Mö Foods is on a mission to “redefine cheese through oats,” leveraging the popularity of its award-winning oat-based cheese alternatives. This initiative aims to elevate plant-based food products within mainstream consumer awareness in the food and beverage industry.
Recently, the company secured substantial funding from Helsinki-based Nordic Foodtech VC. This investment will allow Mö to scale its proprietary food processing technology and prepare for international expansion, aligning with current food manufacturing trends.
Founded in 2017 by siblings Annamari Jukkola and Marjaana Vuorio, who have roots in dairy farming, Mö seeks to merge “Nordic design thinking with sustainable food innovation” to “reinvent cheese through oats.” This blend of tradition and innovation mirrors broader food and drink industry innovation efforts.
Mö’s vision stems from recognizing the resource-intensive nature of cheese production. The firm is committed to uncovering more sustainable and ecologically friendly alternatives to conventional dairy practices, aligning with food and drink sustainability goals.
“Our goal at Mö has always been to create foods that reflect how people eat today: good food at a fair price, made responsibly,” stated Annamari Jukkola, CEO and co-founder of Mö. “Growing up on a dairy farm gave us respect for how cheese is made and the value people place on it. We’re bringing that same quality and care to a new process, using oats to make something familiar, but lighter on resources. This funding helps us do that at scale.”
Through the advancement of its technology, Mö claims it can utilize the entire oat, effectively eliminating sidestreams. By prioritizing oats as the primary ingredient, the company aims to reduce its carbon footprint and minimize land use throughout the production chain, which reflects emerging food distribution trends.
Mö perceives its recent funding round from Nordic Foodtech VC as a clear signal regarding the future direction of the food industry, as it transitions into the so-called ‘post-vegan era’.
“Mö is taking unique Finnish oats and their healthy properties to a completely new level,” remarked Mika Kukkurainen, partner at Nordic Foodtech VC. “Added-value products, with unique technology, are the exact kind of food knowledge that we want to support and scale internationally. Mö is setting the standard for the entire industry on how plant-based products should meet expectations in taste and experience—and how this expertise can be taken to international markets.”
