Closing the cost gap: A techno-economic analysis of plant-based meat
Event description
Join the Good Food Institute and Next Rung Technology on December 1st for a webinar exploring findings from a new techno-economic analysis of plant-based meat production. Drawing on real-world industry data and interviews with more than 40 companies and experts, this analysis identifies the biggest cost drivers and evaluates opportunities to improve cost competitiveness today and in the future.
Key findings we’ll explore:
What plant-based meat costs to produce today: Modeled production costs are up to 2× higher than conventional meat cost targets, with significant variation across product categories.
What’s driving the cost gap: Ingredients account for 55–62% of modeled production costs, while underutilized manufacturing facilities and product losses contribute to higher costs.
Where cost parity is possible today: Lower-cost formulations, improved manufacturing efficiency, and favorable contract manufacturing arrangements could help certain products achieve cost parity without increased consumer demand.
What it will take to achieve broader competitiveness: Ingredient innovation, improved sensory performance, and greater manufacturing scale will be critical to closing the remaining cost gap.
Whether you’re a researcher, ingredient developer, manufacturer, investor, or policymaker, this webinar will provide data-driven insights into the current economics of plant-based meat and actionable opportunities to improve its cost competitiveness.
Meet the speakers
Reina Ashizawa
BUSINESS ANALYTICS PRACTICE LEAD
NEXT RUNG TECHNOLOGY
Reina leads the Business Analytics practice at Next Rung Technology, building techno-economic models that help clients evaluate the cost and scalability of clean tech and bioindustrial processes, with a particular focus in alternative proteins.
John Ellersick, P.E., PMP
PRESIDENT
NEXT RUNG TECHNOLOGY
John leads Next Rung’s strategy and execution practices, focusing on the commercialization and scaling of sustainable processes, with expertise in developing next generation sources of food, proteins, and meat. Building on his experience with major engineering companies (EPC’s), and four major startup companies, John founded Next Rung in 2017 to create an engineering and consulting company focused on the commercialization of early-stage technologies, technically, organizationally, and economically.
Nikhita Mansukhani Kogar, PhD
PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST, PLANT-BASED
THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE
Nikhita is focused on the technical landscape of plant-based proteins and how to expand their impact and adoption. Prior to joining GFI, Nikhita worked in food and biotech product development, most recently as an Innovation Scientist at Beyond Meat. While at Beyond, she led flagship product development projects from the fundamental research stage through formulation and scale-up. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a PhD in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University.
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