By: Tebogo Mokwena
At the heart of Refresha Trading Enterprises lies a company that cares about the well-being of communities and consumers by educating them about water. Arashnee Ramjuguth started her Durban company in 2017 because of her love for water and its numerous benefits. Refresha Trading Enterprises provides purified water and juices. It also brands purified water and juices for other entrepreneurs, serving as a supplier to them, and provides gift-wrapped and personalised purified water.
It also installs water dispensers at offices and homes. The juices, which are made from fruit concentrate, come in various flavours such as orange, apple, and fruit medley. Both the juices and water come in different size containers. Ramjuguth explained to Vutivi News how their water was purified. “South African law recognises three categories of water, and these are water defined by the origin (waters from rain, glaciers, mist and springs), natural water (water that is sourced from an underground aquifer and bottled at the source) and prepared water (water sourced through municipal, surface or groundwater and purified),” she said.
“Our water is sourced from private and public sources and is purified by the process of reverse osmosis, which removes chemicals and impurities from the water. “Our water is further treated using qzone that kills any bacteria.” The company is also involved in projects that improve the livelihoods of communities in the country. It has a blog where tips are shared on how to use water. “We have embarked on a journey of promoting many local initiatives by participating in educating the community about the importance of clean water,” she said.
“In our efforts to combat pollution and make the use of plastic bottles more sustainable and environmentally friendly, we have initiated many plastic reuse and recycling competitions to inspire and educate community members. “Our focus and main goal in these campaigns are to ensure that our community, especially the youth, starts to incorporate the concepts of reuse and recycle into their daily lives, thus contributing to a safe and healthy environment for future generations,” she said.
Ramjuguth said that she has plans to grow, but needed bigger machines. “The machines we use do not produce the capacity we would like to produce in order to show growth,” she told Vutivi News. “In spite of this, I see the business bottling water, juices, and carbonated beverages in a fully-automated factory in the next five years, as well as contract packaging for two big retailers.”
