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.
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
| Opportunity | Production platform | Solution category | Value chain segment | Technology sector | Maturity level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Build alternative protein sessions into scientific conferences
Elevating the visibility and credibility of the field at scientific conferences will expand the technical talent pipeline and amplify collaboration and funding efforts. |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | R&D | 2 – Early adoption | |
|
Building interdisciplinary university research centers of excellence
Interdisciplinary research is essential for tackling many of the complex problems facing today’s world. Though the number of research projects advancing alternative protein science has increased in recent years, this… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | R&D Workforce | 2 – Early adoption | |
|
Building alternative protein programs and majors at universities
To ensure a strong talent pipeline, there is a need to launch robust university programming, ranging from certificate programs to short multi-course modules, centered around alternative protein. Full majors would… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | R&D Workforce | ||
|
Increasing the number, quality, and diversity of alternative protein-relevant university courses
There is a significant and urgent need to launch and support university and online courses in order to build and extend the talent pipeline of students going into the alternative… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | R&D Workforce | ||
|
Coordination among investors with alternative protein industry-specific expertise
Investors specializing in alternative proteins should be leveraged to educate the broader investment community through coalitions, syndicated deals, and co-investments with industry-agnostic investors, and spearhead efforts to facilitate later-stage funding… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Commercial Ecosystem | Investment | 2 – Early adoption | |
|
Establishing student groups at key universities
Universities are epicenters for creative problem-solving and cutting-edge research advancements, and they can serve as engines for interdisciplinary innovation. However, this potential is not being tapped fully by the alternative… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | Demand Generation R&D Workforce | ||
|
Microbial strain-development contract research organizations for alternative protein applications
While emerging fermentation-derived ingredient companies often optimize their strain’s productivity in-house, it may be more efficacious for startups to engage contract research organizations with both deep microbial strain development expertise… |
Fermentation
|
Commercial Ecosystem Research | R&D | Host strain development | |
|
Guaranteed offtake contracts for products and ingredients
Guaranteed offtake agreements, where buyers commit to purchase a volume of product, can help secure loans for infrastructure and other high-cost projects. |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Commercial Ecosystem | End Products Investment Production | End product formulation & manufacturing | 1 – Inception |
|
Open-access product formulation specification sheets
Open-access product formulation specifications could provide clear metrics and objectives for product developers on attributes like taste, price, nutrition, and ingredient ratios. |
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Ecosystem | End Products R&D | End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization | 2 – Early adoption |
|
Expanding private label plant-based offerings
Brands, dedicated private labelers, and co-manufacturers can take advantage of the private labeling opportunity, and would benefit from developing a wide range of products to fit every category and access… |
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Commercial | Business Services Distribution Channels End Products Production | End product formulation & manufacturing | 2 – Early adoption |
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.