Family recipe
A generations-old shrub of fruit, honey, and apple cider vinegar — refreshed, not reinvented.
New Zealand born
From a family recipe to a fridge favourite.
Sidekick is a real fruit soda made with honey, fruit, and a crisp splash of apple cider vinegar — created by a mother-and-son team who have been building things together since 2013.
Built from the beginning.
Before Sidekick, we were already building together. In 2013, we started our first business side by side — learning what it takes to put real food in people's hands.
Sidekick launched in 2023 as a brighter take on soda — the latest expression of that same curiosity, stubbornness, and love for real ingredients, made for modern fridges.
Our inspiration
What we believe in every batch.
Real ingredients
Real fruit, New Zealand honey, and a crisp splash of vinegar. Nothing hidden behind a long label.
Modern soda, old-school values
Lightly sparkling and easy to drink — made the way we always wished soda could be.
How we got here
From our first stall to cans on shelf.
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2013
Started our first business together
Side by side at a farmers market — baking, selling, and learning what real food retail takes.
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Kitchen experiments
From family recipe to something sparkling
We kept returning to the family shrub recipe — fruit, honey, and vinegar — testing it as a brighter drink.
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2023
Launched Sidekick
Sidekick launched in 2023 as a brighter take on soda — real fruit, New Zealand honey, and a crisp finish in a can.
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2024
More fridges across New Zealand
More independent grocers, cafés, and premium stockists — one shelf at a time.
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Today
Stocked by selected retailers
In fridges, online, and with a growing list of stockists and premium destinations.
What we won't compromise on
Three rules. They show up in every batch.
Real fruit
Fruit juice and purée — not flavour drops doing all the work.
New Zealand honey
New Zealand honey for gentle sweetness and depth.
No shortcuts
Real ingredients, crisp soda taste, and no cane sugar, no stevia, and no erythritol.
The people behind the cans.
A mother-and-son team building a soda brand from New Zealand, one fridge at a time.
Fiona Tomlinson
Co-founder
The recipe keeper. Fiona has spent years turning real fruit into things worth putting on a table — from market stalls to the kitchen where Sidekick took shape.
Rogan Tomlinson
Co-founder
The builder beside her since day one. Rogan handles sourcing, packaging, retail, and the digital side — with the same stubborn care Fiona brings to the recipe.
Built with our community
We back the people, places, and causes that make Sidekick feel like more than soda.
Paw Justice
Animal welfare, NZ
A piece of every can supports Paw Justice — working to stop animal cruelty and rescue at-risk animals. Rescue dogs and cats have always been part of our family.
Grow Wānaka
Community garden & food resilience, Wānaka
A community garden, composting hub, and education space in the Upper Clutha — strengthening local food security and bringing people together through shared mahi.
Breast Cancer Cure
Breast cancer research, NZ
Our limited-edition Watermelon collaboration — with NZ$10 from every 12-pack sold going toward breast cancer research here in New Zealand.