Earlier this year the Hurricanes announced a partnership with kiwi-owned and operated beverage company, Native Sparkling, with the partnership so far funding the planting of 141 native trees as part of their 'Here's to Nature' campaign.
The partnership saw the introduction of Native Sparking into Sky Stadium at the beginning of the 2023 DHL Super Rugby season, with every can sold supporting the planting of more native trees.
Hurricanes General Manager of Commercial, Chris Yeo, said he was thrilled to see such a positive result from the partnership.
“We love partnering with innovative Wellington companies who are making quality products and amazing stories. Native not only provide Hurricanes fans with a product that tastes good, but they also become part of the mission for doing good,” said Yeo.
Born in the Rangitikei Valley on a 4th generation sheep and beef farm, Native is the brainchild of brothers Matt and Guy Hobson.
In seeing the rise of Hard Seltzers in the US, the brothers alongside good Manawatū mate, Luke McBride, dusted off an old 'healthy alcohol' recipe from their university days, kiwi-fied it with real fruit flavours and focused on creating a drink that was a better, cleaner alternative for consumers and could have a positive impact on the planet.
After tasting hundreds of fruit profiles and settling on a blending of sparkling water and Vodka from natural sugar cane, they launched Aotearoa’s first hard seltzer.
Native’s nationwide 'Here's to Nature' campaign has collectively funded 1000 native trees since launching in December, with the trees set to be planted this winter on the Native brothers’ home farm in Manawatū.
Native co-founder and CEO, Guy Hobson, said giving back to nature was the driving force behind the brand.
“As founders, your core ‘why’ is so important. We want to illustrate how we can connect consumption and conservation together. Naturally, we feel more connected to our home farming roots, which is why we are firstly supporting the land we grew up on, before supporting our neighbours and then theirs - with the ambition to plant and connect a corridor of native bush from top to bottom of NZ.
“And that’s why we were thrilled to partner with the Hurricanes and introduce Native to the stadium - funding a forest from our love for watching local top quality footy!” said Hobson.