Sizing Up the R&D Race in Plant-Based Meat

• The Challenge:
  A European FMCG manufacturer had set an ambitious revenue target in the plant-based meat category. Leadership needed to know how much to invest in R&D, how to organise it, and which technologies to prioritise, but had no reliable way to see inside competitors’ research operations.
• The ChrisalysWorks Edge:
  Competitors’ R&D investment, structure and academic partnerships were never published. Through interviews with former R&D staff and employees of partner organisations, we built a detailed comparison of the leading players in the category.
• Benefits Delivered:
  We found that one leading rival had invested more in R&D in a single quarter than our client had over the same period, identified a single university research hub used by nearly every major competitor in the category, and pinpointed a shared ingredient-sourcing constraint affecting the whole market.
• The Outcome:
  The findings informed five specific recommendations, including where to focus new R&D investment and how to approach the shared university partnership, directly shaping the client’s innovation strategy in one of its fastest-growing categories.

“The project showed us exactly where the smart money in this category was going, including a research relationship we didn’t even know mattered. We had a bold target but no real visibility into how our competitors were resourcing the same race. This changed where we placed our own bets.”

R&D Director, European FMCG Manufacturer