Report 2025
Scientific sovereignty
Research, development, and transformation in Brazil.
COP30 Brazil Amazon in Belém, 2025
In the year that Brazil hosted COP30 in the Amazon, the country was at the center of one of the most crucial conversations of our time: how to urgently build a safer, more sustainable, and resilient future. Hosting this global debate was only part of the challenge. The deeper question is another: what role does Brazil want to play in this transition? Will we be merely suppliers of raw materials and consumers of technologies developed elsewhere, or also creators of solutions that will redefine the food system?
Home to approximately 20% of the world's biodiversity and serving as one of the largest global powers in grain production and export, Brazil possesses unique conditions to lead this transformation. Brazil's robust and consolidated agribusiness sector, its leading researchers and technology centers, and its industrial capacity have the potential to supply markets worldwide.
Nevertheless, major scientific and technological advances tend to occur where there are more resources, infrastructure, and investment, and it is in these regions that the benefits of developing these innovations also remain, such as the strengthening of local infrastructure, the generation of scientific and technological knowledge, the development of production chains, the emergence of new companies, and opportunities for income and job creation.
Strengthening national scientific sovereignty is a priority for GFI Brazil. When a technological innovation is developed in another country and imported to Brazil, it may not reflect the local context, customs, and needs of Brazilians, and may increase technological dependence on the country of origin. By investing in science done in Brazil, we expand our decision-making capacity, develop solutions connected to our reality, and retain the economic, industrial, and social gains of this advancement. We believe in the country's potential to produce cutting-edge knowledge, transform its agro-industrial strength into innovation, and bring sustainable, safe, and competitively priced, and high-quality food to the world.
You are what you eat: GFI in a series produced by Netflix.
Strengthening the scientific, regulatory, and institutional foundations of alternative proteins in Brazil.
The year 2025 made it clear that GFI Brazil's role is increasingly that of an organization that articulates complementary fronts of transformation. While helping the plant-based market face its maturity challenges, we invest in the scientific and institutional foundations that will enable the advancement of fermentation and cultivated meat. As we develop talent, strengthen local ecosystems, and expand Brazil's presence in multilateral spaces, we also build benchmarks for public policies and financing. By expanding our external operations, we strengthen the internal structure necessary to sustain this growth.
In a global scenario where the future of food will be increasingly determined by the ability to integrate innovation, sustainability, and economic development, Brazil has unique conditions to play a leading role. The work carried out by GFI Brazil in 2025 points precisely in this direction: transforming potential into strategy, strategy into coordination, and coordination into lasting impact. As a non-profit organization, all this work was made possible thanks to the support of donors. To our donor community, our sincere thanks for sharing our vision of a prosperous world, sustainably fed.
Our highlights
in 2025
9
publications
of technical and scientific content.
261
new subscribers
in online courses, totaling 1885 students.
New online course
"Introduction to innovation in alternative proteins."
New community
"Global Coalition for Alternative Proteins".
37
events
organized or supported by our team.
504
Subjects
Articles published in the press with an estimated editorial value of R$ 25 million.
+17 thousand
people
connected through our communication channels.
13
projects
funded.
R$ 1,2 million
invested in open access studies.
R$ 2 million
in public and philanthropic resources with the Araucária Foundation.
Plant-Based
A market that is maturing and demands new leaps forward.
Plant-based chicken - Tender Food
Plant-based salmon - OLALA!
If the early years of the plant-based market were marked by the expansion of the category and the building of visibility, 2025 consolidated a new moment: that of understanding, in greater depth, what will be necessary to make this market more competitive, more accessible, and more aligned with the eating habits of Brazilians. The market has already consolidated enough that the debate is no longer just about presence, but about scale, cultural adherence, and product performance.
It is precisely at this stage of maturity that philanthropy becomes especially relevant, as it has the necessary flexibility to support still-neglected areas, map structural bottlenecks, and generate strategic intelligence. In this context, the GFI stands out as the only non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to accelerating the development of the alternative protein sector, acting systemically to unlock its main challenges. By making visible the bottlenecks that limit the sector's progress and by sharing this knowledge openly, the GFI helps companies, researchers, and governments formulate more consistent, coordinated, and impact-oriented strategies.
