Industry
As a nonprofit working to build a sustainable, secure, and just food system, we partner with companies and investors across the smart protein or alternative protein value chain to drive investment, accelerate innovation, and scale the ecosystem — all faster than market forces alone would allow.
State of the Industry Report
Current insights into the commercial landscape, investments, technical advancements, and more.
India has the largest population in the world, with rising disposable incomes and an increasing percentage of younger, new-age consumers who are conscious about what they eat and are more accepting of diverse cuisines and innovative product formats. Our country also has the tremendous advantage of being regionally distinct, with multiple smaller markets to tap into depending on the flavour and positioning of alternative protein options. Given its prowess in processing infrastructure, raw materials, and skilled labour, India holds immense potential to become a manufacturing hub for cost-competitive ingredients, equipment, and end-products for the global alternative protein market.
Accelerating the smart protein industry
Our work with global partners across the private sector advances the alternative protein industry and enables market breakthroughs. We analyse the market to identify key white spaces and emerging opportunities and provide actionable, open-source market data and consumer insights. We foster an idea-rich startup ecosystem and drive capital to scale the industry. We help guide incumbent food and meat manufacturers’ alternative protein strategy. In short, we partner with companies throughout the supply chain to identify the most impactful business activities that will grow the bottom line and advance the next generation of alternative proteins to compete with conventional animal products on the key drivers of consumer choice: taste, price, and convenience.
Catalysing innovation and investment
We build relationships with and provide research and insights to the world’s leading food and meat companies to catalyse innovation and commercialization of alternative protein products, including plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy. To inform capital providers of alternative protein opportunities, we analyse and present information on the market to various institutions, including venture capital, private equity, family offices, banks, corporations, and investor groups. We also work with industry experts to identify, catalogue, and analyse concrete white space ideas.
We provide startups with early-stage support, such as pitch deck reviews and admission to the GFI India Fundraising Database. We also facilitate constructive dialogue between entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, corporate professionals, and scientists through our GFIdeas India community to ensure professionals with different backgrounds meet and make useful business connections.
- Talent-building
As part of our ongoing ecosystem-building efforts, GFI India’s flagship initiative, the India Smart Protein Innovation Challenge (ISPIC), aims to address the talent bottleneck and build the early-stage startup ecosystem in the smart protein sector. ISPIC’s curated programming, which includes a smart protein fundamentals certification course, 1:1 mentorship from experts across industry and academia, dedicated knowledge-sharing webinars, and access to exclusive community events, is designed to empower participants to build careers and scale ventures in the sector with ease. Over its three editions, ISPIC has comprehensively trained well over a thousand new innovators, generating a dedicated pool of industry-ready smart protein talent and accelerating go-to-market for dozens of early-stage entrepreneurs! You can read more about the Challenge through the ISPIC Insider, our LinkedIn newsletter, and view all the smart protein solutions on the Smart Protein Solutions Wall. And finally, if you want to relive the ISPIC journey and its milestones over the years, watch our Impact Video!
Making alternative proteins delicious and affordable
We work directly with suppliers and manufacturers to identify key product opportunities, hone strategy, and accelerate the pace at which alternative protein products gain market share. We help manufacturers develop products that are as delicious, affordable, and accessible as conventional products.
Our India-specific market research highlights the rapid growth of plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy and identifies key category opportunities. Our plant protein primer, technical guides, and company databases accelerate R&D, innovation, industry collaboration, product launch, and scaling.
Entrepreneurship
Starting a business can be challenging, and GFI India is here to help. Our resources support each step of planning, launching, and growing a smart protein startup.
India Good Food Startup Manual
Get our step-by-step guide that addresses the challenges of planning, setting up, and funding a company, as well as developing and launching a smart protein product.
Finding whitespace opportunities
Discover ideas for new startups, commercial ventures and products, research projects, ecosystem support, and investment opportunities for plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived proteins in our Alternative Protein Solutions Database.
Ecosystem toolkit
GFI India’s curated databases and directories, together called the Ecosystem Toolkit, facilitate opportunity discovery and effective partnership building across the smart protein value chain. Whether you are looking to hire scientific and business talent, exploring job prospects or collaboration opportunities, scouting for co-manufacturers or ingredient suppliers, looking to connect with investors for fundraising, or trying to find advisors and consultants, there is something for everyone.
GFI India’s smart protein company database
New to the smart protein landscape, or looking for a potential business partner? Peruse our comprehensive database of Indian companies active in plant-based, fermentation-enabled, and cultivated proteins.
