Vida Aqua filtered water is of the healthiest and most premium in South Africa. Our investment provides entry into a fast-growing market with endless demand. 

•    Premium drinking water retail solution;
•    Early stage entry into market;
•    Attractive economics with low costs installation and operating model;
•    Significant opportunities to scale; and 
•    Committed and passionate founding family and operators. 

About Vida Aqua
The clean drinking water market is increasingly becoming relevant as water infrastructure fails to provide acceptable levels of quality. The local skills required to arrest the decline in water quality, are fast migrating to international markets where they are highly sought after. 

Vida Aqua has developed its own proprietary nano filtration and re-mineralisation system that is expertly designed by engineers to remove toxins and reintroduce minerals to the water. 

The business was launched in 2018 and has an established, yet small, retail and express dispensing footprint. It currently operates six standalone refill stores in the Cape Winelands and express refill units in collaboration with national retailers. 

About the investment
Fortuna has invested 35.1% in The Water Shop Company Proprietary Limited that wholly owns Vida Aqua Proprietary Limited (Vida Aqua). Vida Aqua operates premium mineral water refill stores under the Vida Aqua brand.

Investment in Vida Aqua provides various benefits including
•    entry into a highly competitive market where Vida Aqua has a well-established foothold against competitors. 
•    a healthy margin backed by a very strong cash conversion capability;
•    a low store/re-fill counter fit-out and installation cost;
•    an uncomplicated retail solution that is easy to operate with modest operating costs, especially with regards to labour;
•    small, but established retail and express dispensing channels;
•    the ability to operate from a very small stores. 

Future opportunities
In a fast-growing market with a strong value-adding brand, management will be exploring footprint expansion through owned stores, express counters and franchise opportunities in more outlying nodes. Enhanced digitisation and consumer demand for convenience through on-line will also support a future home delivery channel.