NC’s Sustainable Protein Industry
Estimating the Economic and Functional
Impacts of North Carolina’s Sustainable
Protein Industry
The sustainable protein sector, spanning plant-based, cell cultivated, and precision fermentation-made food products and ingredients is helping to transform our food, agricultural, and economic sectors in North Carolina and beyond.
To better understand the societal and economic impacts of scaling up alternative proteins in NC, the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State partnered with the NC Biotechnology Center to commission a comprehensive study conducted by TEConomy Partners, LLC: Estimating the Economic and Functional Impacts of North Carolina’s Sustainable Protein Industry.
This research and analysis completed in November 2025 finds that North Carolina has emerged as a global leader of alternative protein production, with substantial job creation across nearly 20 specialized companies and firms across the state. Further, the alternative protein industry has attracted substantial venture capital funding and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impacts across the state each year, alongside tens of millions in state and local tax revenue.
North Carolina has emerged as a global leader of alternative protein production, with substantial job creation across nearly 20 specialized companies and firms across the state.
Beyond the economic value of developing alternative proteins in North Carolina, the study also describes other benefits to scaling up alternative proteins, including benefits to agricultural stakeholders, through diversification of high-value crops and provision of new revenue streams for farmers.
Key findings of this report are relevant for a range of stakeholders and decision-makers in the state, as it provides a detailed analysis and roadmap for how intentional investment in the broader alternative protein sector can help secure North Carolina’s position at the forefront of global food innovation.
Access the study.
