The increasing popularity of whey protein in the United States is having a profound effect on the dairy industry. Nasonville Dairy in Wisconsin, for example, is finding that whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking, is crucial to its financial success. While cheese production itself barely breaks even, the sale of whey protein derived from the cheesemaking process significantly enhances the dairy's bottom line.
Nasonville Dairy produces approximately 150,000 pounds of cheese daily but only breaks even on most of its cheese sales. The company's chief executive and Master Cheesemaker, Ken Heiman, emphasizes the importance of whey protein sales in maintaining the dairy's profitability. He notes that their financial success is largely dependent on the consumer demand for whey protein, specifically its presence in affordable options like Aldi's.
Ken Heiman is a certified Master Cheesemaker, one of four who ensure that the Cheddar, Gouda and other cheeses made at Nasonville Dairy in Marshfield, Wis., taste great.
But as proud as he is of his cheese, Mr. Heiman knows that his company’s profitability these days is thanks less to Colby than it is to whey, the liquid byproduct of cheese making that helps to satisfy America’s seemingly insatiable appetite for added protein.
Nasonville Dairy produces around 150,000 pounds of cheese a day, but just breaks even on most of it, especially the 40-pound blocks of Cheddar that are a cheesemaker’s stock in trade. What increasingly keeps the lights on is whey.
“We ought to be thanking people who are buying whey protein at Aldi’s,” said Mr. Heiman, who, in addition to being a Master Cheesemaker, is Nasonville’s chief executive. “It definitely enhances the bottom line.”
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