To help Brazilian companies reach their full potential, we launched the study. "Strategies to unlock the Brazilian plant-based meat market" This report brings together insights from consumers and industry professionals, as well as references from other food and beverage categories that have grown and conquered new markets in the country. More than a diagnosis, the material presents a practical vision, through 7 strategic directions, on what needs to improve for the category to become a more intuitive and desirable choice: price, taste, access, communication, and cultural relevance.
Culture and Marketing: The recipe for increasing appetite for plant-based meats.
By translating these barriers into actionable recommendations, GFI Brazil strengthens its position as an organization capable of generating market intelligence aligned with the concrete needs of the sector.
Videocast - Challenges and perspectives: how the plant-based industry can grow.
In a consolidating market, regulatory certainty and clarity of language are not peripheral issues: they are essential conditions for growth.
At the same time, 2025 brought important advances in the regulatory environment of the plant-based market. The conclusion, by Anvisa (Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency), of the public consultation on the creation of a specific category for ingredients and processing aids used in plant-based analog products represented an important step towards expanding the legal predictability of the sector and consolidating a regulatory path more suited to innovation. The result also reflects persistent work of technical engagement and advocacy with public authorities, reinforcing the role of GFI Brazil as an articulator of a regulatory environment that protects the consumer without discouraging the development of the category.
This initiative gained even more relevance with the reversal of labeling restrictions in Paraná. By helping to dismantle state barriers that restricted the naming of alternative protein products, GFI Brazil helped restore greater legal coherence in the sector, reducing obstacles for companies and reinforcing the importance of regulation aligned with federal standards.
Overcoming technical bottlenecks requires research, innovation, and participation from key stakeholders in the sector.
The first Technical Discussion Forum on Alternative Proteins, dedicated to the soy supply chain, brought together experts from academia and industry to identify ways to improve the quality and cost of ingredients used in plant-based meat analogs. The guidelines were compiled in the report. "Strengthening the potential of soy in meat analogues: research strategies and opportunities" They encompass the entire production chain, from the development of cultivars with higher protein content and quality, a more complete nutritional profile, and a lower presence of antinutritional compounds, to the final product and its adoption by consumers.
In this direction, the study by researcher Paula Speranza, from ProVerde Processos Sustentáveis, still under development, will present technological routes for the production of ingredients from defatted soy flour, with functional, nutritional and sensory properties optimized for application in plant-based meat analogs.
Added value: soy targets new markets.
Why do we believe in soy?
In a market that still lacks solutions capable of reducing costs and enabling large-scale production, soybeans can play a significant role from the perspective of food system efficiency.
With this in mind, we seek to understand how soy can be used directly in human food and not just in animal feed. This change in perspective can increase the efficiency of the production system, expand food availability, and extract more value from existing production without requiring production expansion.
Although Brazil is a global powerhouse in soybean production, much of its capacity is still concentrated on supplying raw materials to external markets. We believe the country has the potential to go further: adding value to its production, transforming knowledge into innovation, and developing competitive solutions for the global market, thereby generating more technology, more wealth, and more benefits for Brazilian society.
The agenda for using domestic ingredients also gained momentum at the workshop. From beans to Brazilian biodiversity: national ingredients in the plant-based sector.This study, conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), highlights the potential of beans, cashew nuts, and other native plant species as high-value ingredients for the alternative protein industry. By highlighting an approach that is becoming increasingly clear to our institution, we reinforce the need to consider the food transition not from imported solutions, but from Brazil's competitive advantages.
As a result of in-depth analysis by experts, GFI Brazil published the report. "Strengthening the potential of beans in plant analogues: strategies and opportunities"The document brings together priority R&D strategies and opportunities focused on the technological use of beans, considering dry, wet, and hybrid processing routes, as well as emerging technologies, in line with the demands of the alternative protein production chain.
Videocast: Understand what plant-based meats are and whether they contribute to a healthy diet.
Cell culture and fermentation
From technological promise to building national capacity.
Cultivated meat pilito plant - Good Meat
Meat obtained through biomass fermentation - Chunk
While the plant-based food industry faces the challenges of a more mature and established market category, fermentation and cultivated meat continue to represent the scientific and technological frontier of alternative proteins. In 2025, we will focus our efforts on strengthening the foundations that will allow the country to participate more competitively in this new stage: generating strategic knowledge, expanding institutional collaboration, connecting researchers, and creating conditions for the advancement of applied research.
