The alcohol-free cooler is usually an afterthought: juice, sparkling water, and a cane-sugar soda that makes the non-drinkers feel like they drew the kids’ table. A honey soda is a grown-up can that still tastes like soda — real fruit, New Zealand honey, no cane sugar, no stevia.
This is a packing list, not a venue guide. No “best barns.” No city pages. Hosts order from the shop. Caterers order wholesale.
What goes in the cooler
Cans, on ice, in a tub. 250ml is the event format: people pick one up and walk. Do not put glass bottles in a slurry — we are cans-only going forward.
Four flavours so it does not look like a single branded crate: Cherry, Mango, Pear, and Strawberry. A bright, a tropical, a dry, and an everyday fruit. Mix them. Do not send one flavour to a whole wedding.
Keep water in the same tub. Sidekick is the treat, not the hydration.
How many cans
Count the adults who will not be drinking, not the whole guest list. Then plan two cans each for a short event, three if it runs all afternoon.
| Non-drinking adults | Cans (2 each) | 12-packs |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 24 | 2 |
| 24 | 48 | 4 |
| 36 | 72 | 6 |
Round up so you can mix four flavours. Leftovers go in a home fridge. That is a better problem than a dry tub at 4pm.
A 12-pack is 12 cans. Caterers on wholesale order in 5-case lots (60 cans) — enough for a small wedding’s AF share, or a bigger event if most of the room is drinking.
Tub vs bar
Tub / esky: cans only. Ice to the rim. Labels visible. Do not bury them under beer. Put the AF cans in their own tub if the beer tub becomes a raid.
Staffed bar: cans for speed. Pour to a glass at the table if you want — do not buy wholesale glass bottles. Cans vs glass for cafés.
If someone asks what it is: honey-sweetened, no cane sugar. Not a mocktail lecture.
Hosts vs caterers
You are throwing it. Shop the flavours. Fridge Fill if you want boxes in one go. Free NZ shipping on orders $120+.
You are catering it. Wholesale soda for NZ cafés and retailers. 12-pack cases, 5-case minimum, GST invoices on Upstock. Email Fiona if you need a trade account.
Same four flavours either way. Same rule: it is a soda, not juice, not a diet can.
