Soy Hound's flavored soy milk. Photo by Wendy Wong.
Glass bottles filled with freshly made, creamy milk delivered to your doorstep at the crack of dawn. That concept may sound like a thing of the past, but the creators of Soy Hound are bringing it back with a modern twist: Their company, which launched in February, delivers flavored soy milk to Manhattan homes.
Soy Hound’s owners Nayana Pornchewangkul, 27, and Victor Yee, 28, will also debut their soy milk this weekend at Smorgasburg, a food-centric market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Pornchewangkul and Yee both grew up drinking homemade soy milk. On recent trips to Japan and Thailand, the couple explored the many shops specializing in flavored soy milk, a common beverage in many Asian countries.
“We saw a lot of stores that sold just soy milk and had different flavors,” says Yee. “We wanted to bring that here.”
But when they returned to New York City, they realized that they couldn’t find the high-quality, fresh soy milk that had been abundant in Asia.
“We missed that feeling of having fresh soy milk at home,” says Pornchewangkul. “It’s a great feeling to wake up in the morning and see a fresh bottle.”
Soy Hound owners Victor Yee (left) and Nayana Pornchewangkul (right). Photo by Wendy Wong.
Pornchewangkul and Yee use soybeans, raw sugar and pure honey to make their soy milk. They stress that they don’t add any preservatives.
“At the supermarkets, if you buy soy milk, it doesn’t expire for several months, so they put other things in there for it to last longer,” says Yee. “There’s a different flavor profile in prepackaged soy milk versus fresh.”
Each of Soy Hound’s flavors is tested out and perfected over several months. So far, the two have come up with flavors like Japanese matcha, Thai iced tea and ginger honey. They’re constantly experimenting, and one of their newer creations is spicy cinnamon with cayenne pepper.
Soy Hound's ginger and honey-flavored soy milk, deconstructed. Photo courtesy of Soy Hound.
Rynn Berry, a New York–based vegan-lifestyle expert and author of The Vegan Guide to New York City, welcomes Soy Hound’s new soy-milk delivery service.
“It seems to me that having soy milk delivered to the doorstep will strengthen its association with home and hearth and domestic nurture,” Berry said in an e-mail.
Pornchewangkul and Yee are aiming to start soy-milk deliveries this summer—or earlier, if demand is strong. Although home and office deliveries will initially be available only in Manhattan, the service will expand delivery to all boroughs as soon as possible.
“That’s why we’re called Soy Hound,” says Pornchewangkul. “We’re the hounds, chasing and running out and delivering soy milk for everyone.”
This is definitely an interesting concept and will bring a bit of nostalgia to New Yorkers with a modern twist! We can’t wait to see what comes of Soy Hound in Manhattan and beyond.
I’ve sampled all their flavors and purchased 4 bottles of milk now from Smorgasburg. The green tea and ginger are great! I can attest this stuff is good!