The plant-based meat category is growing globally, but creating delicious products is tough. Top companies have spent tens of millions of dollars learning how to create higher-quality products, but only a handful of experts know the tricks of the trade.

The situation is particularly challenging in emerging markets. Technical expertise in the category is lacking, capital for R&D is less available, and keeping ingredient and equipment costs low is critical. As a result most products in emerging markets today—whether from startups or larger food companies—disappoint on quality.

The Open Source Meat Project, launched by the non-profit Lever Foundation, aims to speed the presence of quality products in emerging markets by providing a complete formulation for delicious plant-based chicken free of charge to entrepreneurs and food companies. Developed by the ex-culinary head of a leading global brand, the formula uses lower-cost globally-available ingredients and is versatile enough to work in most local cuisines.