fan and bottle opener by Adi Kapri for OTOTO studio, a best-seller with about 500,000 units sold, and Luma, a miniature lamp that attaches to phone flashlights for soft night lighting, designed by Maor Aharon for Peleg Design, with 40,000 units sold globally. The exhibition runs until July 17 at the Julia Mizrahi Gallery at HIT, demonstrating how academic projects are becoming real-world solutions in health, sustainability, accessibility, and consumer products.
