The Business of Alt Protein: Leveraging sensory research to improve plant-based meat
Event description
Join GFI for our next Business of Alt Protein webinar, which will focus on how insights from plant-based meat sensory studies can help improve the taste of plant-based meats. Caroline Cotto, director of NECTAR, an initiative of Food System Innovations, will kick off the presentation by summarizing key takeaways from NECTAR’s inaugural publication: Taste of the Industry 2024, a large-scale sensory analysis of plant-based meats. Attendees will also learn how to interpret NECTAR’s study and how insights from the report can inform their involvement in the plant-based protein industry. The presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A.
Meet the speaker
Caroline Cotto
DIRECTOR, FOOD SYSTEM INNOVATIONS
Caroline Cotto is a Director at Food System Innovations (FSI) where she leads NECTAR, an initiative accelerating the protein transition with taste. Prior to FSI, Caroline co-founded Renewal Mill, an award-winning upcycled food startup. She served as the inaugural board president of the Upcycled Food Association, the world’s first trade association for upcycled brands. A food and entrepreneurship expert, Caroline has experience at the UN World Food Programme, the White House (for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative), Techstars Farm to Fork accelerator, and HubSpot. She regularly advises and mentors food, tech, and circular economy startups. Caroline studied at Georgetown University and served as a Fulbright Fellow in Taiwan. She has been named to both Forbes 30 Under 30 and the 50 Best’s 50 NEXT lists.
Upcoming events
View all events
Animal-Free Meat: The Next Agricultural Revolution
Come learn how science, policy, and industry can work together to satisfy the world’s soaring demand for meat, no animals required.
The Climate Challenge & Protein Diversification for the Global South
Food systems sit at the center of the climate challenge. This DC Climate Week session brings together development finance leaders, researchers, and industry experts to explore how diversified protein production…
The Science of Alt Protein: Transforming waste to fungal mycoprotein
Learn how Dr. Wang is developing a foundational biorefinery for converting food waste to fungal mycoprotein for practical food applications.
Proposal Writing Workshop: Tips and tricks for securing alternative protein funding
Join our expert-led workshop designed to help U.S.-based researchers strengthen their ability to secure funding.
SynBioBeta 2026
Bruce Friedrich joins SynBioBeta to make the case for a new way of producing meat—one grounded in science, built for scale, and critical to the future of food.