One of the year's highlights was the release of the white paper. Fermentation in Brazil: the potential for the production of alternative proteinsThis study consolidated a significant body of information on technological pathways, regulatory challenges, scientific infrastructure, and market opportunities. Based on this research, we expanded the dissemination of knowledge on the subject and positioned fermentation as a strategic frontier for researchers, investors, government, and industry. In a country with a tradition in bioprocesses, rich in resources, and with a strong scientific base, this type of intelligence is crucial for transforming potential into a concrete development agenda.
Used for millennia, fermentation may once again revolutionize gastronomy.
This potential also emerged in the workshop. "Brazil and fermentation in the advancement of sustainable alternative proteins"The meeting, held in partnership with the MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation), brought together researchers, government representatives, and scientific leaders, reinforcing the perception that Brazil has significant assets to advance in this area, but needs to continue coordinating actors, priorities, and investments.
Cow's milk, without cows: foodtech companies are using fermentation to revolutionize the industry.
In the field of cultivated meat, 2025 was also a year of strengthening the ecosystem. The achievement of the "II Conference on Alternative Proteins & II Workshop on Cultivated Meat", , a result of the partnership between Embrapa and UFSC, consolidated a space for technical exchange between academia, government, and the productive sector. The international event featured several of Brazil's most important researchers in the field, as well as the distinguished participation of Mark Post (Mosa Meat), creator of the world's first cultivated meat hamburger, and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA).
Cultivated fish meat startup outlines plan to produce on a commercial scale.
Already in partnership with MCTI, GFI promoted the workshop. "Cultivated meat, cultivation methods and the challenges of cost reduction", on Representatives from the ministry, researchers, and industry representatives participated. The technical debate focused on the cultivation medium, one of the items that most increases the cost of the technology, addressing composition, new ingredients, and solutions such as the use of inputs derived from industrial waste and byproducts in its formulation.
The potential of this solution is already being studied. With funding from GFI Brazil, the SENAI Institute for Innovation in Biosynthetics and Fibers (SENAI – ISI B&F) has initiated a project that will map technological routes to transform key byproducts from Brazil's main agro-industrial chains — such as sugarcane, soy, and corn — into raw materials for culture media used in fermentation processes and cultivated meat.
APP students at the 2nd COAP
GFI Brazil at the 2nd COAP
GFI Brazil at the 2nd COAP
GFI Brazil at the 2nd COAP
The agenda gained momentum with the launch of "The first state-level public notice in the country dedicated exclusively to alternative proteins"In a match-funding partnership with the Araucária Foundation, the call for proposals, by directing resources towards scalable fermentation and cell culture technologies, helped to inaugurate a new level of institutional support for open research in alternative proteins in Brazil.
This initiative represents a concrete example of how public and philanthropic instruments can be combined to structure a policy supporting innovation in alternative proteins. We need, increasingly, to build precedents, open institutional pathways, and expand Brazil's presence in areas that are crucial for the future of food.
Are alternative proteins a scalable solution for a better future?
“Philanthropy plays a fundamental role in reducing risks in emerging markets and in attracting and multiplying resources. The partnership between GFI Brazil and the Araucária Foundation, the research support foundation of the State of Paraná, clearly shows how this potential can be realized. In 2025, we launched the first call for proposals in which philanthropic resources were doubled by public funds, significantly expanding the reach and impact of the initiative. GFI Brazil invested R$ 1 million, and the Araucária Foundation doubled that amount, demonstrating how donations to GFI can unlock investments and accelerate the development of a strategic field for the country. With this, more research will be funded, more researchers and universities will be mobilized, and more knowledge will be generated. None of this would be possible without the support of our donors around the world, who sustain GFI's work and allow us to transform strategic vision into concrete impact.”
Ecosystem
Talent and industry connections.
Presentation of Lâmpada at NIS 2025
ELIPA - Visit to the IFF R&D Center in São Paulo
Throughout 2025, the "Local Ecosystems for Innovation in Alternative Proteins (ELIPA)" project synthesized one of GFI Brazil's most structuring bets: that the advancement of alternative proteins in the country depends less on isolated initiatives and more on the capacity to consolidate a connected, qualified, and application-oriented innovation ecosystem. This logic guided the capacity-building, institutional articulation, and partner mobilization actions developed within the project.
Through strategic visits to startups, innovation centers, Technological Innovation Hubs (NITs), business associations, foodtech hubs, and state funding agencies, GFI Brazil can update its diagnosis of the sector's needs, expand its network of partners, and prepare the ground for new initiatives in 2026. Instead of treating the ecosystem as something abstract, GFI operated based on its concrete nodes: people, institutions, innovation environments, and relationships of trust. It is precisely in this type of networking that the basis is formed for the emergence of structuring projects and for the country's capacity to develop and scale new food technologies.
