Alternative Protein Research Grants

The Good Food Institute offers Alternative Protein Research Grants aimed at supporting innovative projects in the plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated meat industries. The program addresses key objectives such as overcoming technical challenges, attracting funding, and fostering collaborations. Grants of up to $250,000 are available, with additional funding for partnerships. Proposals are invited for two main areas: enhancing fermentation-derived ingredients and advancing cell line development for various species. This initiative aims to improve the global food system.

The Good Food Institute
The Good Food Institute is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. As an international network of organizations, we advance alternative proteins to help meet climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals.
Our program is dedicated to achieving three primary objectives: addressing technical bottlenecks, catalyzing further funding, and fostering collaborations to attract new talent to the field. To meet these goals, we annually release requests for proposals (RFPs) inviting open-access research focused on enhancing organoleptic properties, reducing costs, and scaling up alternative proteins.
In general, we are seeking to fund innovative projects that will specifically advance the science and technology of the plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated meat industries. “Meat” includes seafood such as fish and shellfish. Each RFP identifies priorities for research and can be submitted from any sector (academia, government, industry, nonprofits, etc.).
To date, we have funded research in over twenty different countries across five continents, and we will continue to focus on providing funding for the best research from around the world.
Topic Areas
We are seeking proposals for two key topic areas:
Priority AFunctionality from fermentation: ingredients for plant-based meatsIdentify and characterize fermentation-derived ingredients that enhance alternative protein-based meat products to increase their adoption through improved taste, lowered cost, and nutritional benefits.Priority BPathways to propel cell line developmentAdvance cell line development across terrestrial and aquatic species to bolster innovation and strengthen open-access research tools for the cultivated meat ecosystem. Pathways: crustacean, fish, and terrestrial.
Funding
Total funding available: Up to $3.5MMProject duration: Up to 24 monthsFunding amount per project: Up to 250,000 USD with up to 50,000 USD additional funding for projects partnering with researchers and/or industry stakeholders not previously engaged in alternative protein research.