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
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
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Demand Generation End Products Species-agnostic Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups Ecosystem 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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Workforce Species-agnostic Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups Ecosystem
Repurposing and retrofitting facilities for use in alternative protein manufacturing

The manufacturing capacity for rapid and cost-effective scale-up of alternative protein production is a current constraint on the growth of the industry. Repurposing and retrofitting stranded or underutilized assets such…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Business Services Production Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs Bioprocess design End product formulation & manufacturing Species-agnostic Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups Commercial Ecosystem Policy Research Industry Policy
Plant-based category marketing

Interest in plant-based products is growing, but many consumers still express skepticism about plant protein foods, or simply lack familiarity with the category. Category marketing campaigns to promote plant-based and…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Demand Generation Distribution Channels End Products Seafood-relevant Donors Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups Commercial Ecosystem Policy Industry Policy
Facilitating import and export of alternative protein products

Many alternative protein companies are interested in exporting their products or ingredients, and this is matched by interest from businesses in many countries eager to import exciting products. But import/export…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based Business Services Compliance Distribution Channels Species-agnostic Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups Commercial Ecosystem Policy Industry Policy
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
Plant-based protein makerspaces

Plant-based protein makerspaces would be publicly available spaces where interested members of the public could learn, experiment, and work collaboratively on projects related to plant-based proteins. They could offer access…

Plant-based icon Plant-Based R&D Workforce Crop development End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization Species-agnostic Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Startups Ecosystem Research Science
Cultivated meat makerspaces to promote public engagement

Both the cultivated meat industry and interested members of the general public would benefit from the creation of makerspaces focused on cultivated meat. These would be publicly available spaces where…

Cultivated icon Cultivated R&D Workforce Bioprocess design Cell culture media Cell line development Scaffolding Species-agnostic Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Startups Ecosystem 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

Advancing solutions for alternative proteins executive summary icon

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.