Fatty Acid Research Institute

What Fatty Acid Research Institute does

The Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research foundation founded in 2021 by William S. Harris, PhD and headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. FARI's stated mission is to be the only organization focused directly on discovering and publishing research evaluating the health effects of individual dietary fatty acids, particularly the marine omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Its research outputs are grounded in access to large prospective epidemiological databases including the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS), and the UK Biobank, combined with proprietary fatty acid blood testing methodology co-invented by Dr. Harris, including the Omega-3 Index test, the Mother's Milk DHA Test, and the Prenatal DHA Test.

The organization delivers fee-based contract research services to companies, health agencies, and university researchers, including preparation of peer-reviewed publications, statistical analysis of fatty acid-health relationships, study design consultation, statistical methodology work, and funding proposal assistance. It also runs proprietary research initiatives such as the Omega-3 Cognition Initiative, an independent re-analysis of the ADNI study dataset to evaluate omega-3 supplementation effects on cognitive outcomes. A distributed research team of senior and associate scientists, all with academic appointments, executes the work across the USA, Italy, Korea, England, Mexico, Germany, and Spain.

FARI's revenue model combines contract research fees with charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Donations are tax-deductible as the entity is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Donor cultivation includes monthly research progress updates and pre-publication access to findings. Special pricing for fatty acid analysis is secured through a partnership with OmegaQuant Analytics, a related-party lab also founded by Dr. Harris.

Name

Fatty Acid Research Institute

Legal name

Fatty Acid Research Institute, Inc.

Website

https://faresinst.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

FARI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research foundation that conducts and publishes peer-reviewed research on dietary fatty acids, especially omega-3 EPA and DHA, serving omega-3 product companies, health advocacy groups, and academic researchers through contract research, statistical analysis, and access to large prospective databases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Nutritional Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAJALAC

High-Oleic & Specialty Oilseed Oils

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Ingredients & Additives/Fats & Oils Ingredients (Edible Oils, Specialty Fats, Lipid Systems)

Keywords

• Fatty acid research
• Omega-3 health studies
• Nutritional epidemiology
• Clinical research services
• Biostatistical analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Sioux Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services: FARI provides fee-based research services to companies, health agencies, and university researchers including preparation of peer-reviewed publications, statistical analysis of fatty acid-health relationships, study design consultation, and writing funding proposals.
2. Donations and Financial Support: Organizations and individuals can make financial contributions to support FARI's mission, including project-specific funding and general operating support. FARI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity, making donations tax-deductible.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FARI is a non-profit research foundation that conducts and publishes peer-reviewed research evaluating the health effects of individual dietary fatty acids, with a focus on omega-3 EPA and DHA. It provides fee-based contract research services to companies, health agencies, and university researchers, including statistical analysis of large prospective databases, fatty acid blood sample analysis, study design consultation, and funding proposal preparation.

Product overview

FARI is a non-profit research foundation offering a portfolio of scientific research services focused on fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and health outcomes. The organization provides peer-reviewed publication preparation, comprehensive literature reviews, fatty acid blood analysis, statistical analysis of health relationships, study design consultation, and research collaboration facilitation. Services are delivered through access to large prospective databases including the Framingham Heart Study and Women's Health Initiative Memory Study. FARI also conducts proprietary research initiatives such as the Omega-3 Cognition Initiative for independent re-analysis of cognitive decline studies. The organization serves companies selling omega-3 products, health advocacy groups, university researchers, and individuals seeking to support fatty acid research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Higher Omega-3 Index is independently linked to reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, dementia, and premature death
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered preferred vendor and collaborative.

• OmegaQuant Analyticspreferred vendorTechnology or IntegrationSpecial pricing agreement for fatty acid analysis services. OmegaQuant was founded by Dr. William Harris (FARI President and Founder) and provides simple tests of nutritional status. Dr. Harris transferred operational responsibilities to the next generation (Jason Polreis, CEO/COO). Services include the Omega-3 Index test and other fatty acid blood tests.
• FORCE Consortium (Familial Cancer Syndromes)collaborativeStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research consortium focused on familial cancer syndromes. FARI serves as facilitator of fatty acid related research collaborations among academic researchers and students/trainees, including participation in the FORCE consortium.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• dsm-firmenich: Global nutrition and health ingredients major, including omega-3 EPA/DHA ingredient supply, with in-house research and partnerships on fatty acid health benefits. Comparable as a broader incumbent with overlapping subject matter (omega-3 fatty acids) and customer base (product companies), but at much greater scale and commercial orientation than FARI.
• BASF Nutrition & Health: Major ingredient supplier serving the nutrition and supplement industry, including omega-3 and lipid ingredient solutions, with substantial R&D investment. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the nutrition/omega-3 ingredient ecosystem with overlapping customer base, but commercial rather than independent-research oriented.

Direct peers

• International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI): Global non-profit organization conducting scientific research on nutrition, food safety, and chronic disease prevention. Comparable because it operates as a non-profit nutrition research foundation producing peer-reviewed evidence for industry and policy stakeholders — overlapping mission with FARI.
• Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA): Federally funded research center at Tufts University focused on nutrition, aging, and chronic disease prevention, with extensive peer-reviewed output. Comparable as a non-profit academic-affiliated research institute producing nutrition-and-health evidence at scale, including large prospective cohort analyses.
• Linus Pauling Institute: Non-profit research institute at Oregon State University focused on nutritional science, micronutrients, and disease prevention, with substantial publication output. Comparable as a similarly-sized non-profit nutrition research institute producing peer-reviewed evidence on dietary components and health.
• Pennington Biomedical Research Center: Major nutrition and metabolic disease research institute affiliated with LSU, conducting clinical trials and epidemiological studies on diet and health. Comparable as an academic non-profit nutrition research institute generating peer-reviewed dietary intervention evidence.
• GOED (Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3s): Global trade association for the omega-3 industry, funding clinical research on EPA/DHA and representing manufacturers. Highly comparable to FARI because both operate in the omega-3 evidence-generation space; FARI board member Ellen Schutt serves as GOED's Executive Director, evidencing direct institutional overlap.
• OmegaQuant Analytics: Commercial fatty-acid testing laboratory founded by the same scientist (Dr. William Harris) who founded FARI. Offers the Omega-3 Index, Mother's Milk DHA, and Prenatal DHA tests to consumers and clinicians. Closely comparable because it operates in the same fatty-acid testing space with overlapping methodology, leadership, and customer base.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — Department of Nutrition: Leading academic department conducting large prospective cohort studies (e.g., Nurses' Health Study) on dietary fatty acids, cardiovascular disease, and chronic disease. Comparable because it produces peer-reviewed omega-3 and dietary-fat epidemiological research using similar large datasets.

Others

• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS): U.S. federal government office funding and disseminating peer-reviewed research on dietary supplements including omega-3 fatty acids. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that funds and publishes fatty acid evidence, though not a competitor — rather a funder and complementary evidence source for FARI's work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fatty Acid Research Institute