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River runs through it to put spring in the step of family farmers ; Q&A [Western Morning News (England)](Western Morning News (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Diversification is a buzzword in agriculture. Farmers are always being told to try something else or add value to their products. Devon business Tarka Springs has been doing just that for 13 years. Reporter Hannah Finch found out how they have turned water into a family industry At the turn of the millennium, dairy farmer Neil Folland was looking for ways to diversify without realising that all along, the answer was beneath his feet. The founder of Tarka Springs was working on the 300-acre family farm at Little Comfort, near Torrington, and constantly had half an eye out for the next thing. The lucky break came when Neil, a former rugby player for Devon was laid up with a neck injury and considering his long-term future in farming. It was literally a Del Boy moment. The 47-year-old who runs the Tarka Springs water company with his wife Sarah and sister Anna Moseby, 34, laughs when I say his story reminds me of the Only Fools and Horse episode when Del happens upon 'Peck-ham Springs' on his allotment. "It was a bit like that, actually, very much like that," he grins. "But ours doesn't glow when you turn the light out," he laughs. The firm has been operating since 2001 and has customers all over the world. The brand is so well trusted that an order has just been placed from China, a country where consumers have been left sceptical after the contaminated baby milk scandal in 2008. Anna said: "They only really trust imports, which seems to be the opposite to the trend here," she said. Thankfully the brand is also a Westcountry favourite. The Tarka otter branding places it well among the artisan producers in the Westcountry that trade on their local roots. The water was also the refreshment of choice for Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Sam when they were recently photographed holidaying in Cornwall. "It is a well liked brand and I think that people do like the fact it is produced by a family business in Devon. "People like to know where their food and drink comes from." But the packaging will soon be restyled to appeal to new audiences. "It doesn't go down well with the London market. They see an otter and think its a rat," laughs Anna. "So we have made the otter smaller and thought that the plastic bottle looked a bit tired so we have made it look a bit more upmarket." The company sponsors Exeter Chiefs rugby and has big name contracts with Arsenal, Charlton Athletic and West Ham football clubs, but life wasn't always so glamorous. Anna recalls the struggle of setting up the business when all of Mid Devon was in lockdown due to the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001. It devastated the community and meant that, despite the family securing a government grant to get started, Neil was practically on his own. Anna said: "Neil is a born entrepreneur and was already looking for ways to make money before the crisis took hold. "But it was tricky for us because all the external help we needed to get started couldn't reach us." The family converted the milking parlour to create a bottling plant. Anna said: "We didn't know what we were doing, to be honest, but we worked it out as we went along." Neil and his wife, who met while studying at Edgehill College, Bideford, were soon joined by Anna who took control of sales and marketing. She was training to be an accountant and hated every minute. Anna said: "It sounded good but in reality it didn't suit me at all so Neil said would I come and do the selling. I didn't have any responsibilities at the time and I was able to take the gamble." The hot summer of 2001 was the clincher. The firm was able to take advantage when its main competitor, Devon Hills in Winkleigh, was unable to keep up with demand. Anna said: "They couldn't keep up and I managed to get a wholesaler, Ewings, in Barnstaple, which had been let down and was keen to take us on. "Before then it was really hard work, Neil used to do his own delivery round and I would go round to individual shops but now all that work has paid off." A lot has changed since then, not least family tragedy that has taken its toll on Anna. Her husband Rob lost his battle with a rare cancer in March this year, aged 43. The couple have two sons Will, 5, and Woody, 3. "Everybody felt it because Rob was always around. I had been caring for him for seven years and in the later stages when he could no longer feed himself we had to prepare for what was going to happen. "But it has been getting easier. I had a flip out around Easter time, the responsibility of everything felt far too big to deal with alone. I thought I would have to stop working. But that is the grieving process. "I now have help in the office and mum is brilliant with looking after the children, so I feel ready to take on more projects again." The firm is on the cusp of completing its new factory at the farm to meet the demand from overseas orders. It managed to secure a rural enterprise grant to expand the business after talks to supply Starbucks in the Middle East prompted plans for major growth. Anna said: "That could potentially be massive for us but then we started thinking, 'how on earth would we do it' with the equipment we had. "Neil went to buy a de-palletiser at a factory sale in Wales. He went to the auction with the result that he came back having bought the entire factory for the same money. "What he came back with was hardly used and means we can operate at four times the speed and produce 20,000 500ml bottles an hour." Anna says the company's first turning point for big orders came with P&O Ferries in 2010. Anna said: "We were supplying Flybe at the time and through that we were able to secure the contract for P&O because their previous supplier was missing boats and letting them down. After that, everything changed overnight and we supply two to three artics full of water every week. The contract is worth Pounds 500,000 a year to us which is very valuable. That first year was really hard work. We took on more staff and we never let them down and we are now into another three-year contract with them." Many rural businesses say poor road infrastructure and slow broadband connections affect trade, but Anna says the firm has not had any ill effects from being so far from the M5. "A lot of people say that to us but apart from having to lean out of the window to get a mobile signal, we haven't had any problems." As well as its own label, Tarka also supplies water for companies to brand themselves including charity Frank Water and London coffee company AMT Coffee. She said the benefit of a small team was that customers and wholesalers knew who they were dealing with every day. She said: "They have become like friends over the years and we have struck up good relationships. "When Rob died, I even received flowers which was really touching." Neil and Sarah still live on the farm and have children Kayleigh, 26, a teacher, Danielle, 23, a military police officer and Dean, 19. Anna said that working in a close family business offers flexibility. She said: "Of course, when you have your sibling around, you have your spats but you also have a greater sense of responsibility because you want to do the best for each other. It also means its easier to work around family commitments which was so helpful when I was caring for Rob." Sundays are very much family days, says Anna, who enjoys a lie-in 'until 7am' before taking her boys swimming. Neil and Sarah are keen rugby fans and will watch a game unless Sarah is pottering in the polytunnel. "But if we are really busy then we work weekends, but that's during the summer. We can slow down a little now autumn's here." ABOUT TARKA SPRINGS The company name references Tarka the Otter, created by novelist Henry Williamson, first published in 1927 The novel describes the life of Tarka on the River Taw and River Torridge in North Devon Tarka Springs employs 10 people It processes around seven million bottles of water a year Turnover in 2013 was Pounds 1.4 million and is on track to meet the same this year The company is a former winner in Taste of the West competitions and was a finalist in this year's Western Morning News Countryside Awards for Best Farm Diversification We didn't know what we were doing, to be honest, but we worked it out as we went alongANNA MOSEBY It is a well liked brand and I think that people do like the fact it is produced by a family business in DevonANNA MOSEBY (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |