Our drinking water is becoming increasingly polluted. The director of AquaTru Europe, Vincent van den Munckhof, also experienced this. Not only while travelling, but also in the Netherlands, where he lives. Together with his business partner Joost Vogelaar, he conducted research into the quality of the water that flows from our tap. They discovered that something had to change and introduced the AquaTru to Europe.
Economical
'I have seen a lot of the world and have been to every continent except Australia. I love the adventure and unpredictability of travelling. Every day is different and the world is fascinatingly beautiful. Meeting new people and starting a conversation is the best thing there is. I think those experiences contributed a lot to my view of the world. We must be kind to one another and to the world. At the moment it isn’t always like that.'
Water in India
'I saw that in India, for example. Water purification is not the order of the day there. The situation there is really dire. We as Westerners cannot drink the water that flows from the tap. My partner and I knew that in advance, so we bought water at the supermarket. But we showered every day with tap water. Until my partner suddenly suffered from hair loss. This was caused by the poor water quality. We showered with bottled water for the rest of our trip. Not always handy, but an eye-opener. We found out that you can easily wash your body and hair with 2 to 3 liters of water. And that while you use an average of 30 liters of water during a normal shower!'
Conscious
'I wouldn't say that the idea for AquaTru Water originated there, in India. But a seed was planted. At the time, I was already very interested in a healthy lifestyle. In the beginning I mainly focused on the physical part. I associated being fit with sufficient exercise. I worked at the university sports center where I had a colleague who taught me a lot about the importance of a healthy diet. This made me more and more aware of what I was putting into my body. After my studies in Business Administration, I followed the course 'Clinical Psychic Neuro Immunology'. In short, this is a study of connections between the food you consume and the impact this food can have on your body and mind. For example, the things you eat may or may not express certain genes. In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that the connection between your gut and your brain is much bigger than most people think. The things you eat also have a big effect on your mental state. You are what you eat they say. That got even more meaning for me after this course. Very interesting and educational.'
Water and energy
'Through the combination of the right diet and a lot of exercise, something happened in my body. A certain energy came up that I didn't know existed. Very powerful. It may sound a bit like an urban myth. But it is true: if you eat and live pure, you feel fantastic. You have to feel and experience it to understand it.'
Drinking water
'After my studies I started working for a large multinational. Because of my busy schedule I paid less attention to my diet and I noticed that immediately in my energy management. After a few years of work I got to know my current business partner Joost. Joost was looking for a water filter that could filter all harmful substances from our drinking water. “What's wrong with the drinking water?” I asked Joost. I was so consciously concerned with the quality of my food, but not at all with the quality of our drinking water. Then I decided that it was only logical to take a critical look at what is in the drinking water in the Netherlands/Europe.'
Drinking water research
'That marked the beginning of a period full of research. Joost and I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't just bring inaccuracies into the world. We think it is important that we can substantiate our statements with scientific evidence. We also searched for a water filter that could remove all these harmful substances from our drinking water. Only after a year and a half we found the AquaTru in the United States. Because it was so difficult to find a water filter that, based on independent scientific research, could show that these harmful substances were filtered out of the tap water, we decided to bring this fantastic product to Europe. We realized: this is something the world needs. Because truly clean water was not a given.'
Development of AquaTru
We have been the exclusive distributor of AquaTru in Europe for five years now. We are proud of that. A lot has changed in those five years. We started from zero, of course. We first had to find out if there was a market for our product. I'm quite a perfectionist. That's why I started a thorough scientific research on the quality of European drinking water and translated this into a research page on our website for our customers. We have therefore put a lot of effort into this research page on our website. It has never been our intention to 'frighten' people with tap water. That is why we took our audience step by step through the process in which we explain why tap water is not good for you and from day one, we attached great importance to open and clear communication. The drinking water companies in the Netherlands do an excellent job and they almost always meet all standards for the reduction of harmful substances. However, the scientific literature shows that the quantities in which many harmful substances are allowed to occur in our drinking water are still harmful to health.
Future of AquaTru
'We are a relatively young company. That's where our strength lies. We want to keep developing ourselves and our products. One of our main goals is to create awareness in society. This is necessary, because our drinking water quality is getting worse. Nature has always been good to us, but we have not been good to nature. We notice that now. That is why it is so important to take action. Clean water is important for everyone. It's not about giving your body what it deserves, but simply what it really needs. Clean water and healthy food play a very important role in this'
