A South Lakeland firm is on top of the world after being officially named as the best function bottled water on the planet.

Lakeland Willow Water tasted success at the industry's equivalent of the Oscars and is now planning a big marketing splash to make the most of the remarkable accolade.

The Flookburgh company, which was only formed just over a year ago, enjoyed further success when its product scooped the runner-up prize in the section for best bottle label design.

The success in the International Bottled Water Association Awards 2004 came as no surprise to Phil Lynott, one of three businessmen who started the firm. A thrilled Mr Lynott told Business Gazette: "You can't do any better than get the gold award. I thought we had a good chance of winning. I've always known it was a good water and everyone who's tasted it feels the same."

The awards were handed out at the Aqua Expo 2004 event held in Paris and Lakeland Willow Water caused quite a stir at the prestigious event.

"When we got there, they treated us like royalty because they were overwhelmed by the product. The judges' decision to award us the top prize was unanimous," added Mr Lynott.

Now the firm is looking to cash in on its success with a major marketing push.

Lakeland Willow Water is already on the shelves of supermarket chains Safeways, Sainsburys, Waitrose and Booths, and it is set to go on sale at Co-op stores later this month.

Mr Lynott said the water had attracted "a lot of inquiries" from Japan and the United States and the firm, which employs 14 staff, would be looking at an export drive. It already has distributors in Ireland.

Lakeland Willow Water is said to be unlike any other bottled water on sale because it contains a naturally-occurring compound called Salicin that is closely related to aspirin. As a result, the water is said to have special healing properties.

Meanwhile, Windermere business Full Point Design was the brains behind the bottled water's eye-catching label, working on it from original concept to final design, and account director Dennis Wesson was delighted with the award.

Explaining the thinking behind the design, he said: "We wanted to stay clear of the Lakeland scene, which people have flogged to death. We wanted to be a little more abstract, so we took the elements of the willow leaf with droplets of water. We also decided to cut a section through it to show the back label and the word Salicin. It added a little bit of intrigue to the whole thing and I think it caught the judges' imagination."

Founded some three years ago by Mr Wesson and Adam Thorp, Full Point offers a full design studio service and its clients include Motorola, Heart of England Tourist Board, Lakeland Leather and BAE.