A $2.1M Bet on Oat-Mycelium Protein Could Change Foodservice

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-13

A Swedish startup just landed a serious cash injection to bring a new kind of protein to restaurant kitchens. And it's not made from soy, peas, or lab-grown meat. It's made from oats and mycelium — the root-like structure of fungi — and the company believes it could be a game-changer for clean-label food. Millow, based in Gothenburg, has closed a $2.1 million funding round (€2 million) to scale up production and build out its commercial team across the Nordic foodservice market. The money will help the company meet growing demand from chefs and food manufacturers who want sustainable protein without the long ingredient lists. ### Who's Behind the Money? The round was led by Magnus Emilson, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with deep roots in hospitality and tech. Joining him is Jan Enhager, co-founder of Vitamin Well — the group behind popular brands like NOCCO and Barebells. Enhager will also step in as a strategic adviser to Millow's CEO, Fredrik Öhrn. Two unnamed co-founders of Swedish tech companies — with combined exits north of $2 billion — also participated, along with several strategic private investors from the Swedish food sector. That mix of capital and connections is exactly what Öhrn says matters most right now. > "This round gives us the capacity and the commercial team to serve foodservice customers at the volumes they need. The job now is disciplined commercial execution, and what matters as much as the capital is who it comes from," Öhrn said. ### A Protein Built on Decades of Research Millow's story starts with over 25 years of mycelium and fermentation research by Prof. Mohammad J. Taherzadeh. In March 2026, the company brought Öhrn on as CEO and announced that Taherzadeh would leave his post at the University of Borås to join Millow full-time as Chief Scientific Officer. The process itself is elegant in its simplicity. Millow uses solid-state fermentation to turn Swedish oats and mycelium into a clean-label protein made from just two core ingredients. No binders, no additives, no hidden extras. Here's what makes it stand out: - Uses only 0.8 to 1.1 gallons of water per 2.2 pounds of product - Independent verification by RISE shows a carbon footprint of 0.32 kg CO₂e per kilogram - That's roughly 98% lower than Swedish beef For foodservice operators trying to hit sustainability targets without compromising on taste or texture, those numbers are hard to ignore. ### Patent Protection Secured Alongside the funding news, the European Patent Office confirmed that the nine-month opposition period for Millow's core patent (EP 4 307 913) has closed with no oppositions filed. That patent protects the low-water production method at the heart of the company's process — a critical moat in a competitive space. Emilson, who first invested in 2025, sees this as just the beginning. "I have spent decades building companies in technology and hospitality, and from the restaurant and hotel side I can see the demand for a protein like this coming," he said. "The hard part is the technology, and that is what Millow has." ### What's Next for Millow? The company is focused on B2B partnerships, working closely with major foodservice companies and manufacturers to get its mycelium-based products onto restaurant menus and retail shelves. It's backed by the EU's EIC Accelerator and reports being in close discussions with major foodservice operators and distributors across the Nordics, with international interest growing in parallel. For anyone watching the alternative protein space, Millow is a name worth keeping an eye on. The combination of strong science, serious investors, and a clear go-to-market strategy could make this oat-and-fungi protein a staple in commercial kitchens sooner than you think.