Business idea, Help needed

[ktjp]

My first post so a warm Hello to all!

Basically I live on a farm with my family in south wales The majority of the land on the farm is owned by my wifes parents who have their own property there too.
On one of fields that my wifes parents own there is a natural spring. I have tasted the water and its fine but I am considering getting it tested with a view to eventually bottleing it to sell.

The next proccess now though is who do I approach to get it tested?
Is there a market for another bottle water when you have the likes of supermarkets own brands, evian etc?
Would it be to much hassle and expensive to set up?
The area is well know for its walks, views etc so there could be local demand.

My father in-law is happy for me to investigate it as he is elderly and not that interested.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Kind Regards

Kharl

[FreeLocal]

The simplest way would be to approach someone like www.tynant.com or http://www.radnorhills.co.uk/heartsease.htm to see if they were interested. That would tell you if it is an OK idea. Also, follow the link http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/wales/wsi2003/20033042e.htm to see what is required.
Good Luck

[mattk]

Did you know - Evian backwards is naive.

[mtw]

Hi Kharl,

I don't know anything about bottling water, but I do know from my work with organic food bodies that there's a huge upswell in people wanting to buy local.

I'd say go ahead and investigate this and look initially at the strength of the local market. My guess is that a significant investment would be needed to sell your water nationally, but if you can get local pubs, shops, restaurants, hospitals, nightclubs, etc. to take it because they like it being local, you could be on to a great little business... Why not do bit of market research in your area (questionnaire, phone calls, etc)?

In my neck of the woods there's a company bottling local spring water. I'll admit they're not small but they seem to have all the businesses round here tied up with their coolers and I've even been given their water on a flight to the Far East! People round here like the fact that the water is named after a the local landmark where it comes from.

Why not Google the subject and see if you can find similarly small operations who would not be your direct competition so you can approach them and pick their brains about what they needed to do to get started? You'll probably find them in the online archives of local newspapers who have done stories about them.

Sounds like a great opportunity if you can find enthusiasm at least locally...

Cheers
Mark

[profitxchange]

Talk to your local environmental agency they will know the best testing labs in the area. You will have to pay commercial rates but having a reputable test lab report is good PR!

You could also try talking to your local University. they have good labs and may be a little cheaper.

[mtw]

Talk to your local environmental agency they will know the best testing labs in the area. You will have to pay commercial rates but having a reputable test lab report is good PR!

Good idea - in fact it's probably a requirement before you can sell the stuff too!

I'd be fascinated to know how you get on, Kharl, so please keep us informed...

Mark

[ktjp]

Thanks for all your feedback it is much appreciated!

One of my friend's wife's is an environmental health officer so I could speak to her.

I'll keep you posted

Kind Regards

Kharl