Innovation flows strong
April 19, 2026
Laneway Festival at Western Springs.Chontalle Musson
Auckland Council says it is seeing clear results from a push to back innovation and grow the economy with programmes giving emerging businesses the support they need to scale and succeed.
The latest success story is bottled water company Anew which joined Auckland Council innovation hub GridAKL in 2019 with a goal to provide a convenient, low impact bottle of water as an alternative to single-use bottles made from fossil fuels and finite resources.
The startup’s alkaline-water-filled, plant-based bottles are now sold online and at more than 500 outlets across New Zealand and more than 440 stockists in the United States.
Anew’s growth has also seen its bottles stocked in Hong Kong and Singapore, with 250 new locations added across Australia in one month alone.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said backing practical innovation is exactly what Auckland should be focused on.
“Anew is a great example of what GridAKL is designed to do, which is help smart founders turn good ideas into businesses that scale.
Anew founder Jayden Klinac.
“It’s stories like this that show why it’s important to have the Auckland Innovation and Technology Alliance, to bring people with great ideas together.”
Anew founder Jayden Klinac got his business idea at a BP station. Caught without his water bottle he realised every purchasing option for water, involved a compromise between personal health and sustainability.
Through trial and error, Klinac created a water bottle entirely from plant-based materials, carbon negative in production, microplastic free, BPA free, lightweight and durable enough to be dishwasher safe. The oil-based-plastic-free bottle can also be recycled alongside standard streams for plastic number 2.
At Auckland’s Laneway festival in February, Anew’s limited-edition Laneway water bottles sold out for the third year in a row, showing just how strong consumer demand is for eco-friendly choices.
“Food packaging and drink containers make up the bulk of waste produced by the average festival goer and are a significant part of an event’s carbon footprint,” said Klinac.
The innovative, carbon-neutral, plastic free Anew water bottle.
“We ran free refill stations on-site at Laneway, reducing multiple purchases. And because Anew bottles are reusable, most people take them home — extending the impact well beyond the event itself. It is an easy choice for venues and events to be single-use bottle free and still sell water.”
By switching traditional bottled water to Anew, Laneway estimated it sequestered and avoided 1899 kg of CO₂ in a single day.
Brown said: “We know there are too many plastic bottles ending up in our oceans and waterways and as a trustee of Sea Cleaners I know all about that.
“This is a Kiwi company solving a real environmental problem, creating economic value and taking Auckland innovation to the world.
“When we back founders with the right connections, capital and networks, we get results like this.”
Run by Auckland Council’s Economic Development Office, GridAKL, which is located in the John Lysaght building at the Wynyard Quarter, as set itself up as a place to spark ideas and provide opportunities for Auckland’s startup founders, with shared workspaces, regular industry events, workshops and programmes, including visibility to wider networks and visiting international delegations.
Since it opened in 2015, GridAKL estimates it has fostered innovation and economic growth, contributing $424 million annually to Auckland’s GDP.
It also helps connect startup founders with investors.
GridAKL was where Anew was introduced to impact investor Soul Capital.
“Being based at GridAKL connected us to people and opportunities we wouldn’t have accessed working in isolation. It’s given us a central platform, introductions to investors, and access to an ecosystem that supported our development through both challenges and expansion,” said Klinac.
Anew’s success story is one of many at GridAKL, and a source of pride for the general manager of the Economic Development Office, Pam Ford.
“We couldn’t be prouder of Anew’s growth.
“GridAKL has now been open for 11 years as a centre for innovation and support for founders, whose successes are wins for Auckland. In October this year, we will host the second Auckland Startup Week at GridAKL, which will further cement Auckland’s reputation as an innovation leader in the Asia-Pacific region."
