AquAid - Living water
AquAid was formed in
June 1993 primarily to offer a home delivery service of mineral water by the
case to the doorstep, and to supply mineral water to the local trade. Each
bottle sold carried a donation to support the developing world via
Christian Aid. A
total of £77,341.06 was donated between 1992 and 1998.
The business was pioneered by John Searle, his mother (Stella) and sister
operating from a small room in Stella's flat. John's brother Paul had shares in
the company however, he did not play an active role in the building of the
business. For the first three years AquAid struggled to make ends meet working
on very low margins. AquAid entered a very difficult period and John can recall
collecting cash from customers to enable him to put fuel in the van to finish
the day's work. During this period, it looked as though the company would need
to go into voluntary liquidation.
However, local entrepreneur Anthony Hopkinson, - at the time acting as a
computer consultant for AquAid - pledged sufficient funds to support the
business in return for shares in the company. AquAid then entered a period of
expansion and built up to 3,000 home delivery customers along with a hardcore of
local trade customers.
A cooler kind of business
The profitability of the company however, remained very poor due to the small
order values and high administrative costs. During this three year period, the
company survived through determination and persistence. The breakthrough came
when AquAid canvassed offices with the hope of supplying cases of mineral water
and discovered offices that were using mineral water via water coolers.
AquAid entered the water cooler market in the summer of 1995 offering water
coolers at 50% less than their competitors whilst at the same time each bottle
carried a donation of 35p to support the developing world. However, due to cash
flow problems it wasn't until 1998 that the company began to make real headway
in the water cooler market. It was at this time that John's brother Paul saw the
potential in franchising the business and traded his shares in return for a
license to use the name AquAid and the system.
AquAid Franchising was formed and initially operated from AquAid UK's offices
collating information and gaining knowledge on how AquAid UK operated. In a
short space of time, working on limited funds, they managed to recruit their
first franchisee and since then haven't looked back. In just under three years
they have recruited 24 franchisees operating across the country and are all
contributing as AquAid UK to support the developing world.
As a group it is forecasted that by the year 2005, £500,000 will be raised
each year and as they are fastest expanding water cooler company in the UK.
The AquAid lifeline
John's father, a retired Baptist Minister, followed his parent's footsteps by
going out to Africa to carry out missionary work. He visited Malawi, and came
across the desperate need of orphans as it is common knowledge that this part of
Africa has a huge problem with children's parents dying at a very early age.
On his return to England he proposed that AquAid UK should form their own
charity dispensing with any administrative costs and raise money through the
sale of the water to fund an orphan village.
The company liked the idea of focusing on a project enabling their customers
to see at first hand the difference they were making by drinking AquAid. This is
done via a four monthly newsletter produced by John Searle Senior who is now the
AquAid Lifeline Fund Co-ordinator. The orphan village now looks after 320
children. In the financial year ending 31st March 2003 AquAid UK
donated in the region of £101,864 to the AquAid Lifeline Fund from water sold out of Cambridge.
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