What Aquagear does

Aquagear is a direct-to-consumer water filtration brand operated by privately-held Sovereign Earth LLC, headquartered at 555 N El Camino Real, San Clemente, California. Founded approximately in 2009, the company sells a deliberately narrow product portfolio built around two proprietary filter devices: a portable 22oz Filter Bottle ($39.95) with an in-straw filter that treats water as the user drinks, and a 10-cup/80oz countertop Filter Pitcher ($69.95) with a 120-gallon filter life. The underlying media technology is positioned as 'triple capacity' filtration, third-party tested to ISO 17025 standards, and engineered to target forever chemicals (PFOA/PFOS), chlorine, microplastics, heavy metals, lead, mercury, cadmium, pesticides, VOCs, and trace pharmaceuticals while preserving healthy minerals such as calcium and magnesium; the company cites removal rates of 99.9% for PFOA/PFOS, 96.5% for chlorine, and over 86% across pesticide, pharmaceutical, and industrial compound categories.

The business model is a hybrid of one-time hardware sales and recurring consumable revenue, with replacement filters available as standalone purchases or via a 20%-discount subscription that auto-ships every six months ($27.96 for a 3-pack of bottle filters and $39.95 for a pitcher filter). Go-to-market is product-led DTC through a Shopify storefront at drinkaquagear.com, supplemented by Amazon marketplace listings. Distribution is supported by organic social (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), a content blog (The Journal), and a Refer-a-Friend program that pays $10 per qualified Filter Pitcher referral. Marketing is differentiated through Consumer Lab approval, lifetime product guarantees, a No Slow Flow Guarantee, carbon-neutral shipping, and an embedded social mission: every purchase funds biosand water filter installations in Tanzania through the Aquagear Foundation.

The company employs 1-10 people, has no disclosed outside funding, is founder/management-owned, and has no parent company. Customer evidence is exclusively consumer-end (long-tenured individual buyers of filters and pitchers) with no enterprise or B2B customers named in the data. The scale signal is modest — the hero Filter Bottle listing shows only 15 reviews — consistent with a small niche brand rather than a mass-market category leader.

Name

Aquagear

Legal name

Sovereign Earth LLC

Website

https://drinkaquagear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aquagear (operated by Sovereign Earth LLC) is a privately held, direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand in San Clemente, California, that sells third-party-tested water filter bottles and pitchers with a recurring replacement filter subscription, serving health-conscious individual consumers and funding clean water installations in Tanzania.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Water Filtration

akta.pro primary industry

Pitcher & Dispenser Water Filters (CRAJAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Replacement Filter Cartridges & Consumables (CRAJAJAH)

Keywords

• Water filter products
• Water filtration pitchers
• Replacement filter subscriptions
• Portable filtered water bottles
• Contaminant removal filters

Headquarters

HQ city

San Clemente

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Water Filtration Products: Aquagear generates revenue through the sale of water filtration hardware products including the Filter Bottle ($39.95) and Filter Pitcher ($69.95). These are one-time purchases with lifetime guarantees.
2. Replacement Filters (Subscription): Replacement filter subscription service offering 20% discount on recurring filter deliveries every 6 months. Bottle filters (3-pack) at $27.96 subscription vs $34.95 one-time; Pitcher filters at $39.95 subscription vs $49.95 one-time. Creates predictable recurring revenue and customer retention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aquagear designs, markets and ships consumer-grade water filtration hardware — the 22oz Filter Bottle and the 80oz/10-cup Filter Pitcher — using a proprietary triple-capacity filter media that removes forever chemicals, chlorine, microplastics, heavy metals, VOCs, pesticides and trace pharmaceuticals while preserving healthy minerals. Revenue is generated through one-time hardware purchases and a recurring replacement filter subscription (delivered every 6 months at a 20% discount), sold directly via the company's e-commerce site and Amazon, and supported by a lifetime hardware guarantee and a clean-water donation tie-in through the Aquagear Foundation.