GFIdeas India community
GFIdeas India is a community for entrepreneurs, scientists, students, and subject matter experts who are driving innovation in smart protein. Sounds like you?
Fundraising 101
Guidelines for pitch deck
Crafting a pitch deck is both art and science and is vital to raising funds and shaping the narrative for your company. Our pitch deck review form offers a checklist to ensure your deck is what investors are looking for. We recommend you work through this exercise and also ask an advisor to do so. If you’d like GFI India to review your pitch deck, please fill out our Fundraising Database form.
Based on our previous evaluation of pitch decks for alternative protein companies, our recommendations include:
Show (or build) evidence of customer traction, market pull, and/or product-market fit.
- Even in pre-R&D, you can provide evidence of consumer demand for your product through a variety of creative ways like product crowdfunding pre-sales, focus groups, surveys, and letters of intent from future customers.
Refine your go-to-market strategy.
- Whether launching direct-to-consumer, B2B, or in food service, how will your strategy impact your product formulations, marketing plan, company culture, and fundraising ability?
Identify your value proposition and what makes it defensible.
- Investors want to see that you’re innovating in product development rather than simply pursuing a market niche in the short term. What is your advantage when ten companies are pursuing the same market?
Calculate or project your unit economics.
- The venture capital model is driven by exceptional returns. You’ll need to be highly profitable when you are at scale. Knowing your unit economics is critical to demonstrating feasibility even when it requires assumptions.
Tell a compelling story.
- If you are mission-driven, absolutely lead with that, but don’t rely on the problems inherent to animal agriculture to carry your pitch. Investors want more. Focus on what makes your company unique and what makes you well-positioned to succeed.
Fundraising support
If you are an active fundraising company in the alternative protein sector, sign up here to get access to GFI India’s investor directory, pitch deck reviews, and/or practice pitch sessions.
GFI Research Grant
Powered by donations from a small number of generous donors, our Research Grant Program funds open-access alternative protein research. Click here to learn about the projects we’re funding and find funding opportunities for your own research.
Grants Database
Our Grants Database offers a comprehensive list of active public and private grants designed to support growth and innovation in the sector. Explore funding opportunities to scale your smart protein company here.
Scale your startup
Find talent
Get access to GFI India’s Talent Database which includes professionals, scientists, and students wanting to get involved in building the future of food.
Find advisors
Our GFI Mentor Program enables entrepreneurs and startups to have 1:1 mentoring sessions with subject matter experts across the alternative protein ecosystem.
Find partners
Our Ecosystem Database lists supporting stakeholders of all kinds — from co-manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, equipment suppliers, and R&D consultants to regulatory advisors, branding & design partners, business development specialists, and other experts suited for your specific needs.
Find global partners
Our Contract Manufacturing Database is a directory of co-manufacturers, pilot plants, co-packers, private labellers, and consultants for contract manufacturing plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived meat, egg, and dairy products.
The India Smart Protein Innovation Challenge
As part of GFI India’s ongoing ecosystem-building efforts, our flagship initiative, ISPIC, aims to address the talent bottleneck and build the early-stage startup ecosystem in the smart protein sector.
Investment
Investing in smart protein companies
Explore our resources, tools, and community-building opportunities for investors to learn how you can identify and approach alternative protein companies in India.
Join GFI India’s Investor Database
Investor Database
Joining our investor database allows investors access to an active deal flow of alternative protein companies currently fundraising in India. To get listed on our database, investors are invited to share key information about their mandates and areas of interest.
Who has access to the Investor Database?
GFI India only shares this directory with actively fundraising alternative protein companies in India, who may then reach out to prospective investors who they believe are a good fit for their fundraiser.
How can I edit my information or remove myself from this list?
Investors can edit their information or remove themselves from the investor directory by emailing india@gfi.org.
Access GFI India’s Smart Protein Company Database
GFI India’s Smart Protein Company Database allows investors to explore the landscape of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation companies, including consumer brands, manufacturers, and ingredient companies in India.
Apply to Glasswall Syndicate
The Glasswall Syndicate is a global group of venture capitalists, family offices, and individual investors who share a similar investment thesis and want to accelerate the mainstream adoption of products and services that remove animals from supply chains. They share resources, including research, contacts, deal flow, analysis, due diligence, and expertise. We highly recommend GlassWall Syndicate to fundraise early-stage alternative protein companies. Learn more and apply.
GFI India’s Investor Support
Our no-cost engagements with investors provide education on the alternative protein industry, including global and regional market data, consumer insights, and investment trends, technological updates, regulatory information, and more. Please note that we cannot review materials from individual companies as part of this service. Rather, we provide context for the industry as a whole that can complement your due diligence efforts. Sign up for GFI’s investor newsletter here.
