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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
|
Research | R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Bioprocess design Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection | |
|
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
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Research | 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 | |
|
Understanding uptake and interconversion of omega-3 fatty acids by cultivated fish cells
Although fish are one of the best dietary sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), these compounds are mostly bioaccumulated from a fish’s diet rather than synthesized de novo. Consistent… |
Cultivated
|
Commercial Research | R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell culture media Cell line development Host strain development | |
|
Scaffolding development for culinary and biomechanical requirements of cultivated seafood
A number of published studies have focused on scaffolds for cultivated meat (see Related Efforts) yet, to our knowledge, no studies have specifically attempted to formulate scaffolds for fish or… |
Cultivated
|
Commercial Research | R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell line development Scaffolding | 0 – Complete whitespace |
|
Production process innovations for fiber formation and improved plant protein texturization
Fibers from techniques like electrospinning, jet spinning, or blow spinning may be able to impart a desirable texture to a given product. |
Plant-Based
|
Commercial Research | End Products Production R&D | End product formulation & manufacturing | 2 – Early adoption |
|
Improving efficiency and assessment of adaptation to suspension growth
Improving methods for adapting cells to suspension culture can facilitate cell line development and bioprocess design for cultivated meat. |
Cultivated
|
Research | R&D | Bioprocess design Cell line development | 1 – Inception |
|
Species-specific genomic studies enabling assay development for regulatory standards and cell line optimization
A suite of assays and genomic knowledge exists for humans and commonly used laboratory species such as mice or fruit flies. However, the same species-specific infrastructure does not exist equally… |
Cultivated
|
Research | R&D | Cell line development | |
|
Guidelines for cultivated meat starter cell selection
Improving our understanding of the relative advantages and disadvantages of different cell types for cultivated meat would enable companies to make these decisions more effectively with less duplicative effort. |
Cultivated
|
Research | R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell line development | 1 – Inception |
|
Mapping the secretome of animal myoblasts, adipocytes, and other cells used in cultivated meat
Stem cells secrete a variety of signaling factors that can influence the behavior of surrounding cells, known as paracrine signals. In high-density bioprocesses, these secreted factors can accumulate to concentrations… |
Cultivated
|
Research | Production R&D | Cell line development | |
|
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 |
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.
