Independent grocers and specialty stores ask the same three questions: where it sits, how many cases to open with, and how to reorder. Here are the answers without a stale price sheet.
What job it does on the shelf
Sidekick is a honey-sweetened real fruit soda — white cans, painted fruit, no cane sugar, no stevia. It belongs in the cold door with other premium soft drinks, not in ambient soft drink or the kombucha well unless that is already how your shoppers shop that brand.
Shoppers who want fountain Coke will still buy fountain Coke. This SKU is for the person who wants a treat can that reads clean on the label.
Facing that earns the slot
- Hand height in the chilled set
- One or two facings to start — four flavours if the door allows
- Cherry as the hero SKU; Mango, Pear, Strawberry beside it
Do not open with a single lonely can “to trial.” You will learn that one can got lonely.
Café-facing notes overlap more than they differ: How NZ cafés add a honey soda to the fridge. Grocery just sells more take-home 12-packs once the door works.
Case pack and minimum
| Decision | Answer |
|---|---|
| Unit | 12-pack case |
| Minimum | 5 cases |
| Mix | Flavours across cases, not inside a case |
| GST | Upstock invoices for NZ trade |
| Lead time | Typically 2–5 business days on direct accounts |
Suggested open for a specialty grocery: 2 Cherry, 1 Mango, 1 Pear, 1 Strawberry. Or five Cherry if that is what turns in your postcode.
Live wholesale and suggested retail: Upstock. Overview: wholesale soda for NZ cafés and retailers.
How to order
- How NZ trade buyers order on Upstock
- Or email Fiona with store name, region, and roughly how many doors you run
Samples exist for verified trade buyers. Category exclusivity and custom SKUs are a conversation for larger accounts — same inbox.
What not to do
- Do not list it as a diet soda or “low sugar tonic.”
- Do not bury it behind two-litre bottles.
- Do not wait for a consumer to suggest your store if you already want the range — order it.
Home shoppers who cannot find you yet still use Find Sidekick and Fridge Fill. Your job is the door.
