Like most Kiwis who enjoy winding down with family, friends, and a cheeky beverage, brothers Guy and Matt Hobson founded Native Sparkling, following their passion for bottling up the best of New Zealand to share globally.
Native Sparkling is a better-for-you RTD, low in sugar, carbohydrates and calories and better for the planet, connecting consumption moments with conservation efforts by planting a native tree for every four packs of ten drinks sold.
Its Lemon and Yuzu flavour was the first ready-to-drink beverage to win People's Choice at Beervana in 2019. As the first hard seltzer in the country, there was some pressure as this was all the hype in the beverage industry in the USA.
Today, many more ready-to-drinks use yuzu to offer something more 'premium' or 'unique' than lemon and cross over into beer.
"We started playing around with yuzu five years ago, and now it is everywhere. This is great for us as it supports the education around what this great fruit offers. Kiwis love it as it is less acidic than lemon and is a cross between mandarin and grapefruit in terms of taste profile," said Guy Hobson.
In 2018, the brand worked with the Massey Food Pilot tech lab to combine the best New Zealand fruits like feijoa, kiwifruits and apples with those from overseas and found yuzu to be something the Kiwi tastebuds would like.
Read more about Native Sparkling's journey below starting on page 25.
