
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.
Opportunity | Production platform | Solution category | Value chain segment | Technology sector | Maturity level |
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Expanding private label plant-based offerings
Brands, dedicated private labelers, and co-manufacturers can take advantage of the private labeling opportunity, and would benefit from developing a wide range of products to fit every category and access… |
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Commercial | Business Services Distribution Channels End Products Production | End product formulation & manufacturing | 2 – Early adoption |
Dedicated broker or exchange for plant-based B2B sales
Opportunity exists for a broker, marketplace, directory, or other exchange platform to facilitate B2B sales of plant-based foods as ingredients to manufacturers of frozen and prepared foods. |
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Commercial | Business Services Distribution Channels | 1 – Inception | |
Establishing intellectual property pooling frameworks
Intellectual property pools and patent pledges can help member companies contribute to a suite of patents that can be licensed within the pool. |
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Ecosystem | Business Services R&D | 0 – Complete whitespace | |
Industry workshops, courses, and training programs
The alternative protein industry has a significant need for workers and innovators with specialized knowledge spanning multiple traditional disciplines. However, since few universities offer alternative protein majors or dedicated subject… |
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Commercial Ecosystem | Business Services Compliance Production R&D Workforce | ||
Data lake for aggregating process data and informing process improvements
An alternative protein data lake could contain anonymized data from processing runs across many manufacturers, informing processing improvements and aiding process failure troubleshooting. |
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Ecosystem Research | Business Services Production R&D | ||
Building workforce capacity through vocational programs
Creating vocational programs at technical community colleges that train the labor force to work in alternative protein biomanufacturing, facilities engineering, and operations will streamline the labor transition. |
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Ecosystem | Business Services Production R&D Workforce | 1 – Inception | |
Pooled procurement/group purchasing for ingredients and inputs
Many alternative protein companies use similar inputs, but individually lack the purchasing power to negotiate favorable contract terms. A pooled procurement/group purchasing mechanism for ingredients, inputs (growth factors, media, etc.),… |
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Commercial Ecosystem | Business Services Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell culture media Crop development Feedstocks | |
A toolkit for B2B sales resources and training
Tailored resources in the form of events, courses, thought leadership, directories, consulting services, and training programs for alternative protein B2B sales people. |
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Commercial Ecosystem | Business Services Distribution Channels | ||
Marketplace exchange platform for ingredients, inputs, & services
Connecting the buyers and sellers of the ingredients, inputs, and services needed to produce alternative proteins. |
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Commercial Ecosystem | Business Services R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Cell culture media Crop development End product formulation & manufacturing Feedstocks Scaffolding | |
Developing rigorous demand forecasts
Demand forecasts impact investments in R&D, infrastructure, personnel, and partnerships that will be necessary to participate in and accelerate the alternative protein sector. |
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Commercial Ecosystem | Business Services Demand Generation End Products Investment Production Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs |
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.