45+Research opportunities
50+Commercial whitespaces
35+Ecosystem support needs

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Key: Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based
Opportunity Production platform Value chain segment Technology sector End product focus Relevant actor Maturity level Solution category Topic
Directed evolution using Raman activated cell sorting

The combination of flow cytometry—which allows single cell analysis and sorting—with Raman spectroscopy—which allows crude biochemical analysis of cells—can be used to develop new strains of microorganisms with enriched protein,…

Fermentation icon Fermentation R&D Host strain development Species-agnostic Academics Industry Startups Research Science
Consumer and sensory research to guide alternative fish R&D

Consumer and sensory research can help companies and academic researchers better understand seafood consumers’ needs and desires. Understanding consumers’ needs will allow alternative fish researchers to ask and prioritize the…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products End product formulation & manufacturing Seafood Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Science
Catalog of animal meat flavors

Creating a catalog of molecules responsible for the characteristic flavor of a species will enable alternative protein product manufacturers to create products that more accurately replicate the sensory experience of…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Crop development End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Seafood-relevant Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups Commercial Ecosystem Research Industry Science
Synergistic climate and biodiversity benefits of alternative proteins

The direct climate and biodiversity benefits of alternative proteins are well understood by the alternative protein community, but the synergistic benefits of alternative proteins with other solutions—for example, clean energy…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Demand Generation Investment Seafood-relevant Academics Donors GFI Industry Investors NGO’s Policymakers Startups Ecosystem
Developing scalable, fit-for-purpose bioreactor and bioprocessing technologies for cultivated meat

Optimizing bioreactor and bioprocessing technologies for the needs of the cultivated meat industry has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of cultivated meat production. Innovations in cultivated meat bioprocessing…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Production R&D Bioprocess design Species-agnostic Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Science
Naturally adhesive and edible non-animal scaffolding materials

There is a limited number of edible non-animal scaffold materials that are naturally adhesive for use in cultivated meat production. Identifying a larger and more diverse set of these materials,…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Scaffolding Seafood-relevant Science
Cell line development from food-relevant aquatic species

A lack of publicly-available cell lines from relevant species and cell types continues to be a challenge for the field of cultivated seafood. Addressing this challenge will require further investigation…

Cultivated icon Cultivated R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Cell line development Seafood Academics Industry Startups Research Science
Cultivated, fermentation-derived, or hybrid surimi

There has been little publicly announced R&D and commercial effort to develop cultivated, fermentation-derived, or hybrid surimi. Compared to other meat products, surimi is likely to be by far one…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation End Products End product formulation & manufacturing Target molecule selection Seafood Industry Investors Startups Commercial Research Science
Optimizing fat profiles for nutritional and sensory properties

Because alternative meat’s fat content and fatty acid profile can be more easily controlled than conventional meat’s, there is an opportunity to alter fat content for nutritional benefits. Additional research…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products Production R&D Cell culture media End product formulation & manufacturing Target molecule selection Seafood-relevant Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Science
Mapping animal cell metabolism to optimize media formulation

The cost and environmental impact of cultivated meat are driven by the cell culture media formulation and its conversion efficiency into meat. Metabolic modeling and engineering techniques can aid media…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Cell culture media Cell line development Species-agnostic Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research

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If you’d like to fund a research project, work on any of these solutions, share information about related efforts that are already underway, or elevate new ideas for advancing the alternative protein industry, we’d love to hear from you!

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Explore key innovation priorities

Review commercial whitespaces, research gaps, technological needs, and investment priorities at each stage of the alternative protein value chain.

How we built this

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Executive summary

Get an overview of GFI’s Solutions initiative and a summary of key resources.

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Full report

Delve into the full report on the motivation, methodology, rationale, and key findings and recommendations of the Solutions initiative.

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Futures wheels analysis

Explore our framework for uncovering second-order or third-order consequences and implications of hypothetical future scenarios to support better decision-making in the present.

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Future-proofing

Discover key findings from GFI’s premortem analysis of potential threats to the widespread adoption of alternative proteins, including strategies to avoid or mitigate the most pressing risks.