Database of solutions for the alternative protein industry (2021)

45+Research opportunities

50+Commercial whitespaces

35+Ecosystem support needs

Additional Filters

Key:

Cultivated

Fermentation

Plant-Based

Opportunity	Production platform	Value chain segment	Technology sector	End product focus	Relevant actor	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 Fermentation 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
Scaffolds and structural approaches to optimize fat distribution and content in cultivated meat The inclusion of fat and marbling in cultivated meat is likely to increase its flavor, texture, and consumer appeal. Structural approaches using edible microcarriers, hydrogels, and 3D bioprinting present promising…	Cultivated	End Products Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Bioprocess design End product formulation & manufacturing Scaffolding	Species-agnostic	Academics Industry Startups	Commercial Research	Industry Science
Hybrid products to optimize nutrition, taste, cost, and sustainability Hybrid products are a promising means to introduce cost-competitive versions of cultivated meat to the market while improving the taste of plant proteins. Promoting the health benefits of hybrids may…	Cultivated Fermentation 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
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
Plant-based scaffolds to improve cultivated meat nutrition A variety of plant-based scaffolds present the opportunity to combine the natural nutritional and structural benefits of plants with the taste and high protein of cultivated meat. Bacterial nanocellulose from…	Cultivated Plant-Based	End Products Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Bioprocess design End product formulation & manufacturing Scaffolding	Species-agnostic	Academics Industry Startups	Commercial Research	Industry Science
Animal-free, non-recombinant albumin and transferrin for cultivated meat The identification of non-animal, non-recombinant proteins with similar functionality to serum albumin and transferrin will lead to major cost reductions in cell culture media development, facilitating progress toward achieving price…	Cultivated Plant-Based	Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Cell culture media Crop development Target molecule selection	Species-agnostic	Academics Industry Investors Startups	Commercial Research	Industry Science
Semi-continuous bioprocess for whole cut cultivated meat using simultaneous perfusion and stretch Stretching of engineered muscle constructs has been previously demonstrated to induce alignment and maturation of muscle fibers, which is desirable for whole cut cultivated meat. Stretch stimuli could also be…	Cultivated	Production R&D	Bioprocess design Scaffolding	Terrestrial-specific	Academics Industry Startups	Commercial Research	Industry Science
Incorporating omega-3s into cultivated seafood Cultivated seafood will need to be supplemented with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to be nutritionally equivalent or superior to conventional seafood. However, how these compounds can best be incorporated…	Cultivated	Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Bioprocess design Cell culture media Cell line development End product formulation & manufacturing Scaffolding	Seafood	Academics Industry Startups	Commercial Research	Industry Science
Animal ingredient substitution Enabling easy animal ingredient substitutions in a wide range of food products.	Cultivated Fermentation 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
B2B growth factors for proliferation There is a need for a supplier of low-cost growth factors produced without the use of animals to support the proliferation phase of cultivated meat production. The cost of growth…	Cultivated	R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Cell culture media	Seafood-relevant	Industry Startups	Commercial	Industry Science

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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

Executive summary

Get an overview of GFI’s Solutions initiative and a summary of key resources.

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.

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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Alternative Protein Solutions Database