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 | |||
|
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
Fermentation
|
Demand Generation End Products | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups | Ecosystem | Science | ||
|
Hybrid products to optimize nutrition, taste, cost, and sustainability
Hybrid products are a promising means to improve the cost and sustainability of animal-derived meat while improving the taste of plant proteins. Promoting the health benefits of hybrids may facilitate… |
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 | |
|
Life Cycle Assessment for alternative seafood relative to conventional fishing and aquaculture
To date, no robust environmental assessments have been conducted to compare alternative seafood to its conventional counterparts. An open-access, quantitative analysis of the relative environmental impacts of alternative seafood will… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation Distribution Channels End Products Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Seafood | Academics GFI Industry | Research | Science | ||
|
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 | ||
|
Establishing student groups at key universities
Universities are epicenters for creative problem-solving and cutting-edge research advancements, and they can serve as engines for interdisciplinary innovation. However, this potential is not being tapped fully by the alternative… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI NGO’s | Ecosystem | |||
|
Expanded product development in plant-based meat snacks
Plant-based meat snacks could tap into underlying trends in snacks replacing meals and increased consumer interest in high-protein, low-sugar foods. Product innovation is needed to match the taste, price, and… |
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation End Products Production | End product formulation & manufacturing | Seafood-relevant | Industry Startups | 2 – Early adoption | Commercial | Industry |
|
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. |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Business Services Demand Generation End Products Investment Production Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs | Seafood-relevant | Academics GFI Industry Investors NGO’s | Commercial Ecosystem | Industry | ||
|
Decision matrix for seafood target species selection
Creating an online, open-access decision matrix tool that ranks popular seafood-relevant species against each other based on several criteria such as market size, per-unit price, sustainability of conventional production practices,… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Demand Generation End Products | Seafood | Academics GFI NGO’s | Ecosystem | Industry |
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.
