11th of December 2025 – Delft. The Dutch-Flemish ecosystem was brought together to explore ‘How to unlock fermentation’s full potential for alternative proteins?’. It was organised in a cooperation between The Good Food Institute, The ProteInn Club and Protein Port.
Bringing together stakeholders from academia, industry, and innovation networks, the event created a valuable platform for cross-border collaboration. Throughout the day, participants collectively explored the scientific, technological, and economic challenges that must be addressed to enable fermentation to reach its full impact within the alternative protein sector.
A central theme that emerged across all discussions was the importance of achieving cost competitiveness as a prerequisite for successful commercialisation. However, rather than remaining at a high-level discussion, the strength of the event lay in its highly interactive and moderated format, which enabled participants to dive deeply into the different dimensions of this complex challenge.
The keynote presentation by Adam Leman from GFI Europe, “Driving Down the Cost of Fermentation-Derived Ingredients,” provided a strong foundation for the day’s discussions and highlighted practical pathways toward scalable and economically viable fermentation solutions.
Building on these insights, attendees engaged in moderated brainstorming sessions that examined critical aspects in depth, including:
- Strain development for robust and low-cost fermentation
- Alternative feedstocks compatible with scalable industrial processes
- Upstream processing strategies to improve productivity and efficiency
- Downstream processing innovations to enable affordable food applications
- Circularity and valorisation of fermentation side streams
- The balance between cost reduction and product quality/functionality
Full report of the dialogue available upon request: karen.verstraete@ilvo.vlaanderen.be.
The open exchange of expertise, combined with the depth of the moderated discussions, demonstrated the value of bringing diverse perspectives together around a shared ambition. The event not only strengthened connections within the Dutch–Flemish ecosystem, but also reinforced the collective commitment to accelerating progress in sustainable protein innovation through collaboration.
Special thanks to The Good Food Institute for initiating and coordinating this inspiring day!
