The second floor of the Student Union was turned into a hub of commerce and holiday festivity on Thursday, as the Norse Innovators hosted their first-ever Norse Holiday Marketplace. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., students, faculty and staff browsed a selection of goods ranging from food and drinks to jewelry and clothing, all created and sold by Northern Kentucky University students.
While the Norse Marketplace has become a familiar sight on campus since its inception in spring 2024, this event marked a strategic expansion for the student organization. Previously held outdoors near Loch Norse or the Student Union Plaza during warmer months, organizers saw an opportunity.
“We felt like there was a gap here in the winter, so we figured, well, let’s see if we can put together a holiday-themed marketplace,” said Nathan Deininger, a senior computer science major and president of Norse Innovators.
Deininger, who is minoring in data science and entrepreneurship, explained that the move indoors necessitated a more exclusive approach. While outdoor markets in the past have hosted between 40 to 50 vendors, space limitations in the Student Union capped participation for the holiday edition.
“The holiday is the theme here. So it’s a little bit more restrictive, and we’re a bit more selective about the vendors we let into this one just to make sure that they fit that theme,” Deininger said.
Approximately 20 vendors set up shop for the event, offering the campus community a chance to support student businesses just ahead of finals week.
Norse Innovators, formerly known as the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization (CEO), rebranded over a year ago to better align with its mission to promote innovation on campus. The marketplace serves as a place for students to test business concepts without the financial burden often associated with commercial trade shows.
“Having the opportunity to kind of test out a product or a service or something that they want to explore at an event like this is a really low-cost, low-risk way to explore entrepreneurship,” Deininger said.
For some students, the marketplace served as a debut. Jenna Enzweiler, a senior entrepreneurship major, used the event to launch her own culinary venture.
“This is my first market, so it’s been fun, kind of learning how to plan for it and get things ready for it, and just meet people and hear what people think about my products,” Enzweiler said.
Enzweiler brought a “Cajun mix of things” to the Student Union, selling Chicken Andouille gumbo, French bread with Creole butter and a bourbon caramel bread pudding. She views the marketplace as a possible stepping stone toward a career in culinary arts, specifically targeting the needs of her peers.
“I would love to start doing meal prep stuff, maybe for college students, helping people have home-cooked meals,” Enzweiler said. “It’s hard to cook for one person, and not everyone has experience in cooking either”.
Other vendors used the event to build on already established operations. Kristen Douglas, a fourth-year entrepreneurship major and member of Norse Innovators, brought her business, Wild Pour, to the event.
Wild Pour, a mobile coffee cart specializing in lattes, drip coffee, hot chocolate and apple cider, officially launched in September after Douglas began working on the concept in May. While she has previously catered events at Washington Park in Cincinnati and various locations in Northern Kentucky, the Holiday Marketplace offered a specific advantage for seasonal sales.
“We were wanting to do one more catered to the holidays just because we thought the vendors have a lot of Christmas items. So it’d be good for the students and good to get people involved,” Douglas said.
She also highlighted the more philanthropic side of the event. Not only is it an opportunity for student businesses to get their products seen and sold, but also a fundraising opportunity. “For every sale, 50 cents of it goes back to the club,” Douglas noted about Wild Pour.
The event drew a steady crowd throughout the afternoon, validating the organizers’ decision to introduce a winter installment. Deininger, who is set to graduate next week, expressed his confidence in the future of the marketplace tradition.
“I think we’re going to keep doing these, both the outdoor ones and also the holiday ones as well,” Deininger said, encouraging students to be on the lookout for future opportunities to either vend or shop.
For the student entrepreneurs involved, the value of the day extended beyond just revenue. It provided real-world feedback and visibility within the campus community.
“It’s a great way for people to get their foot in the door and try things,” Enzweiler said.
As the semester draws to a close, Norse Innovators has cemented a new tradition at NKU, proving that the spirit of entrepreneurship thrives year-round, regardless of the weather.
