Yorkshire honey mead brand expands to USA in £2m deal

York-based Nidhoggr Mead Co, which featured on BBC1’s Dragons’ Den earlier in the year, is expanding its authentic honey mead drinks brand into the USA after securing deals worth more than £2m.

Peter Taylor, founder of Nidhoggr Mead Co and Viking enthusiast, recently embarked on a 17-day USA road-trip which saw him visit 14 states where he showcased his British honey mead drinks to a host of American businesses.

This resulted in the brand securing more than £2m worth of sales with listings at seven renaissance and medieval fairs along with six-figure deals to supply more than 40,000 bottles of its authentic 100% pure honey mead to distributors across the country next year.

This success has resulted in the business investing in a rapid expansion to scale up its UK production and recruit more staff with a view to build a new meadery to cope with volumes.

Peter Taylor, founder and MD of Nidhoggr Mead Co said; “Our USA trip involved us criss-crossing 14 states with the aim of bringing our traditional honey mead to a US audience and the response was fantastic. It’s always been an ambition to conquer the States as they love British products, just as much as they love Viking history.

“These deals enable us to scale our UK production and become the largest British authentic honey mead producer. We’re now looking for investment to help us realise our ambitious growth plans.”

The USA trip ended with a Meet the Buyer Great British Showcase event at the British Consulate General in New York meeting several businesses. The event was organised by the British government to encourage British export to the US.

Peter first discovered honey mead at Viking reenactment tournaments. He was inspired by his mother-in-law who brewed homemade mead to experiment making his own authentic mead at home using 100% local Yorkshire honey.

Nidhoggr Mead Co launched in 2020 and has since grown to become the UK’s largest 100% authentic honey mead brand crafting in excess of 100,000 bottles a year from its purpose-built meadery in York.

The team of 15 craft the honey mead using locally and sustainably harvested Yorkshire honey and natural flavours.

Taylor comments: “Our focus on crafting authentic mead made simply with fermented honey has helped us capture a fan-base of drinkers who are looking for a drink with a difference that bridges the gap between a spirit and a wine. Mead is incredibly versatile and makes the most delicious cocktails so we’re excited to introduce it to even more people.”

The USA range will feature three flavours of the 15% ABV alcoholic drink; Traditional, Elderflower and Sour Cherry.

Honey Mead is one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks made simply from fermented honey. It is experiencing a renaissance as British drinkers are inspired by TV dramas such as Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Vikings.

Nidhoggr Mead Co is a York-based drinks brand which produces a range of authentically crafted alcoholic honey meads in seven flavours. It is inspired by Viking culture when the ‘drink of the gods’, a fermented honey drink, reigned supreme. The craft meadery only uses local and sustainably harvested Yorkshire honey for its drinks.