Product overview

Aquagear is a consumer water filtration company offering a focused product portfolio of two primary filtration devices—the Filter Bottle (portable, 22oz, 40-gallon capacity) and Filter Pitcher (countertop, 10-cup/80oz capacity, 120-gallon capacity)—along with corresponding replacement filter subscriptions. Both products share core technology that removes forever chemicals (PFOA/PFOS), chlorine, microplastics, and other emerging contaminants while preserving healthy minerals. The product line includes replacement filters for each device, offered both as one-time purchases and as subscription plans with a 20% discount delivered every 6 months. The company backs all products with a lifetime guarantee and funds clean water initiatives in Tanzania through the Aquagear Foundation with every purchase.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Filter Bottle A 22oz portable water filter bottle with an in-straw filter that removes forever chemicals (PFOA/PFOS), chlorine, VOCs, HAA5, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and herbicides as the consumer drinks; 40-gallon filter life (~2 months) and BPA/BPS-free Eastman Tritan construction, sold with lifetime guarantee.
• Filter Pitcher A 10-cup (80oz) countertop water filter pitcher with a 120-gallon (~6 month) filter life, removing 20x more contaminants than traditional pitchers, including PFOA/PFOS, lead, chlorine, VOCs, mercury, cadmium, microplastics, pesticides and trace pharmaceuticals while preserving healthy minerals.
• Bottle Replacement Filter (3-Pack) A 3-pack of replacement filter cartridges for the Filter Bottle, each rated for 40 gallons, available as a one-time purchase ($34.95) or on a recurring 6-month subscription at a 20% discount ($27.96), targeting PFOA/PFOS, chlorine, VOCs, HAA5 and microplastics.
• Pitcher Replacement Filter A single replacement filter cartridge for the Filter Pitcher with a 120-gallon (~6 month) life, available one-time ($49.95) or on a 6-month subscription at a 20% discount ($39.95), targeting PFOA/PFOS, chlorine, VOCs, HAA5 and microplastics while preserving healthy minerals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.9% PFOA/PFOS removal
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Aquagear FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Aquagear Foundation provides biosand water filters to communities in Tanzania that lack access to clean drinking water. Every purchase of Aquagear products funds this foundation through a one-to-one clean water program. Nearly 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water globally, and the foundation helps address this crisis.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brita: Brita (owned by The Clorox Company) is the dominant player in pitcher and dispenser water filters with broad retail distribution and heavy marketing spend. Directly comparable product category (pitcher filters and replacement cartridges), but operates at vastly larger scale as a mass-market incumbent.
• PUR: PUR (owned by Helen of Troy) is a major pitcher and faucet-mount water filtration brand with wide retail presence. Comparable product offering across pitcher filters and replacement cartridges, though PUR skews more mass-market and lower-priced than Aquagear's premium positioning.

Direct peers

• ZeroWater: ZeroWater sells premium pitcher-style water filters with a TDS meter, targeting health-conscious consumers concerned about dissolved solids. Directly competes with Aquagear's Filter Pitcher in the premium DTC pitcher segment with comparable pricing ($25-$45) and replacement filter subscription model.
• Clearly Filtered: Clearly Filtered is a DTC premium water filtration brand positioned on removing hundreds of contaminants including PFAS, lead, and chlorine. Closely comparable to Aquagear in target customer (health-conscious premium buyer), pricing tier ($40-$60 pitchers), and third-party testing claims.
• Epic Water Filters: Epic Water Filters is a purpose-driven DTC brand offering pitcher and under-sink filters with a mission tied to clean water access. Directly comparable to Aquagear's filter pitcher + foundation-driven positioning, premium pricing, and contaminant-focused marketing.
• Soma: Soma sells a designer countertop water filter pitcher with a sustainability-focused brand identity and subscription replacement filters. Comparable to Aquagear's Filter Pitcher in DTC channel, design-forward positioning, and sustainability messaging.
• Berkey: Berkey sells gravity-based home water filtration systems with a focus on contaminant removal and long-lasting filters. Comparable in DTC channel and premium health-conscious positioning, though Berkey skews toward larger capacity stainless systems rather than pitchers/bottles.

Emerging players

• LifeStraw: LifeStraw is known for portable personal water filters (straw-style and squeeze bottles) and has expanded into home filtration. Comparable to Aquagear in the portable filter bottle category and global clean water mission focus, though LifeStraw is more diversified across outdoor and humanitarian use cases.
• GRAYL: GRAYL makes premium portable filter bottles and travel press cups targeting outdoor enthusiasts and travelers. Comparable to Aquagear's Filter Bottle in the portable filtration segment with similar price points ($40-$50) and mineral-preservation claims.
• Seychelle Water Filtration: Seychelle makes portable and household water filtration products including filter bottles and pitcher-style systems. Comparable to Aquagear in portable filter bottle category and contaminant-removal claims, though Seychelle is more diversified across emergency preparedness and radiation-filtration use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drinkaquagear
• Facebookfacebook.com/drinkaquagear
• Instagraminstagram.com/drinkaquagear

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aquagear