A deep dive into our kitchen logic: ancestral ingredients, zero shortcuts. We prioritise ingredients your body recognises as food (honey, fruit, vinegar) and explicitly reject industrial processing aids.
That's the entire ingredient list. Plus sparkling water.
Floral sweetness with mouthfeel — no stevia aftertaste.
The Source: NZ wildflowers and native bush.
A natural infusion gathered from rolling New Zealand pastures. We use it raw to preserve its velvety texture and gentle herbal notes — independently lab-verified for purity at every batch.
Real fruit body — cloudy on purpose.
The Source: Grown under the intense New Zealand sun.
The 'ozone advantage': high UV-B levels force NZ fruit to develop thicker skins and deeper colours, resulting in superior flavour intensity.
Crisp, dry finish — not kombucha.
The Source: Nelson, New Zealand.
Sourced from a small family producer making NZ's only certified organic, raw, unfiltered, full-strength ACV — fermented from organic apples grown at Appleby on the Waimea Plains. Bottled with the Mother for a complex, tangy finish. No caramel colouring, no additives.
Most sodas are clear because they're made from syrups. Sidekick is cloudy because it's made from food.
We partner with New Zealand's top producers to ensure every drop of honey and vinegar meets the highest tier of quality and purity.
Standards verified at the source. Applicable to raw ingredients and supplier facilities.
Claims refer to specific raw materials in our formulation. All certifications (BioGro, SNAP, Halal, etc.) verify our suppliers' sourcing standards. Always check the product label for definitive nutrition and allergen information.
Not at all. Think of it like a shrub or cocktail — the apple cider vinegar provides a crisp, dry finish that balances the sweetness, much like lemon juice. It has a 'bite', not a burn.
Not really. While we use fermentation ingredients (ACV), Sidekick isn't fermented in the can like kombucha. It tastes more like a classic soda with a 'grown-up' dry finish.
We aim for a 'champagne sparkle' — fine bubbles that lift the fruit aromatics without the aggressive bloat of mass-market sodas.
It's semi-sweet. The honey provides a floral sweetness, but the apple cider vinegar cuts right through it, leaving a clean palate rather than a sugary coating.
Absolutely. It was designed to stand alone, but bartenders love it. It pairs exceptionally well with gin, vodka, or whiskey.
Yes, all our ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
Yes. Since we use no refined sugars, grains, or dairy, Sidekick fits perfectly into a Paleo lifestyle.
Roughly 40–50 calories per 250ml can, depending on the fruit flavour. That's about a third of a standard soda.
We prioritise New Zealand origin. Our honey, fruit, and vinegar are all sourced from NZ producers.
Our ACV comes from a family-owned Nelson producer who has been making New Zealand's only certified organic, raw, unfiltered, full-strength apple cider vinegar since 1997. It's a two-step process. First, crushed organic apples from Appleby (just south of Nelson on the Waimea Plains) are exposed to yeast, which ferments the natural sugars into alcohol. Then bacteria are added to further ferment the alcohol, turning it into acetic acid — the main active compound in vinegar. No additives, no caramel colouring, bottled with the Mother.
Yes, we use high-quality, BPA-NI (non-intent) linings in all our cans.
Infinitely. Aluminium cans are one of the most recyclable materials on earth. Please recycle.
Juice concentrates strip away the fibre. Puree keeps the fruit closer to its original form, providing texture and retaining more nutrients.
Taste and body. Artificial and 'natural' zero-calorie sweeteners often leave a metallic aftertaste. Honey provides mouthfeel and a satisfaction that chemicals can't mimic.
