Harrogate Spring Water celebrates first Green Tourism Awards in London

Over 100 leading green tourism professionals gathered yesterday (June 9) afternoon at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London to see environmental campaigner and writer Tony Juniper present the first Green Tourism Week Awards. Endorsed by VisitEngland, the week and awards have been organised by the Green Tourism Business Scheme tourism eco-label with the aim of highlighting the bottom-line benefits of green-mindedness to tourism businesses. (www.greentourismweek.co.uk June 6-12).

Four categories of award were presented, with the judging panel including Tony Juniper - also patron of Green Tourism Week, Richard Hammond of www.greentraveller.co.uk, and John Firrell, Director of the Considerate Hoteliers Association.

Harrogate Spring Water proudly co-sponsored the Goldstar Awards alondside Beacon Purchasing, with the winners representing the ten highest GTBS achievers of the last 12 months in terms of innovation, ambassadorship and cost savings. Other categories were 'Best Performance for Carbon Reduction in a Hotel Chain Award', 'Best Performance for Lowest Carbon Footprint Award', as well as a 'Green Traveller' award for environmentally-considerate celebrity traveller.

Says Tony Juniper, 'Going green sometimes seems to involve sacrifice, or somehow going against the interests of good business. The winners of the Goldstar award for Green Tourism demonstrate that the opposite is in fact the case. The winners, including name of business here, have demonstrated how it is not only possible to go green while attracting customers, but makes good business sense in any event. By cutting emissions and waste it is possible to cut costs and increasingly attract those customers who are looking to lighten their impact on the Earth. I have been hugely impressed by the efforts made by name of business and am delighted that their pioneering efforts are paying off in terms of customer loyalty and increased bookings.'

James Cain, managing director at parent company Water Brands Group, comments: "We felt passionately about ensuring our involvement in the Green Tourism Awards. We've been proactive in reducing our carbon footprint. That's why 99 per cent of all our raw materials are sourced within the UK. We keep our 'water miles' to a minimum, having reducing them by over 35 per cent in the past year alone. We also source regionally wherever possible, with 100 per cent of our PET product being sourced from within 90 miles of Harrogate."

Appealing to the ever increasing number of green-minded consumers, Harrogate Spring Water continue to undertake light-weighting initiatives across the PET range,  reduce vehicle movements and optimise pallet configurations,  greatly minimising packaging waste and water miles. All Harrogate Spring products are 100% recyclable.

James Cain adds: "We are continually improving our business processes to reduce our impact on natural resources. In 2010 we became a 'Zero to Landfill' business, we now recycle 100% of waste.  As one of the most ethically responsible bottled water manufacturers in the country, we pride ourselves on leading the way when it comes to CSR initiatives and we wanted to use this opportunity to celebrate some of the exemplary practices undertaken by GTBS members and to help educate and raise awareness of the positive contribution of implementing environmental measures such as green purchasing choices to the bottom line and profitability'.

Goldstar:

Maximillion Events, Edinburgh

Arcola Theatre, London

Battlesteads Hotel, Northumbria

Cote How Guest House, Cumbria

Cwmbiga Farm Partnership, Powys

Dolbeare Park, Cornwall

Lochranza Youth Hostel, Isle of Arran

Strattons Hotel, Norfolk

Treshnish & Haunn Cottages, Isle of Mull

Wheeldon Trees Farm Holiday Cottages, Derbyshire

Best Performance for Lowest Carbon Footprint:

Dolbeare Park, Cornwall (Holiday Park)

Treshnish & Haunn Cottages, Isle of Mull (Self-catering)

Lifton Hall Hotel & Village Inn, Devon (Hotel)

Signal Rock Cottage B & B, Glencoe (Bed and breakfast)

Silversprings, Devon (Guesthouse)

Best Performance for Carbon Reduction for a Hotel Chain:

Ramada Jarvis

'Green Traveller' Award:

Nicholas Crane

ENDS

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Harrogate Spring Water Takes Centre Stage

Harrogate Spring Water took centre stage last night alongside Paloma Faith at her one-off in-between album concert at the HIC as part of the Harrogate Summer Festival 2011.

James Cain, managing director of parent company Water Brands Group commented,

 "As part of our relationship with Harrogate International Festivals it is wonderful to have such a varied, talented mix of artists and performers enjoying our product. It was great to see Paloma's high-energy performance powered by Harrogate Spring Water.

She kept suitably hydrated throughout the show and even commented on 'Harrogate Water' which was met by cheers from a proud, local crowd. We hope our high quality water has made a lasting impression and she continues to enjoy a 'taste of Harrogate' long after leaving town."

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Harrogate Spring Water Gives Local Club a Kick Start

Harrogate Spring Water continues its commitment to supporting local sporting excellence by sponsoring the 2011/2012 season of Harrogate Town FC.

