GFI released its trio of State of the Industry reports, discussing the pillar categories of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentable protein. Reports also hint at a fourth emerging category – plant molecular farming (PMF).
PMF works similarly to fermentation, but the process takes place inside the plant instead of in a bioreactor. This can eliminate the scaling challenges of protein production in large fermentation tanks, allowing the process to occur instead of in greenhouses or even open fields.
According to GFI, there are already 12 known companies operating in this area. These include US-based Noble Foods, which uses soybeans to grow animal-free casein, and New Zealand’s Miruku, which uses this method to produce milk proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Similarly, Israel’s Biobetter uses tobacco plants as bioreactors to produce animal-free growth factors for use in cultured meat production.
Alt protein is rich in Asia
So far, there are no known plant molecular breeding companies in Asia. However, the Asian alt protein sector continued to thrive, with investment up 43% year-on-year despite a global decline.
As growth slows in the US, the distribution of alt protein investment is shifting steadily eastward. Meanwhile, Asian alt protein companies are increasingly partnering with each other and with conventional food producers to accelerate progress. An example is the collaboration between Shiok Meats and Min Fu Seafood, which aims to develop a farmed shrimp R&D facility.
GFI also noted that nearly all of the world’s major meat producers and CPG companies now have financial stakes in Alt Protein, becoming industry allies rather than rivals.
“This united front is being further aided by the construction of new shared-use contract manufacturing facilities, such as the plant-based protein factory Kramer Sustainable Foods, which opens its doors in 2022, and large-scale precision fermentation facility ScaleUp Bio, which is on track to open later this year,” says GFI. “This is how industry-wide growth is achieved — investing in an infrastructure ecosystem that benefits the entire sector rather than a single company or individual.”