• The new Blonde Cola.
    The new Blonde Cola.
Close×

New Zealand company Soda Press Co has launched a certified organic, reduced-sugar cola alternative.

Blonde Cola syrup blends cola nuts, ginger, lemon, cinnamon, rosemary, lavender, and is sweetened with organic brown rice malt syrup, organic cane sugar and monkfruit.

According to Soda Press Co, the low-caffeine product has half the sugar of big cola brands and sits within internationally recognized safe sugar level guidelines of under 5g per 100ml.

The cola also features a golden colour, which is due to the omission of sugar, caffeine, preservatives, and artificial colours.

The syrup, which can be mixed with carbonated water, has already picked up a Gold Medal and the Champion Beverage Award at the recent 2017 Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards. RRP is $14.95 for the 500ml bottle.

 

Packaging News

As 2025 draws to a close, it is clear the packaging sector has undergone one of its most consequential years in over a decade. Consolidation at the top, restructuring in the middle, and bold innovation at the edges have reshaped the industry’s horizons. At the same time, regulators, brand owners and recyclers have inched closer to a new circular operating model, even as policy clarity remains elusive.

Pact has reported a decline in revenue and earnings for the first five months of FY26, citing subdued market demand, as chair Raphael Geminder pursues settlement of the long-running TIC earn-out dispute.

PKN brings you the top 20 clicks on our website this year, a healthy mix of surprise and no-surprise. Pro-Pac Packaging led the list, Women in Packaging came in at #4, and Zipform's paper bottle at #15.