Sidekick is family owned and run from Wānaka. Fiona Tomlinson and Rogan Tomlinson own it and run it. Mother and son. Two people, one fridge at a time.
That is the whole structure. There is no parent company doing the talking. If you email, it is one of us.
How long we have been doing this
We started our first business together in 2013 — a stall, baking, selling, learning what it takes to put real food in someone’s hand. Fiona already knew fruit. The Damson Collection is her other drinks work: World’s Best Fruit Liqueur in 2020, and New Zealand fruit liqueur titles before that.
Sidekick came later. We launched in 2023 as a brighter take on soda — real fruit, New Zealand honey, a splash of apple cider vinegar. No cane sugar. No stevia. No erythritol. The full story is on Our Story. This page is the short version for anyone searching “family owned soda” or “mum and son business.”
What “family owned and run” means here
It means the recipe, the cans, the trade emails, and the market stall are the same two people. Fiona keeps the recipe. Rogan handles sourcing, packaging, retail, and this site. Neither of us is a sidekick to the other.
It does not mean a corporate “family brand” with a made-up origin. The drink started at home with Nana’s shrub — Fiona’s mum, Rogan’s nana. The company started with us.
Where the cans come from
Honey is New Zealand. Apple cider vinegar is New Zealand. Fruit is named on the flavour — Central Otago cherries on Cherry, Waikato strawberry on Strawberry, North Queensland mango on Mango. We do not call the whole range “NZ fruit soda.”
We are in the B Corp process. We are not certified yet. No B on the can.
If you want a can
- Home: shop 12-packs or Fridge Fill.
- In town: Where to drink Sidekick in Wānaka.
- Cafés and grocers: wholesale.
Press that has written about us is collected in Sidekick in the press.
