Fermentation for Meat, Dairy, & More: Technical, Supply, & Demand Landscape in 2026

Fermentation for Meat, Dairy, & More: Technical, Supply, & Demand Landscape in 2026

Join AOCS and the Good Food Institute as we explore the landscape of fermentation-enabled foods and ingredients in 2026 and beyond. GFI’s technical, market, and consumer researchers will cover:

• Technical landscape: What fermentation-enabled products & ingredients are coming to market, and what benefits can they offer brands and their consumers?
• Commercial landscape: What companies are operating in fermentation-enabled products & ingredients, and what categories are coming to market?
• Investment landscape: What notable investments and partnerships have companies secured around fermentation-enabled ingredients?
• Consumer landscape: What do consumers know about and expect from these products & ingredients as they come to market? 

Featured Speakers:

Taylor Leet-Otley, Senior Consumer Research Lead, The Good Food Institute (GFI)

Eleni K. Chalmers, Senior Category Analyst, The Good Food Institute (GFI)  

Adam Leman, PhD. Principal Scientist, Fermentation, The Good Food Institute (GFI)   

BIOS:  

Taylor Leet-Otley oversees GFI’s consumer research, keeping the organization and the industry in touch with consumers’ needs & beliefs in the fast-moving alternative protein category.Taylor joined GFI with a background as a consultant focused on market research, consumer insights, and strategy. He worked in a diverse range of industries including CPG, energy, recycling, healthcare, and consumer tech, with a focus on brand management, B2B strategy, and market entry.

Eleni K. Chalmers is responsible for analysis of retail and foodservice market data to identify actionable insights to support GFI’s work and educate the alternative protein industry. Eleni joined GFI after 10+ years in sensory, insights, and innovation roles across several CPG and foodservice companies. Previously, she helped Philz Coffee launch new plant-based beverages and supported Petco’s sustainability and animal welfare missions. Ellie has a degree in chemistry from Bryn Mawr College and earned a master’s degree in food science at the University of California, Davis. 

Adam is a Principal Scientist, Fermentation at GFI and is focused on the development of biomass fermentation and precision fermentation biotechnology for food protein. He earned a B.S. in Molecular Genetics from the University of Rochester and a PhD from Drexel University College of Medicine in Molecular Biology. Adam’s postdoctoral studies concentrated on fungal genetics and systems biology. During his time in biotech, Adam implemented gene expression analyses in microbial, agtech, and human health studies to better characterize these systems and offer a deeper understanding for strain development and process improvement.