Norwhey Nordic Seltzer’s Whey of the Future: Market Opportunities Revolve Around Differentiation, Low Calories and Sustainability

Norwhey Nordic Seltzer is triggering a seismic shift in the beverage industry, with implications for the health of consumers; the future of the hard seltzer market; and the sustainability of the planet.

But Norwhey Co-Founder Trystan Sandvoss says he and his partner, Cornell UniversityAssociate Professor and Norwhey CEO Dr. Sam Alcaine, are just getting started.

At the heart of Norwhey’s bright future is the innovation that informs its every move, and the current market opportunities that await the brewer’s bold plans for reshaping the alcohol industry by harnessing the dairy industry.

“There’s nothing more exciting to me,” Trystan said, “than the first time I see a product I developed, out in the real world, for others to discover.”

Norwhey with its Nordic Seltzer is taking advantage of ripe market opportunities, in addition to being sold at Wegmans supermarkets in Western New York; Kroger; and working with a distributor to ship direct to consumers in 45 states. Norwhey’s latest expansion market is New York City.

Norwhey is well-positioned to reimagine the hard seltzer market and push the alcoholic beverage industry far beyond the tired trends currently driving adults to seek out the ideal adult beverage.

For starters, Nordic Seltzer is a new product. It’s technically not hard seltzer—it’s a brand new, singular, alcoholic beverage made with excess whey that is a by-product of yogurt and cheese production.

And what consumer doesn’t love a brand new product?

After strolling into the walk-in freezer at the neighborhood convenience store, who isn’t looking for the next big thing, that extra special something-something that will jazz up the nightly and weekend rituals of relaxing with a cold adult beverage? Consumers, particularly adult beverage drinkers, love to be part of something new and successful, and Nordic Seltzer allows them to do both.

Nordic Seltzer also checks the box on an issue that generates increased urgency daily—sustainability—by making great use of a by-product that would normally end up as waste, on farms and in drains.

New York, with its long history of dairy farming and strong reputation for quality milk as a foundation, ranks number one in yogurt production among the 50 states.

But this large-scale production of yogurt also generates more than a billion pounds of whey by-product annually. This inspired Dr. Alcaine to incorporate whey into his research and, eventually, the alcoholic seltzer he devised in collaboration with Trystan.

The shift to use whey in the seltzer emerged from the fermentation and filtration platform that Dr. Alcaine developed in the Food Science Lab at Cornell. That research was funded with grants from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; USDA; and New York State dairy farmers.

Now, Trystan, an upstate New York farmer who for years has made cheese—New York produced 861 million pounds of cheese in 2020—handles the marketing and dairy oversight for Norwhey. Whey is also a by-product of cheese.

Sustainability continues to be extremely important for consumers as they become more aware of the impact that their favorite products have on the environment. Studies show how the number of consumers committed to purchasing sustainable products and services is growing.

Sustainability is particularly important for Millennials and Gen Z—two key marketing demographics—who regularly express their strong preference for brands that prioritize social responsibility and sustainability.

According to Forbes, a First Insight report detailed how:

• From 2019-2021, the preference of Gen Xers to shop sustainable brands increased by nearly 25 percent; and their willingness to pay more for sustainable products increased by 42 percent.
• In 2019, just over 34 percent of Gen X consumers said they would be willing to spend an additional 10 percent or more for sustainable products. In 2021, that statistic grew to nearly 90 percent.

Dovetailing with the sustainability that is so important to Nordic Seltzer is the compelling historical touchstone around which Norwhey has built a brand.

There is a strong body of evidence revealing how Vikings would take Icelandic yogurt—the northern European version of the yogurt produced in New York State—ferment it, and strain it in such a way that wasn’t so much of a mechanical process. Then, the Vikings would create alcohol from the yogurt as a food-safety measure.

“That’s why we call it ‘Norwhey,’ and ‘Nordic Seltzer,’” Trystan said. “Obviously, we’re innovating on that, and not repeating the same process, whatsoever. But it’s recapturing that idea of sustainability from throughout history when, particularly with native cultures and dairy agriculture, you tried to generate as little waste as possible—you used as many of the raw materials as possible.”

Consumers also remain committed to health and wellness. As a result, they seek out products whose manufacturers keep healthy habits at the forefront of their research, development and production lines.

“Why are consumers demanding something different like Nordic Seltzer?” Trystan asked. “Lower calories.”

As other hard seltzers carry 100 calories in 12 ounces, Nordic Seltzer brings just 80-90 calories to the discussion.

“You pour out a berry hard seltzer and it’s clear,” Trystan said. “Why is that? It’s because there’s no berries in it at all. What’s up with that? It’s chemical correlates that try to mimic organic flavors.”

Also on the healthy side of things, each can of Norwhey includes more than:

• 400 milligrams of calcium.
• 510 milligrams of potassium.
• 215 milligrams of phosphorus.
• 125 milligrams of sodium.
• 35 milligrams of magnesium.
• 1 milligram of zinc.
• 7 milligrams of vitamin B5.

“We take highly perishable raw ingredients and in five-to-seven days convert them into something that is shelf-stable, with the sustainability cherry on top.” Trystan said. “This is pretty powerful in terms of differentiation in the market, and capitalizing on market opportunities.”

Norwhey’s path to producing Nordic Seltzer can be traced to classes that Trystan took at Cornell University.

He was living and working on a dairy farm, making cheese in Bethany, New York, near Rochester. Cornell was within a reasonable drive for an overnight trip that included classes on the fundamentals of cheesemaking, food safety, modernization and improving the quality of certain foods.

Trystan connected in a big way with one of his professors, Dr. Alcaine, who received his master’s degree and PhD from Cornell, worked at MolsonCoors, and returned to the esteemed university to teach in a new program that included Trystan’s classes.

“Sam knows everything about brewing, and then he also knew his specific focus at Cornell was on dairy fermentation,” Trystan said. “So he had both of those pieces—and that’s what Norwhey is, it’s the intersection of brewing and dairy.”

Right before the onset of the pandemic, Dr. Alcaine called Trystan and shared that he had something of a prototype for a new adult beverage. It wasn’t quite a hard seltzer, but certainly wasn’t any kind of beer.

“I tasted it and he started telling me about what I was tasting,” Trystan recalled. “And I’m like, ‘this tastes great.’”

A collaboration, spurred by the pandemic, followed. The result is a unique adult beverage, a seltzer that is rewriting the alcohol industry playbook by injecting some razzle dazzle into every can.

“Whenever one of these hard seltzers comes up with something successful, everybody just rushes in with their equivalent,” Trystan said. “Ours is less sweet, has real fruit in it—and tastes more like a seltzer. We’re starting from this fundamentally different position—we have something you’ve never had before. We’ve got Nordic Seltzer.”

Visit www.norwhey.com for more information.

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