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	Maturity level	Solution category	Topic
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 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
Affordable animal-free omega-3 ingredients for alternative seafood and other alternative protein applications In order to appeal to health-conscious consumers, alternative seafood products should contain similar omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, content to conventional seafood. Animal-free omega-3 ingredients can be expensive…	Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment Production R&D Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs	Bioprocess design Crop development Host strain development Ingredient optimization Target molecule selection	Seafood	Industry Investors Startups		Commercial	Industry
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	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	Seafood	Academics Industry Investors Startups		Research	Industry Science
Coordination among investors with alternative protein industry-specific expertise Investors specializing in alternative proteins should be leveraged to educate the broader investment community through coalitions, syndicated deals, and co-investments with industry-agnostic investors, and spearhead efforts to facilitate later-stage funding…	Cultivated Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment		Species-agnostic	GFI Investors Startups	2 – Early adoption	Commercial Ecosystem	Industry
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
Platform for facilitating matchmaking between funders and funding-seekers It can be challenging and time-intensive for startups and researchers to find funders that are interested in their technology area, technological maturity level, fundraising stage, location, type of funding sought,…	Cultivated Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment		Species-agnostic	GFI Investors		Ecosystem	Industry
Infrastructure loan fund The success of early-days products has demonstrated strong consumer interest, but investment is needed to enable alternative protein supply chain companies to build out the infrastructure needed to capitalize on…	Cultivated Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment Production		Species-agnostic	Industry Investors	2 – Early adoption	Commercial	Industry
Infrastructure and equipment leasing fund Infrastructure leasing for production and processing facilities as well as capital equipment would enable alternative protein companies to rapidly expand capacity without large upfront capital investments. Having leasing funds and…	Cultivated Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment Production Raw Materials, Ingredients, & Inputs		Species-agnostic	Industry Investors		Commercial	Industry
Investor conference for LPs, funds of funds, corporate VCs, family offices, and money managers Events targeted at promoting opportunities in alternative protein investment via specialized funds could facilitate and diversify investment.	Cultivated Fermentation Plant-Based	Investment		Species-agnostic	GFI Investors	1 – Inception	Ecosystem	Industry

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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