Partnering with Solar Foods to Unlock and Commercialize a Breakthrough Ingredient
Objectives
Solar Foods approached us with a bold ambition: to bring to market a revolutionary sustainable protein ingredient derived from air and renewable energy. Their goals required a two-phase partnership — first to validate market opportunities, and then to develop a go-to-market strategy that would attract commercial partners and scale adoption.
Our engagement aimed to:
Map and validate product and category opportunities based on market potential and economics
Build a commercialization roadmap including partner identification and tailored value propositions
Accelerate market entry with a strategic, focused plan for engagement
Deliverables
Our work was divided into two core phases, each delivering essential strategic value:
Phase 1: Market Opportunity Mapping
We conducted an in-depth analysis to assess the ingredient’s commercial potential across multiple applications and routes to market. This included:
Product & Channel Mapping: Identifying high-value categories and sales channels based on consumer trends and innovation gaps
Economic Assessment: Analyzing unit economics, including cost structure, pricing benchmarks, and scalable volume potential
Prioritization Framework: Validating and ranking the most promising segments based on technical fit and business viability
This phase gave Solar Foods clarity on where their innovation could win, providing a data-driven foundation to guide production and commercial decisions.
Phase 2: Commercialization & Partner Strategy
With a validated opportunity map and scaled production in place, Solar Foods re-engaged us to craft a go-to-market plan. We collaborated to:
Define Commercialization Pathways: Outlining strategic options for launch and scale in priority markets
Identify Strategic Partners: Sourcing and evaluating potential brand partners and co-manufacturers
Develop Messaging and Positioning: Tailoring value propositions for target customers based on sustainability, functionality, and performance
Results
This two-phase engagement empowered Solar Foods with the strategic clarity and commercial toolkit needed to confidently launch their breakthrough ingredient:
A targeted market blueprint to guide product and sales strategy
A shortlist of validated commercial partners for future collaboration
A customized set of value propositions that clearly communicated their product’s unique benefits to different customer groups
The result: faster market traction, streamlined partner conversations, and stronger commercial positioning in a highly competitive and emerging category.
10 categories assessed
30+ potential customers identified