New investment data analysis & survey show that long-term investor appetite for alt proteins is strong despite slowed growth in 2022

New data from GFI and PitchBook show that #alternativeprotein companies raised $2.9 billion globally in 2022, bringing all-time funding to $14.2 billion. Like most other sectors impacted by the 35 percent decline in overall global funding, alternative protein investment decelerated amid an unprecedented macroenvironment brought about by steeply rising interest rates driven by elevated inflation, acute climate events, an ongoing pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

The alternative protein industry is nascent, and annual variation in funding is to be expected. Over the past decade, $14.2 billion has been invested in alternative proteins—and while there’s been high variance over this period, investment has nearly doubled on average year on year.

While economic turbulence led to a deceleration in global alternative protein investments, certain regions bucked this trend. 2022 marked a year of record investment in Asia Pacific and Europe as investors diversified holdings.

Results of our annual alternative protein investor survey show that despite today's challenging climate, long-term growth, technology potential, and ESG alignment provide much reason for optimism. Our survey of investors who are currently active in or considering entering the alternative proteins space shows that 99 percent of respondents are optimistic about the long-term potential of the industry, and 87 percent expect to make investments in alternative protein companies or funds in 2023.?

There is much room for this young industry to grow and improve. With time, more support, increased investment from the private sector and government, and continued innovation to improve the taste and affordability of products, we expect the industry to accelerate.

Check out our new blog to dig even deeper into this new investment data and analysis.