Taking the plunge into bottled water means 80ppl against 18ppl for milk

A DAIRY farmer and his family are launching Lancashire’s only spring water business this month to supplement returns from milk.

‘Pure Bowland’ is effectively a £350,000 business venture gamble for David Gardner, wife Kath and children Becky and Chris although they have taken advice from a consultant who has helped with business plans and securing 30 per grant aid from Defra.

The Gardners have found it increasingly tough to make a living out of milk. Selling water at up to 80ppl looks an attractive proposition against selling milk at 18ppl.

Of course it is not as simple as that and there are considerable production and marketing costs to be covered in the water venture, and the Gardners were also taking into account other pressures on milk production other than price.

The UK bottled water market is valued at £626m with over 1.75bn litres being consumed per year. The total market value of still water, which has a 70 per cent share of the bottled water market, grew from £369,576,000 in September 2005 to £411,480,000 in September 2006. 

“I was faced with either investing in more livestock or doing something totally different if the farm was going to continue and give my son Chris a future working the land,’ said David. “I took the judgement that buying more cows in the present climate of low milk prices was not the answer.

“So instead we took the blinkers off and decided after years of talking about it to make a business out of the beautiful crystal clear natural spring water on the farm which I’ve been drinking all my life. We simply thought there must be a gap in the market. Why buy French bottled water when you can help invest in the local community by buying Pure Bowland?”

The dairy herd remains on the farm, although reduced from 120 cows to around 80, and the idea is to have a review of both enterprises in two or three years time. The water business has not precluded the re-building of the dairy herd should that appear a viable proposition but to have expanded at present, in what they felt were very uncertain times for dairying, would have been equally expensive as the new enterprise. 

“Chris does still want to work with cows at the moment and so the decision will ultimately be his,” said Mr Gardner.

Pure Bowland will be sourced from a vast lake sitting on volcanic rock 60 metres below the farm that has been in Mr Gardner’s family for three generations.

A new borehole has had to be sunk and although it must initially be sold as spring water, if regular tests guarantee the stability of mineral content, it could possibly, at some stage in the future, be sold as mineral water says Mr Gardner.

The 420sq.m new-build bottling plant away from the main farm buildings, can produce 1,000 gallons a day at 4,000 bottles per hour.

An official launch is planned to gain publicity and marketing will begin in earnest when the plant comes on full stream.

Mr Gardner says he would be delighted to see imported water knocked off its middle shelf positions. He says there are also good prospects of being able to sell through some milk producer- retailers. 

“We think this is a genuinely extraordinary product for people across the region to enjoy,’ he said. It has taken literally hundreds of years to be purified and reach that depth below the ground.

“Moreover as a small community business we are keen to invest our success back into the Forest of Bowland by creating jobs and wealth. Bowland is officially an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Queen, Prince William and Prince Harry are regular visitors here.

We passionately want to use ‘Pure Bowland’ to promote this brooding, mysterious and rugged landscape. Moreover we very much want to compliment the already formidable collection of meats, cheeses and fine foods already produced here.”  

Local produce is important to the Forest of Bowland. It is estimated that every £10 spent on local food is worth £25 to the local area, compared to £14 at a supermarket.

Apart from cheeses and ice-cream, the Forest of Bowland AONB is gaining a reputation for fine food and local produce like local lamb, beef and pork and even wild boar.