Boca Raton-Based TEN Spring Water on the Path to Becoming National Brand

By: Michael Demyan

Jose Fernandez is on his way to making his Boca Raton-based TEN Spring Water a national brand.

It all started in 2011 when Fernandez sold his previous business and thought about what his next step in life would be. A friend introduced him to alkaline waters for their health benefits, but he was not a big fan of how they tasted, so he started to research the market.

After a year of research, TEN Spring Water was officially launched in the summer of 2013.

“Most people don’t make it past year one or two. I’ve made it past year four [as the company’s CEO] last year and now I’m in year number five so, something must be okay,” Fernandez said, followed by a laugh.

Fernandez said that one of the biggest things that makes TEN different than other alkaline waters is that it is sourced directly from natural springs, rather than using tap water.

“We only use natural spring sources,” he said. “So imagine when you go and buy bottled water that says ‘spring water.’ That basically means it comes straight from a spring, into the plant, goes through filtration and into the bottle. So what I’m doing is basically taking that same spring through filtration, adding a patented pH formula of two minerals and raising the pH of that spring water to 10.0.”

Currently, TEN water comes from three different springs, but Fernandez already has plans to use more as the company continues to grow. As it becomes closer to becoming a national brand, numerous professional athletes, such as Carolina Panthers defensive end Mario Addison, Los Angeles Clippers center Willie Reed and UFC World Champion Amanda Nunes, have even endorsed the water.

The best part, Fernandez said, is that they do not even approach the athletes. It is the athletes who are coming to them. They have found the water on store shelves and personally want to endorse it.

Simply getting the water to those shelves was not an easy task either.

“To prove that you have a brand to get Publix to take you on, you have to go through a proof of concept to make sure you really have a brand,” Fernandez said. “Publix is not a company that takes a chance on a small company, with a brand new product.”

Since then, Publix began selling one gallon jugs toward the end of last year, which has quickly become TEN’s biggest seller.

The water is also sold online as well as through stores such as Food Lion. Fernandez, who has called Boca Raton his home for 24 years, is also going after more major chains across the country, including H-E-B, Kroger and Meijer.

“Once you start drinking this water, you really don’t want to drink any other brand,” Fernandez said.