Understanding the market landscape
Smart Protein Economic Analysis
GFI India worked with Deloitte India to gauge what smart protein could mean for India’s economic future in terms of market size, export potential, job creation, and more.
Global State of the Industry Reports
Our global State of the Industry reports dive deep into the key technologies, business developments, and scientific advances propelling the industries for plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived meat, eggs, and dairy.
Cultivated meat in India
In collaboration with CIIE, we published a comprehensive analysis of the cultivated meat sector in India, examining its current landscape and future potential. Additionally, our joint report with Invest India identified key opportunities and policy recommendations to support the industry.
ESG measurement and reporting
GFI & FAIRR’s ESG frameworks supply investors and companies in the alternative proteins industry with tools to monitor, measure, and report on risks and opportunities.
Manufacturing
Plant protein primer
Consumer demand for plant-based products is growing rapidly, and a broad portfolio of plant proteins is now available for plant-based meat, egg, and dairy products.
Technological review of high-moisture extrusion for whole-cut plant-based meat
This report explains the nuances of ingredient selection, extruder operation and control, and quality analysis of extruded plant-based meat products.
Indigenous crops library
Explore our Indigenous Crops Literature Library of scholarly publications on proteins derived from indigenous crops and their applications in plant-based meat and dairy products.
Plant-based product rollout guides
The 3 product rollout guides provide key insights that will help manufacturers of plant-based meat in India successfully roll out plant-based chicken, mutton, and seafood options by laying out do’s, don’ts, and specifics about consumption behaviour, drivers of consumption, and how to develop a marketing mix for each category.
Advertising and claims guide
This guide seeks to provide a snapshot of the advertising and claims regulations in India for smart protein producers, along with detailed information in our Regulatory Mini-Guide series.
Packaging and labelling guide
This report aims at understanding the consumer perception of existing packs of plant-based meat and dairy in the market and provides insights that can help manufacturers in India with consumer-relevant labelling practices.
Meat your match
This report details consumer feedback on plant-based meat products and benchmarks their performance against their meat counterparts to provide insights on areas that need improvement to enhance the adoption of plant-based meat products among consumers in India.
Market and consumer insights
A deep dive into the early adopters of plant-based meat
This report provides an attitudinal and sociodemographic profile of the early adopter segment for plant-based meat in India along with their usage and attitudes toward conventional meat.
Insights on awareness, trial, and purchase behaviour – plant-based meat and dairy, India
GFI India, in collaboration with Kantar World Panel, conducted a market study focusing on evaluating consumer awareness, trial, and purchasing behaviours within the plant-based meat and dairy sector in India.
Insights on the plant-based dairy category in India
Gain insights into consumer perception and experience of both plant-based and animal-derived milk by examining familiarity, trial experiences, and motivating factors and challenges that influence their consumption choices.
Packaging and labelling guide
This report aims at understanding the consumer perception of existing packs of plant-based meat and dairy in the market and provides insights that can help manufacturers in India with consumer-relevant labelling practices.
Meat your match
This report details consumer feedback on plant-based meat products and benchmarks their performance against their meat counterparts to provide insights on areas that need improvement to enhance the adoption of plant-based meat products among consumers in India.
Smart Protein Forum
The Smart Protein Forum is a multi-stakeholder forum to identify key opportunities & challenges, forge meaningful partnerships, facilitate knowledge sharing, and accelerate progress for smart proteins. It solicits representation across the ecosystem to help accelerate the advancement of the sunrise sector and establish a thriving scientific, innovation-driven ecosystem in India.
Key resources
State of the Industry Report: smart protein in India
In our detailed report, you’ll get current insights into the state of the smart protein industry including: commercial landscape, consumer and investment insights, technical advancements, and regulatory updates.
Ecosystem toolkit
GFI India’s curated databases and directories, together called the Ecosystem Toolkit, facilitate opportunity discovery and effective partnership building across the smart protein value chain.
Meet our experts
Aiyanna Belliappa
Senior Innovation & Entrepreneurship Specialist
Aiyanna unites stakeholders across the smart protein value chain and executes strategies to accelerate investment and scale-up in the alternative protein ecosystem.
Devika Suresh
Innovation Specialist
Devika leads our talent development activities and works to position GFI India as the key resource centre for innovation in India’s emerging smart protein sector.
Divya Saravana
Corporate Engagement Specialist – Marketing and Distribution
Divya identifies market opportunities and works to inspire and accelerate collaboration and innovation in smart protein among the retail and food service giants of India.
