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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation Investment | Seafood-relevant | Academics Donors GFI Industry Investors NGO’s Policymakers Startups | Ecosystem | |||
|
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
|
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 | |||
|
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
Fermentation
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
Fermentation
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
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Business Services Compliance Distribution Channels | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups | Commercial Ecosystem Policy | Industry Policy | ||
|
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
|
R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups | 2 – Early adoption | Ecosystem | Industry Policy Science | |
|
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
|
End Products Investment Production | End product formulation & manufacturing | Species-agnostic | Industry Policymakers | 1 – Inception | Commercial Ecosystem | Industry |
|
Building workforce capacity through vocational programs
Given the strong and persistent growth in alternative protein production, the industry has a pressing need for a trained workforce. Technical colleges should establish programs to help train the next… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Business Services Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI NGO’s Policymakers Startups | 1 – Inception | Commercial Ecosystem | Industry Policy 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!
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.