National brand, Harrogate Spring Water, remains committed to maintaining its involvement in the community, supporting local sporting initiatives and encouraging opportunities to engage children in sport. One of the UK's top 10 bottled water brands, Harrogate Spring will resume its partnership with the football club for another year, in a bid to fly the flag high for Harrogate once again.

James Cain, managing director at Water Brands Group (which owns and manages the Harrogate brand), commented: "We are extremely proud to be supporting our local team. As well as giving something back to the community, it also gives us a platform to demonstrate bottled water's role in health and hydration and emphasise its importance in sports and fitness. And what better partner than Harrogate Town FC, who will hopefully bring home the trophy this season!"

ENDS

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Harrogate Spring Water Spices It Up!

Harrogate Spring Water, a brand associated with Britishness, style and heritage has demonstrated its support for the British institution that is 'The Curry' by sponsoring the 'Best Restaurant Award' at the inaugural English Curry Awards 2011.

James Cain, managing director at parent company Water Brands Group, commented:

"We believe Britain's long-standing love affair with curry deserves to be celebrated, and every curry deserves the perfect accompaniment. Harrogate Spring water provides just that, with a perfect mineral balance, low sodium and a slightly sweet flavour. Our award winning sparkling water is only lightly carbonated, meaning it can be enjoyed comfortably with all food, especially curry!  Sipping water with your meal cools and refreshes your taste buds and Harrogate Spring is a wonderful natural palate cleanser that can be enjoyed with a twist of lemon or lime to ensure you savour every delicious flavour. Every curry deserves Harrogate Spring Water!"

"Customers select brands that inspire trust and confidence, We recently put ourselves up against our key competitors in independent research*, where consumers unanimously voted Harrogate the brand with the most visual appeal, the most premium-looking bottled water brand, the most British of all the brands as well as the bottle they would be most likely to order in a bar or restaurant - suggesting that Harrogate is the favoured choice of diners and therefore a must-stock for restaurants."

  "The calibre of the bottled water served in a restaurant inevitably reflects on the establishment itself. A premium brand with a distinctive, modern and stylish design and fantastic British credentials such as ours is a nod to superior quality and style. The brand association of the water you serve should be a good reflection of how you position your restaurant."

"Harrogate Spring Water is proud to be British and we are committed to reducing our environmental impact, which is why 99 per cent of all our raw materials are sourced within the UK. We endeavor to keep our food miles to a minimum and source regionally wherever possible, with 99 per cent of all product packaging being sourced from within 90 miles of Harrogate. The fact that we proactively minimise our carbon footprint resonates with the well-informed consumer."

"Choosing a strong brand with visual appeal is vital. You are also at an advantage to offer a full range in still and sparkling varieties, choose the right sizing options in both single serve and sharing sizes, considering glass and PET options."

"Water is an important part of the curry experience, restaurants should always remember the customer deserves a choice and whilst tap water should always be available, the right branded bottled water can add massively to the dining experience. It is important to recognize the brand equity in bottled water, as well as its value as an important revenue stream."

ENDS

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Harrogate Spring dominates bottled water rivals in consumer testing

In a straight shoot out, more than twice the number of consumers chose Harrogate Spring as the most premium looking bottled water over its nearest competitor, when tested against more established brands Strathmore, Hildon, Highland Spring and Abbey Well.

In the survey of over 2,000 UK consumers, conducted by ICM Research, Harrogate Spring Water also dominated in overall visual appeal (60 per cent of consumers preferred Harrogate Spring against 40 per cent for its nearest competitor) and most significantly, was chosen as the brand they would be most likely to order in a bar or restaurant.

The study was commissioned by Harrogate Spring Water to test consumer reaction to the brand and packaging within the foodservice and on-trade markets, following the rebrand from Harrogate Spa this year. The company’s focus within these sectors has resulted in a 15 per cent increase in turnover during the last 12 months, against a market backdrop which has seen five per cent growth for the category.

Paul Martin, managing director at parent company Water Brands Group, commented: “We’ve always been hugely confident about the visual appeal of our brand and have plenty of anecdotal evidence to back this up. That is why we wanted to test ourselves against the other major players in the on trade bottled water sector to see if this was borne out by consumers.

“We were prepared for whatever came back, good or bad, but the results have been compelling, significant both statistically and in supporting our business strategy. To fare so well within a category full of such established and respected brands was a real coup for us. We are a national brand with a distinctive, modern and stylish design and fantastic British credentials and that really resonates with consumers, especially in the on trade.

“While some people might not immediately recognise the brand equity of bottled water brands to consumers, in comparison to must-stocks like Coca Cola, this latest information really ought to make people ask themselves why they aren’t stocking Harrogate Spring. It’s what their customers want, as we’ve proved with this research.”

Harrogate Spring Water is based on a heritage of more than 400 years and is one of the most ethically-minded bottled water companies in the UK. It is well established among the top 10 bottled water brands in the UK and sells more than 50 million bottles a year throughout Britain.

To view the complete research document, please click here.

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