Water-To-Go’s Personal Water Filtration System Overfunds on Crowdcube

Water-To-Go has raised £136,860 of its £125,000 target for 5.45% equity offered for its personal water filtration system which is contained in a lightweight bottle. The Crowdcube equity and rewards-based campaign for the 3-in-1 internal filter uses nano technology which eliminates over 99.9% of all bacteria, viruses, chlorine and fluoride and heavy metals such as lead and other contaminants such as pesticides. Each filter not only delivers 200 litres of clean safe drinking water, but eliminates the need for bottled water.

Co-Founded in 2010 by CEO Dave Shanks and Director Cheryl Farrell who have worked together in product design, manufacturing and distribution for over twenty years, Water-To-Go was established to address the significant market potential in the Travel, Outdoor and Sports/Leisure market sectors in Europe and the developed world. Within these key markets, the startup uses key industry specific ambassadors and opinion-leading retail clients who have helped enable brand awareness to be established rapidly, creating credibility and the desire to purchase the filtration system. Other competitors in the water filtration market include LifeStraw and HT Innovations.

“While the patent for the filter process is still held by the inventor in the USA,  WTG successfully negotiated a ten year exclusive sales and distribution agreement for the technology, and entered the European market in December 2012,” the campaign reports. “Subsequent to this launch, in 2014, WTG was granted exclusive global distribution rights also for an initial period of ten years. The contract covers all international territories apart from  USA, Canada, China and Thailand. The new contract in its entirety would be available for review subject to a Non Disclosure Agreement.”   WTG has sold 19,000 units, with pre-orders committed in excess of 100,000 units via eight appointed distributors.

Crowdfunds raised on WTG’s Crowdcube campaign will be allocated to: 

• Increase sales and administration personnel and resources, including Customer Relationship Management and Sales Order Processing systems.
• Increase client engagement via trade shows exhibitions and digital marketing.
• Improve inventory positions, creating ‘buffer’ stocks in the factory in Thailand, leading to more prompt and flexible response to client orders.
• Launch a new ‘everyday’ 500 mls bottle and filter system which will open up the substantial markets for casual gym, commuter and school use.
• Include a time based visual prompt to encourage further repeat filter sales. This will be integrated into the 500 mls branding strap and will inform users when to purchase replacement filters i.e. every two months ( this product contains a smaller filter which has a capacity of 120 litres).

The campaign notes that three different offerings exist within the water filtration market; filtration companies have traditionally addressed and specialized in one sector to meet a specific demand. What sets Water-to-Go apart from its competitors?

•  Outdoor filters: are specifically developed to filter bacteria. Some can cope with viruses in water; but they are often not designed to perform at the same levels as WTG on chemicals, heavy metals and pesticides, as their technology does not target such areas.
• Filters for pesticides: in certain parts of the world, pesticides contaminate the water resource; technology to combat this is in existence, but tests illustrate that WTG products not only filter these at very high levels but offers equally impressive filtration against microbiological contaminants.  Filters developed uniquely for pesticides are not targeted at reducing microbiological contaminants as well.
• Domestic filters: these target improving the taste and odor of tap water and also reducing the hardness in water by using activated carbon. These traditionally use carbon block technology, they cannot filter any bacterial contamination as the pore size used, many times larger than that in a WTG filter, is simply too large and bacteria and viruses simply pass through the filter. With the technology used, WTG delivers higher efficiencies in reducing chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride and eliminates all microbiological contaminants.

Water-To-Go is offering both A and B shares. With an investment of £5,000 or more, A-shares are awarded which have full voting rights. With an investment less than £5,000, B-shares will be awarded, which have no voting rights or pre-emption.

Investor rewards range from Entitlement to ‘B’ class shares, carrying full dividend rights and a Water-to-Go personal water filtration system for a £250 investment to 
a shareholding of 0.2% of the company in full ‘A’ class shares carrying voting and dividend rights, an invitation to attend and participate in regular shareholder meetings and an annual Christmas shareholders social event, a family pack of 4 Water-to-Go personal water filtration systems with an entire year’s worth of replacement filters,  referral partner status for a 15% discount on future WTG purchases for an investment of £5,000.

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