Press Release

Sweden’s Millow Appoints CEO and Brings Inventor Full-Time to Commercialize Clean-Label Fermented Protein

The Board of Directors of Millow has appointed Fredrik Öhrn as Chief Executive Officer and confirms that Millow's scientific founder Prof. Mohammad J. Taherzadeh will leave academia and focus entirely on Millow, as the company enters the food-service market in Sweden from the summer of 2026

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — 9 March 2026— Millow, the Swedish food-technology company producing fermented protein from Nordic oats and mycelium, today announced the appointment of Fredrik Öhrn as Chief Executive Officer. Simultaneously, Professor Mohammad J. Taherzadeh, Millow’s inventor and Chief Scientific Officer, is leaving his position at the University of Borås to join the company full-time. Both appointments were made by Millow’s Board of Directors as the company prepares for commercial entry in Sweden from the summer of 2026.

Mr. Öhrn brings more than 20 years of international commercial leadership and a track record of scaling businesses internationally. At Sodexo, he served as regional CEO of Nordic operations for one of the Business Divisions and led a transformation program for growth across 30 countries. At American Express, he received the Global Presidents Award for performance across the Nordics, Benelux, and Germany.

“What drew me to Millow is that the science works and the technology is proven,” said Öhrn. “We launch in Sweden, but clean-label protein has a global demand. Food-service operators from Stockholm to Singapore face the same pressure: shorter ingredient lists, less processing, more transparency. My job is to build the commercial platform that takes Millow there — market by market.”

Professor Taherzadeh has worked at the frontier of mycelium science and fermentation technology since 1999 and is ranked among the top two per cent of researchers globally in his field by Stanford University. He is the principal inventor behind Millow’s patented dry-state fermentation platform. His move to Millow is driven by what the company has built: an advanced fermentation laboratory alongside its production facility, paired with patented technology — creating one of the few environments where mycelium research translates directly into commercial production.

“For a scientist, there is nothing more compelling than a place where your research has impact the same week you conduct it,” said Professor Taherzadeh. “Millow’s advanced laboratory and patented process allow me to do in months what would take years in a traditional academic setting. That is why I am here.”

Millow’s product represents a new category of clean-label protein designed for commercial kitchens. Made from a small number of whole-food ingredients — principally oats and mycelium — via dry-state fermentation in under 24 hours, it contains no binders, no additives, and no ultra-processed components. During fermentation, mycelium grows through the oat matrix, creating a fibrous, meat-like structure.

Millow is building its production facility — a former LEGO production hall in Stenkullen, Gothenburg — supported by the European Innovation Council’s EIC Accelerator. The site will house both commercial-scale production and Millow’s advanced fermentation laboratory.

“Millow was built by a small number of people with deep, specific expertise — each one essential to getting here. Together, they created a fermentation platform that achieves something rare: a protein that has excellent taste and texture, is minimally processed, whole-food, clean-label, nutritious and commercially scalable while sustainably produced — all at once, without compromise. That is not just a product, it is a foundation. Now we need to build on it. Fredrik has spent twenty years scaling businesses across multiple countries. When he understood what our technology does — and what it makes possible — the decision was immediate, on both sides.”

— Dr Staffan Hillberg, Chairman

Millow is targeting food-service partnerships in Sweden from the summer of 2026, beginning with mince and formable formats. Facility tours and tastings are available for accredited media and qualified partners.

ABOUT MILLOW

Millow is a Swedish food-technology company producing a new category of clean-label fermented protein from Nordic oats and mycelium using a patented dry-state fermentation process. No binders. No additives. Designed for commercial kitchens. Backed by the EU’s EIC Accelerator. Founded on 25+ years of mycelium and fermentation research by Prof. Mohammad J. Taherzadeh (Stanford-ranked). Not classified as novel food by the Swedish National Food Agency.

MEDIA CONTACT

press@millow.co | +46 10 650 00 10

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