3
business associations in the alternative protein sector
3
innovation hubs focused on foodtech
2
agencies
state development agencies
4
startups
sector of
alternative proteins
7
innovation centers in ingredients and manufacturing
4
Technological Innovation Centers (NITs)
A "Training Path in Alternative Proteins", carried out in partnership with MCTI and the Alt. Protein Project (APP) groups, was a clear expression of this effort. By bringing researchers closer to the real challenges of the industry and creating an environment for exchange with sector experts, the initiative helped to strengthen the interface between scientific production, technology transfer, and applied innovation.
291
registered people
60
They completed the trail.
5
recorded meetings
2.491
total views
80
professionals in the virtual community
And to help entrepreneurs who want to enter the alternative protein market, we launched the online course "Basic Concepts of Innovation in Alternative Proteins". The five classes cover topics ranging from market research and problem validation to the ideation of new technologies, roadmaps, and the development of minimum viable products. The goal is that, by the end of the course, participants will understand the innovation ecosystem in alternative proteins, including its opportunities, global trends, regulatory aspects, and business models.
Conservation x Labs Amazon
Conservation x Labs Amazon
Visit to the JBS R&D Center
GFI Brazil at New Meat
Conservation X Labs Immersion Event in the Amazon
Philanthropy plays an essential role in building ecosystems because it can view the sector comprehensively, identify neglected areas, and pinpoint the main bottlenecks that limit it. With this holistic view, it can direct resources to strategic bottlenecks and, above all, connect agents who often operate in isolation, increasing efficiency and guiding the sector's development so that its benefits are directed towards society.
GFI Brazil brings together academia, government, and the private sector to align efforts, share knowledge, and accelerate the development of the field in a more coordinated and efficient way. This fundamental work is only possible due to our role as a non-profit organization, supported by donors, which allows us to act as a strategic catalyst.
Global Coalition for Alternative Proteins
In 2025 we also launched our first online community, the “Global Coalition for Alternative Proteins”The project was born with the purpose of bringing together people and institutions that believe in the relevance of food innovation for building a fairer and more sustainable world. We have created a space that brings together researchers, students, entrepreneurs, companies, public sector representatives, and public policy experts to discuss, build, and transform, together, the ecosystem of alternative proteins in Brazil.
Brazil
At the heart of a global agenda.
COP30 Brazil Amazon
COP30 - Dinner for negotiators
In 2025, GFI Brazil also deepened its presence in policy-making and international networking spaces, recognizing that the future of alternative proteins will not be defined solely by scientific or business advances, but also by prioritizing funding and cooperation between countries.
The participation in COP30 was important in this regard. Once again, it was especially the GFI's role to argue that part of climate finance should also be directed towards alternative proteins, so that they occupy a central role in mitigation strategies and, above all, in climate adaptation.
Alternative proteins may contribute to controlling the climate crisis.
This presence unfolded into a consistent program throughout the event. GFI Brazil co-organized a dinner for agricultural negotiators, creating a unique opportunity to go beyond rhetoric and literally demonstrate the transformative power of research and innovation in the country. The menu included an alternative protein product. developed from a project Funded by the GFI's global research support program and conducted by Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical in Fortaleza, the Amazonika kibbeh, made with cashew fiber, demonstrated how Brazilian researchers, supported by leading institutions, can transform local resources into flavorful foods that are culturally connected to the Brazilian consumer and produced with less intensive use of natural resources and environmental impact.
The experience was a powerful way to demonstrate to negotiators that Brazil already possesses the necessary assets to lead the development of solutions capable of transforming the food system. At the same time, it clearly illustrates the indispensable role of philanthropy in this process: without the support of donors who enable GFI's work globally, this research would not have advanced, this solution would not have taken shape, and this concrete demonstration of potential would not have reached such a strategic space. This moment served as a starting point to reinforce one of the narratives that will permeate our actions in 2026: investment in science, technology, and innovation in the Global South will help guarantee the region's scientific sovereignty and allow climate solutions to be created here, based on our biodiversity.
