Alternative Protein Solutions Database
Discover ideas for new startups, commercial ventures and products, research projects, ecosystem support, and investment opportunities for plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived proteins.
Additional Filters
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
| Opportunity | Production platform | Value chain segment | Technology sector | End product focus | Relevant actor | Maturity level | Solution category | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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High-performance oxygen carriers for cultivated meat
Mammalian cell culture performance can be limited by oxygen and carbon dioxide levels or by shear stress associated with sparging and mixing. The use of protein-based oxygen carriers could help… |
Cultivated
|
R&D | Bioprocess design Cell culture media | Species-agnostic | Academics Startups | Commercial Research | Science | |
|
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
|
R&D | Host strain development | Species-agnostic | Academics Industry Startups | Research | Science | |
|
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
|
Production R&D | Bioprocess design | Species-agnostic | 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
|
Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell culture media Cell line development | Species-agnostic | Academics Industry Startups | Commercial Research | ||
|
Consumer education on the food safety of cultivated meat
Consumer education on the food safety of cultivated meat can positively impact consumer acceptance when sufficient information is provided. Additional research and efforts to increase transparent science communication on the… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
|
Demand Generation End Products | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups | Ecosystem | Science | ||
|
Ensuring appropriate food safety controls for cultivated meat
Sterilization guidelines from well-established biomedical and food industries can act as helpful templates for safe cultivated meat production. However, more research is needed to identify potentially novel production hazards for… |
Cultivated
|
Compliance | Species-agnostic | Ecosystem Policy Research | Policy | |||
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Scaffolds and structural approaches to optimize fat distribution and content in cultivated meat
The inclusion of fat and marbling in cultivated meat is likely to increase its flavor, texture, and consumer appeal. Structural approaches using edible microcarriers, hydrogels, and 3D bioprinting present promising… |
Cultivated
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End Products Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Bioprocess design End product formulation & manufacturing Scaffolding | Species-agnostic | Academics Industry Startups | Commercial Research | Industry Science | |
|
Hybrid products to optimize nutrition, taste, cost, and sustainability
Hybrid products are a promising means to introduce cost-competitive versions of cultivated meat to the market while improving the taste of plant proteins. Promoting the health benefits of hybrids may… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation End Products Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization | Species-agnostic | Academics Industry Investors Startups | Commercial | Industry Science | |
|
Cost-effective sterility controls for cultivated meat
Meticulous attention to sterility controls throughout cultivated meat production is essential to optimize food safety, but the cost of biopharmaceutical-based sterility—the current standard for cell-based processes—is incongruent with large-scale food… |
Cultivated
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Production | Bioprocess design Cell culture media End product formulation & manufacturing | Species-agnostic | Industry Policymakers Startups | Ecosystem Research | Industry Policy Science | |
|
Scientist / engineer outreach and education
To expand the technical talent pipeline, various players in the alternative protein field should reach out to scientists and engineers in relevant disciplines (e.g., biotech, biopharma, and food science) to… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups | Ecosystem |
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!
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
Full report
Delve into the full report on the motivation, methodology, rationale, and key findings and recommendations of the Solutions initiative.
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.
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.
