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.

Closeup up of shopper’s hand on the handle of a grocery store cart

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

SOTIR

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

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

View All Experts

Aiyanna Belliappa - Senior Innovation and Entrepreneurship Specialist at Good Food Institute (GFI) India

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 at Good Food Institute (GFI India) India

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 at Good Food Institute (GFI) India

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. 

Rajyalakshmi Gummadi - Market and Consumer Insights Advisor at Good Food Institute (GFI) India

Rajyalakshmi G

Market & Consumer Insights Advisor

Rajyalakshmi is a marketing veteran with a finger on the pulse of the Indian consumer, working to catalyse corporate innovation and the growth of smart protein in the market through consumer research.

Aakashraj Bhople - Corporate Engagement Associate at Good Food Institute (GFI) India

Aakashraj Bhople

Corporate Engagement Associate

Aakashraj works on strengthening the upstream value chain for smart protein in India through capacity building, forging multi-stakeholder partnerships, and research and analytics.