Australian fridges are filling with “better” soft drinks. Some are stevia. Some are kombucha. A smaller set use honey. This is a short, honest map for Aussies who want fruit soda without a diet aftertaste — and where Sidekick, a New Zealand honey soda from Wānaka, sits.
What “honey soda” usually means
Honey soda is soft drink sweetened with honey instead of cane sugar or a diet sweetener. Quality varies. Some cans taste like honey first. Others taste like fruit first, with honey as the softener.
Sidekick is fruit first: real fruit, New Zealand honey, a splash of apple cider vinegar, sparkling water. No cane sugar. No stevia. No erythritol. Multifloral New Zealand honey — not a Mānuka marketing story.
How it differs from honey-lemon sparkling
Australian shelves already know honey-and-lemon sparkling waters and craft lemonades. Those can be excellent. They are usually citrus-led.
Sidekick is a flavour range — Cherry, Pear, Strawberry, Mango, Watermelon — built like soda, not like flavoured water. If you want a cherry or pear soft drink without stevia, that is the gap we fill.
How it differs from stevia “healthy sodas”
Many better-for-you sodas lean on stevia or sugar alcohols. If that finish does not work for you, honey soda is a different door. It is not zero sugar. It is soda you can finish.
Fridge comparison: Healthy soft drink alternatives in NZ.
Sidekick in one line
Mum-and-son brand from Wānaka. Inspired by Nana’s fruit–honey–vinegar shrub. Modern sparkling cans. Our Story.
How Aussies try it
Order online from New Zealand: Fridge Fill or shop flavours
Ask a café or grocer to stock it: suggest a store
Trade enquiries: wholesale or Fiona
We will not invent Australian stockists that are not real. If there is no pin, there is no named fridge yet.
