Family farm turns natural spring into business opportunity

When he was only 21, Dafydd Thomas already identified the potential of his family’s farm. Situated in Anglesey Island, the farm had been in the Thomas family for 120 years, yet records from its spring’s use went back two centuries. Young Dafydd thought it could be very profitable to make use of the farm’s natural spring to sell mineral water, yet it wasn’t until 7 years later that he ended up making his vision a reality. 

Eventually, he had the spring’s water tested and found out that it was incredibly rich in calcium. Not only did this give the water a unique soft and sweet flavour, it also presented it as a healthy alternative good for strengthening bones and teeth.

As well as the water’s unique properties, its production method was also unlike many others:  

“At a lot of places they drill thousands of feet and pump their water up. The water here comes up naturally,” says Thomas.

This led Thomas to create his brand called Anglesey Spring, and after setting up his own bottling plant, he has recently started stocking up the first batch of bottles. 2,000 bottles have already been placed at restaurants and tea-rooms in the local area, and he has enough equipment to produce around 10,000 bottles every week. Mr Thomas hopes to one day supply to supermarkets, but until then he is making the water available to order online.

The Thomas family isn’t new to diversifying, having used their land for other business ventures such as producing bio-fuel, running a B&B and a holiday cottage, and hiring out equipment to other farms with his contracting business. This trend to diversify is common amongst farmers, as they keep thinking of new ways to maintain their farm's sustainability as a business.

Source: Wales Online

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