Owners of Six Barrel Soda Co, Joseph Slater and Mike Stewart are growing their business and concentrating on the wholesale side of trade.

It's only been three years but Wellington business Six Barrel Soda Co. is already thriving and its owners are predicting more growth.

The syrups and bottled sodas business was set up in May 2012 by Joseph Slater and Mike Stewart.

The products are sold in cafes, restaurants and bars throughout New Zealand and are exported to Australia and Singapore, with plans afoot to export "further afield'.

Initially the pair set up a small operation that did not require a lot of investment in equipment but now it was starting to grow, Slater said.

Based on the corner of Eva and Dixon streets, the company employs seven workers.

The idea for Six Barrel Soda stemmed from the popularity of classic sodas at their Newtown business Monterey bar and diner.

"We wanted to offer a non-alcoholic section that had just as much focus as the cocktails and beers but no one was doing the style of interesting style of soda we wanted to sell, so we decided to make them ourselves and eventually to set up the wholesale operation."

Expansion and concentrating on the wholesale side of the business meant the pair stopped serving cafe food about six months ago. However, customers can still try sodas, milkshakes, coffee and nibble on a side of fries in the retail soda shop.

"Our wholesale business grew quite a lot, so the cafe side of the business had to take a hit," Slater said.

The soda shop was still a big part of the business but it was more of a showroom where customers could watch them make soda.

In the future they hope to open a small number of stores in other markets.

Most demand from within New Zealand came from Auckland, which made up about a third of sales. Australia was the fastest growing market, which made up about 10 per cent of the business trade.

A copycat product in Australia had recently proved challenging for the company.

"It's been a bit of a struggle because it's almost identical branding to us, so that has been a bit of a lesson in IP."

The heavy and fragile glass bottles had also caused issues with freight but they now used different boxes, which had solved the problem.

Last year an online ordering service was made available on the website, and so far sales were strong, Slater said.

There were more developments in the pipeline for the profitable business, including new products and collaborative contract work with corporates.

"We are growing really fast and there is a good forecast for the next few years but we still catch the bus to work," Slater said.

During the past eight months they had concentrated on building up their team of employees and they would like a bigger team within the next three years, along with a more established presence in Australia.

There were still "endless ideas" for creative flavours, which would add to growth. Flavours included, raspberry and lemon, celery tonic, rhubarb and juniper, spiced kola, Pinot noir and orange dandy, which were hand-made with natural ingredients onsite in a kitchen.

There were five bottled soda flavours, 11 flavours of syrup and two limited releases - the latest being blueberry and fennel, which was inspired by a baker in Newtown.

The syrup sells between $16.50 to $19.50, while the bottled soda retails for between $4 and $5.

The pair bottle some of it themselves, while a contractor bottles the rest.

"It's a lot of work and long days," Slater said.

Stewart and Slater worked alongside other Wellington businesses and found them supportive and non-competitive.

They provided feedback and ideas, which had helped,Slater said.

"Wellingtonian are supportive of independent businesses and interesting products, which is great," Slater said.