45+Research opportunities
50+Commercial whitespaces
35+Ecosystem support needs

Additional Filters


Key: Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based
Opportunity Production platform Value chain segment Technology sector End product focus Relevant actor Maturity level Solution category Topic
Optimizing fat profiles for nutritional and sensory properties

Because alternative meat’s fat content and fatty acid profile can be more easily controlled than conventional meat’s, there is an opportunity to alter fat content for nutritional benefits. Additional research…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon Plant-Based End Products Production R&D Cell culture media End product formulation & manufacturing Target molecule selection Seafood-relevant Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research Science
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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Demand Generation End Products Species-agnostic Academics GFI Industry NGO’s Startups Ecosystem 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 icon 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
Promoting stemness and proliferation in fish cell cultures

Efficient and cost-effective cultivated fish production will require precise optimization to encourage fast proliferation and highly efficient use of inputs while preventing premature differentiation. A variety of strategies can be…

Cultivated icon Cultivated Production R&D Cell culture media Cell line development Seafood Academics Industry Startups Research 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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon 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 icon Cultivated Production Bioprocess design Cell culture media End product formulation & manufacturing Species-agnostic Industry Policymakers Startups Ecosystem Research Industry Policy 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 icon Cultivated Fermentation icon Fermentation Plant-based icon 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 icon Cultivated Plant-based icon 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 icon Cultivated Plant-based icon 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 icon Cultivated Production R&D Bioprocess design Scaffolding Terrestrial-specific Academics Industry Startups Commercial Research 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!

Swinging lit lightbulb graphic representing gfi's innovation priorities

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

Advancing solutions for alternative proteins executive summary icon

Executive summary

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

Advancing solutions for alternative proteins full report icon

Full report

Delve into the full report on the motivation, methodology, rationale, and key findings and recommendations of the Solutions initiative.

Advancing solutions for alternative proteins future wheels analysis icon

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.

Advancing solutions for alternative proteins future-proofing report icon

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.