OUR STORY

aQuellé is based at KwaSizabantu Mission which was established in 1970 and is situated in KwaZulu-Natal. The founder of the mission, Reverend Erlo Stegen, dedicated his life to preaching the gospel, helping and uplifting people and bringing them hope. aQuellé is one of the projects he started to support the mission work and be able to make a difference in people's lives.

He initiated the bottling of water at a time where the idea seemed far-fetched and nigh impossible for the South African market. But the Lord blessed his faith and aQuellé has grown phenomenally over the years to become South Africa’s favourite water brand.

Founder of KwaSizabantu Mission and aQuellé_Rev EH Stegen
Kwasizabantu Mission

aQuellé exists to support KwaSizabantu Mission, which reaches out to people of all nations with a message of hope. All the proceeds are invested in the work of the mission, which includes providing three free, nutritious meals to over 1 200 people daily, with tens of thousands of visitors hosted every year.

More about KwaSizabantu Mission
1997
1998
2002
2003
2006
2011
2013
2016
2020
2021
2023
2023

Natural spring water
is discovered

Pure natural spring water discovered on KwaSizabantu

First
bottling plant

aQuellé 360sqm bottling plant in 1998

Factory
expansion

Expansions to the aQuellé bottling plant in 2002

Installation
of new filler

New filler installation

Updated logo
and label design

Old logo aquelle

Unique bottle
for natural range

Natural range

New bottle design
for flavoured range

flavoured

Bottling facility
acquired in Franschhoek

Franschhoek

New Emseni
bottling factory

Emseni factory

Launch of aQuellé ViV
Sports & Power drinks

ViV

Spreading joy
for 25 years

aquelle tank

New Berry Blue
Flavour

FOR OUR COMMUNITY

As a community-based organisation, with its very reason for existence being to uplift people, aQuellé lives out its brand values every day. The company is involved in a broad spectrum of projects to support communities across South Africa. With its 3 bottling plants and the increase for job opportunities created by aQuellé, families are sustained, livelihoods are improved and children are given better prospects.

aQuellé's vision of making a difference in people's lives and positively impacting communities is realised in a broad spectrum of projects such as the distribution of water to needy communities, clean-up initiatives, support during pandemics and natural disasters, awareness campaigns for diabetes and local feeding schemes. Throughout the year, aQuellé responds to calls for help and relief.

BOTTLING PROCESS

aQuellé is synonymous with the highest standards of excellence in:

  • quality
  • innovation
  • product excellence
  • technological expertise

From source to finished product, every bottle of aQuellé water is as pristine when you drink it as when it flowed from the earth.

bottle factory

aQuellé is classified as a natural spring water and, as a member of SANBWA (South African National Bottled Water Association), all three facilities comply with the association's stringent standards.

To ensure that the natural spring water remains completely pure and clean, the water is pumped to the bottling plant via stainless steel piping.

The bottling process begins with the blow moulding of pre-forms into aQuellé's customised bottle designs.

Mixing of syrups for the flavoured ranges uses a computerised flow-meter system with pre-programmed recipes, allowing for complete consistency of product.

After filling, capping and labelling the bottles are automatically batch coded and date coded and checked for quality.

They are then shrink-wrapped, palletised and fed into the advanced, customised racking programme, which is integrated into the ERP system and distribution network.

Kranskop</br> Facility

Kranskop
Facility

The first factory was built in 1998 and measured 360 m². Due to the increased demand for aQuellé it has expanded to
17 000 m² to date.

Franschhoek</br> Facility

Franschhoek
Facility

In 2016 a second bottling plant was acquired in Franschhoek. The product bottled at this facility is mainly distributed to the Western Cape area, reducing aQuellé’s carbon footprint significantly and providing upliftment to the area.

New aQuelle Factory

Emseni
Facility

In March 2020 construction commenced on KwaSizabantu Mission for a third facility of over 23 000 m². The brand-new facility was completed by mid-December, an astounding 9 months later, despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.

5 L bottles per hour
500 ml bottles per second
m²
solar panels