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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.

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
Hybrid products to optimize nutrition, taste, cost, and sustainability

Hybrid products are a promising means to improve the cost and sustainability of animal-derived meat while improving the taste of plant proteins. Promoting the health benefits of hybrids may facilitate…

 Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon 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
Life Cycle Assessment for alternative seafood relative to conventional fishing and aquaculture

To date, no robust environmental assessments have been conducted to compare alternative seafood to its conventional counterparts. An open-access, quantitative analysis of the relative environmental impacts of alternative seafood will…

 Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Demand Generation Distribution Channels End Products Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Seafood Academics GFI Industry Research Science
Animal ingredient substitution

Enabling easy animal ingredient substitutions in a wide range of food products.

 Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization Species-agnostic Academics Industry Investors NGO’s Startups Commercial Research Industry 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
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based R&D Species-agnostic Academics GFI 2 – Early adoption Ecosystem Industry Science
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based R&D Workforce Species-agnostic Academics Donors Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups 2 – Early adoption Ecosystem Industry Policy Science
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based R&D Workforce Species-agnostic Academics GFI Ecosystem Industry Science
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based R&D Workforce Species-agnostic Academics GFI Ecosystem Industry Science
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Demand Generation R&D Workforce Species-agnostic Academics Donors GFI NGO’s 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!

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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.

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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.

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