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
Affordable animal-free omega-3 ingredients for alternative seafood and other alternative protein applications

In order to appeal to health-conscious consumers, alternative seafood products should contain similar omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, content to conventional seafood. Animal-free omega-3 ingredients can be expensive…

Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Bioprocess design Crop development Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Seafood Industry Investors Startups Commercial Industry
Understanding uptake and interconversion of omega-3 fatty acids by cultivated fish cells

Although fish are one of the best dietary sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), these compounds are mostly bioaccumulated from a fish’s diet rather than synthesized de novo. Consistent…

Cultivated icon Cultivated R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Cell culture media Cell line development Host strain development Seafood Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Science
Novel methods for long-chain omega-3 fatty acid production

As the alternative seafood industry scales up, a low-cost and abundant source of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids will become necessary. Several means of producing these compounds have been investigated…

Fermentation icon Fermentation R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Bioprocess design Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Seafood Academics Industry Startups Research Science
Preventing oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before and after addition to alternative seafood products

Deeper fundamental knowledge of the causes and prevention of oxidation of omega-3 fatty acids before, during, and after addition to alternative seafood products is needed to improve their nutritional and…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Bioprocess design Crop development End product formulation & manufacturing Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Seafood Academics Industry Investors Startups Research Industry Science
Incorporating omega-3s into cultivated seafood

Cultivated seafood will need to be supplemented with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to be nutritionally equivalent or superior to conventional seafood. However, how these compounds can best be incorporated…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Bioprocess design Cell culture media Cell line development End product formulation & manufacturing Scaffolding Seafood Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Industry 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
Biosynthetic pathway discovery for fermentation-produced molecules

After identifying specific target molecules or desired functionalities in animal-derived foods, scientists can work backward, mining microbial sequences for candidate molecules in the microbial realm that might provide similar functionality.…

Fermentation icon Fermentation Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Species-agnostic Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Industry Science
Fat production & encapsulation within oleaginous yeast

Oleaginous yeast can convert sugars into fats that impart flavor and mouthfeel to alternative proteins, and they can accumulate lipids within their cell bodies to inhibit oxidation. New research on…

Fermentation icon Fermentation Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection Species-agnostic Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Industry Science
Producing animal-like fats through microbial fermentation

Microbial fermentation provides an efficient method for generating lipid molecules that are chemically identical to those produced by animals. Research efforts are needed to expand current knowledge about the process…

Fermentation icon Fermentation R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Host strain development Target molecule selection Species-agnostic Academics Startups 1 – Inception Commercial Research Science
Uptake and biosynthesis of fat in cultivated meat cells

To recapitulate meat’s fat profile, research is required to determine which lipids muscle and fat cells can produce efficiently—and from which precursors—and which lipids they can absorb directly from the…

Cultivated icon Cultivated R&D Cell culture media Cell line development End product formulation & manufacturing Seafood-relevant Academics Industry Startups Research Science

Get involved

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.