TWO national supermarket chains have become the latest customers to tap into the bottled spring water produced by a South Lakeland firm.

Flookburgh-based Lakeland Willow Water has clinched contracts to supply Waitrose and Sainsbury's with its water, just five months after production started.

The bottled water will be on sale throughout the Waitrose network of 130 stores, while an initial 146 Sainsbury's stores, including its flagship store in Kensington, London, will stock the water.

Karen Parsons, head of sales at Lakeland Willow Water, said: "We're absolutely delighted to have secured deals with two major multiples so soon after going into production.

"Waitrose and Sainsbury's were top of our strategic target list and we're so pleased that it is making such rapid progress. Both supermarkets are especially well-known by consumer for stocking a wide range of the very latest in high quality products."

Since its launch at the start of this year, Lakeland Willow Water has been sold across Booths' 27 stores, including branches in Cumbria and Lancashire.

The bottled water has also been distributed nationwide by wholesalers, Tree of Life, which supplies more than 1,800 specialist health food stores.

Lakeland Willow Water managing director David Jones said the latest contracts were extremely significant for the firm. "There has been an incredible level of interest and demand for our water locally both in Cumbria and the North West of England and we are confident that this will be replicated throughout the UK."

May 29, 2003 16:00