On the panel Aligning Agriculture Finance and Fiscal Measures with Climate and Nature GoalsThe GFI advocated for the role of blended finance and fiscal measures to expand investments and democratize access to alternative proteins; it co-organized the event. Nourishing Climate Action: Policy Tools for Climate-aligned and Resilient Food Systems, dedicated to public policies for more resilient food systems; participated in the debate A Just Transition for Global Protein: Aligning Supply, Demand, and Emissions within Planetary Boundaries, which reinforced the need for a pluralistic and science-based transition to alternative proteins; and integrated the Singapore Pavilion's food systems program, with discussions on financing, innovation ecosystems, and the role of protein diversification in the climate agenda.
COP30 advances the climate agenda, but keeps food systems and protein diversification out of the center of decisions.
GFI Brazil at COP30
Opening of COP30 Brazil Amazon
GFI Brazil at COP30
GFI Brazil at COP30
GFI Brazil at COP30
GFI at COP30
GFI APAC at COP30
GFI APAC at COP30
Our participation in COP30 also marked the first time that GFI Brazil coordinated an advocacy campaign at a global level. In collaboration with other regions, our team developed narratives for key stakeholders, created social media content, mobilized the press, covered the event, and produced the final report.
Check out some of these initiatives:
Participation in the World AgriFood Innovation Conference
This perspective was broadened by GFI Brazil's participation in the World AgriFood Innovation Conference in Beijing, and by the advancement of strategic connections between Brazil and China. By highlighting the role of both countries as central actors in the Global South on a food innovation agenda, GFI Brazil reinforced its position as a bridge between national capabilities and international collaboration opportunities.
Brazil business boom: where global investors are looking next.
Similarly, participation in the founding of the first Chilean association of alternative proteins contributed to consolidating a more organized and institutionalized regional movement, strengthening the construction of a Latin American agenda for the sector.
World AgriFood Innovation Conference
Lanches plant-based
Gabinete do deputado Nilto Tatto
GFI Brasil no jantar pré-COP30
Strengthened organization
Sustaining long-term impacts.
Leadership Team at the 2025 Retreat
Operations and HR Team at Retreat 2025
Behind the programmatic expansion of 2025, there has also been a consistent movement toward institutional strengthening. The external impact of GFI Brazil is based on disciplined operations, robust processes, and an organizational culture capable of keeping pace with the growing complexity of the alternative protein agenda.
Financial and internal audits completed without reservations have maintained a consistent track record of compliance since 2020, reinforcing the strength of the organization's internal controls and governance.
This same logic manifested itself in the strengthening of compliance and LGPD (Brazilian General Data Protection Law) practices and, above all, in the evolution of the workforce development agenda. In 2025, GFI Brazil implemented a new Training and Development strategy. This year, we opted to strengthen collective capabilities, dedicating special effort to training leaders in artificial intelligence fluency.
To our family of donors and partners, our deepest gratitude!
In 2026, we remain driven by a simple yet profound conviction: Brazil can be a protagonist in one of the most strategic transformations of our time. When we speak of scientific sovereignty, we speak of the capacity to produce knowledge, develop technology, and create solutions based on our own reality—with the strength of our science, our biodiversity, our productive capacity, and the power of our territory. This is how we envision the role of GFI Brazil: to contribute to building pathways that allow innovation in alternative proteins to flourish with a Brazilian identity, generate value for the country, and make concrete progress in developing more sustainable food systems capable of contributing to reducing the impacts of the climate crisis, protecting animals and ecosystems, and strengthening public health.
This construction goes far beyond a sectoral agenda. It speaks to Brazil's opportunity to lead with intelligence, creativity, and purpose; to transform existing vocations into high-impact solutions; to bring science, industry, and public interest closer together around a common vision. Each supported research project, each strengthened connection, each institutional advancement represents a step towards a country better able to respond to its own challenges—and also to inspire responses for the Global South. The future is not ready-made: it is being designed now. And Brazil has all the conditions to be one of its central architects.
None of this would be possible without those who believe in the power of long-term transformations. Therefore, we conclude this report with special thanks to our donors and philanthropic partners. Your support not only sustains our work: it broadens horizons, accelerates solutions, enables pioneering agendas, and provides the foundation for promising ideas to become real change. In a field that demands courage, vision, and persistence, philanthropy plays a strategic and irreplaceable role. To each person, organization, and foundation that walks with us, our deepest gratitude. We move towards 2026 with hope, ambition, and renewed commitment—because we know that great transformations only happen when they are built in alliance.