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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scientist / engineer outreach and education
To expand the technical talent pipeline, various players in the alternative protein field should reach out to scientists and engineers in relevant disciplines (e.g., biotech, biopharma, and food science) to… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups | Ecosystem | |||
|
Plant-based protein makerspaces
Plant-based protein makerspaces would be publicly available spaces where interested members of the public could learn, experiment, and work collaboratively on projects related to plant-based proteins. They could offer access… |
Plant-Based
|
R&D Workforce | Crop development End product formulation & manufacturing Ingredient optimization | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Startups | Ecosystem Research | Science | |
|
Cultivated meat makerspaces to promote public engagement
Both the cultivated meat industry and interested members of the general public would benefit from the creation of makerspaces focused on cultivated meat. These would be publicly available spaces where… |
Cultivated
|
R&D Workforce | Bioprocess design Cell culture media Cell line development Scaffolding | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors GFI Industry NGO’s Startups | Ecosystem Research | Science | |
|
Alternative protein high school summer program
There is currently a lack of resources for high school students interested in alternative proteins. Students interested in entering this field would benefit from the creation of summer courses that… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups | Ecosystem | Industry Policy Science | ||
|
Building interdisciplinary university research centers of excellence
Interdisciplinary research is essential for tackling many of the complex problems facing today’s world. Though the number of research projects advancing alternative protein science has increased in recent years, this… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Donors Industry NGO’s Policymakers Startups | 2 – Early adoption | Ecosystem | Industry Policy Science | |
|
Building alternative protein programs and majors at universities
To ensure a strong talent pipeline, there is a need to launch robust university programming, ranging from certificate programs to short multi-course modules, centered around alternative protein. Full majors would… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI | Ecosystem | Industry Science | ||
|
Increasing the number, quality, and diversity of alternative protein-relevant university courses
There is a significant and urgent need to launch and support university and online courses in order to build and extend the talent pipeline of students going into the alternative… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI | Ecosystem | Industry Science | ||
|
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 | |||
|
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… |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
Business Services Compliance Production R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics Industry NGO’s | Commercial Ecosystem | Industry | ||
|
Catalyzing academic-industry collaboration
More frameworks for academic-industry collaboration could help build talent pipelines, create research commercialization pathways, and drive alignment on research priorities. |
Cultivated
Fermentation
Plant-Based
|
R&D Workforce | Species-agnostic | Academics GFI Industry | 1 – Inception | Ecosystem | Industry Science |
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.
