Dairy products are an important part of the Ukrainian diet. However, among the common milk and sour cream, cheeses, kefir and yoghurts, store shelves sometimes contain less familiar butter, guslanka and other products that are not always clear what they taste like and what to do with them.
One of the oldest but not very popular products is whey, a by-product of milk processing. It is a sweet and sour, transparent yellow liquid with a noticeable creamy flavour, although it does not contain cream. There are two types of whey: sweet whey is produced when cheese is made and milk is fermented with rennet, and sour whey is produced when milk is fermented with lactic acid bacteria for cottage cheese.
It is not a regular food item for many of us - in the home, whey is mainly used for baking. Instead, the industry has many uses for whey: making a dry mix for sports nutrition, albumin milk for people with casein intolerance, milk sugars and other products.
Ukraine successfully exports whey along with other dairy products. In 2024 alone, whey exports grew by 18.8 %, up to USD 5.7 million in monetary terms.
However, in 2025, experts expect a significant deterioration in the situation, as the EU reintroduced duties on dairy products on 1 June, and the share of EU countries in exports was almost 50 %.
While classic whey is difficult to find in stores, a few years ago a new product was added to the range - a refreshing drink made from whey and fruit juices, which is positioned as a healthy soft drink.
Who produces such drinks in Ukraine?
- "Cornflower Field and Latella drink with mango juice,
- "Fanny and Double Fun drinks with three flavours (watermelon-mint, apple-lime, pineapple-orange),
- "Actual" with watermelon-melon, tropical, orange-pineapple flavours,
- Feels Good with watermelon and apple with lime flavours,
- TM Favor and FreshAMA drink with orange juice won the gold medal from the independent panel of the tasting competition Favorite Food & Drinks 2024.
Similar drinks are also available from Kharkiv Dairy Plant under the Agromol brand. Here, the flavour range is a little wider - pomegranate, multifruit, apple and pineapple-mango. And while Agromol sells its products mainly in its own chain of stores, other manufacturers are represented on the shelves of national retailers.
Whey is not just a by-product. It is tasty, healthy, and is already becoming a product for gastronomic experiments. And a bottle with a refreshing drink is a convenient format for tasting and expanding your own taste palette and diet.
Have you tried it yet?
Author: Daria Spasova