Norwegian and Strawberry Establish a Joint Company With a Common Benefit Currency

Norwegian and Strawberry, formerly Nordic Choice Hotels, have established a joint company that gives members of various loyalty programs more choices. The company will create a common ‘currency’ and platform where members can earn and redeem points.

On Tuesday (June 27, 2023), Norwegian Air Shuttle announced the establishment of a 50/50 joint venture company in partnership with Strawberry, formerly Nordic Choice Hotels. The new company will create a common benefit currency and platform where members can earn and redeem points across a range of programs. The digital benefit currency will replace the point system that currently exists in the respective loyalty programs, which means that members who earn points on hotel stays can use the points to pay for air travel and vice versa.

In Tuesday’s announcement, Norwegian’s CEO, Geir Karlsen, said,

“Norwegian’s loyalty program is already popular and we have tried to develop the program by thinking new things and collaborating with other actors. I am very happy about this collaboration with Strawberry and that together we are creating something that gives even more customers a greater range of services and choices. We also want to be able to offer other loyalty programs to be part of this collaboration.”

Also commenting on the new loyalty collaboration, Strawberry’s Owner and Founder, Petter A. Stordalen, said,

“Today we offer a universe of exciting experiences and an attractive loyalty program with fantastic partners. The goal of Strawberry is for us to be more relevant to more people more often. When two companies with a Nordic roots and history come together to create a common preferential currency, it is completely in line with our goal. It will be a ‘game changer’ for members and guests. In practice, this means that everyone in the Nordics gets both better and more opportunities to earn and use earned loyalty points. We look forward to starting the journey together with Norwegian.”

Initially, Norwegian Reward and Strawberry’s loyalty program will be included in the collaboration, but the plan is to include more of the leading players from across the Nordics. Already, the new company will reach a large proportion of households in the region, as Norwegian and Strawberry have around 7.5 million members in the Nordics. Norwegian Rewards and Strawberry’s loyalty program will continue with both of their membership offers and will continue to be owned by Norwegian and Strawberry respectively.

Norwegian Air Shuttle was established in September 2002 with four domestic routes. The carrier is the largest Norwegian airline and currently employs approximately 4,500 team members. Most employees are based in Norway in Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger, or at the company’s head office in Fornebu. The carrier also has offices in Riga and Barcelona, as well as bases in Alicante and Malaga. The carrier currently offers affordable flights on a short-haul network of destinations in the Nordic countries and to key European destinations. Norwegian aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 45 percent by 2050.

Source: Norwegian Air Shuttle/Mynewsdesk