Farris is a brand of mineral water produced in

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

. It is

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

's oldest and best-selling

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

. It has been mentioned in literature as having positive health effects.

History

19th century

The product originated as a spin-off from the

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

s in

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

when

Mineral cure Mineral spas are spa resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral springs. Like seaside resorts, they are mainly used recreationally although they also figured prominently in prescientific medicine. Origins Spas were used for millen ...

s became popular in Norway in the second half of the 19th century. In 1875 Dr. J.C.Holm, a doctor and

health resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and p ...

pioneer, discovered a spring rich with minerals close to the river Farriselva. This led to the establishing of Larvik Bad (originally ''Laurvig Bad'') in 1880, a

mineral spa Mineral spas are destination spa, spa resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral springs. Like seaside resorts, they are mainly used recreationally although they also figured prominently in traditional medicine, prescientific medicine. ...

resort where one of the treatments offered was drinking mineralized water. Larvik Bad became very popular and had a capacity of 300 guests: Among the guests were Norwegian author and

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

20th century

In cooperation with Larvik Bad the local brewery ''Vestfold bryggeri'' started bottling mineral water under the brandname of "Salus". Bottling commenced on August 16, 1907, making it the oldest brand of mineral water in Norway. In 1912 a new factory was initiated, by the architects Christian Morgenstierne and Arne Eide. It was expanded in 1915, the same year that the production was moved to the new site. The building was expanded again in 1980, and is still the bottling facility for Farris. In 1915 also the brand name was altered to "Farris". According to

Thomson Financial Thomson Financial was an arm of the Thomson Corporation, an information provider. When the Thomson Corporation merged with Reuters to form Thomson Reuters in April 2008, Thomson Financial was merged with the business of Reuters to form the Markets ...

, "Farris has come to symbolise ‘Norwegian sparkling mineral water’, appears to have a virtual stranglehold on this sector with other local brands simply too small to warrant any strongly promotional activities to try to break this stranglehold." It holds a market percentage of 71% in Norway. Although a common misconception has it that the water comes from lake

Farris Farris is a 20 km long fresh water moraine-dammed lake near the Norwegian coastal town Larvik. The lake would have been a salt water fjord had it not been dammed by an end moraine left by the latest ice age An ice age is a long perio ...

, the spring and Farris bottling company are located at the bottom of Bøkeskogen. Bøkeskogen is a forested hilltop which (along with the city of Larvik to the south of the hill) separates between

and the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. The ...

. Farris mineral water originates from rainwater falling on this hill. The water slowly filters through deposited glacial

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

material and reaches the spring some 15–20 years later, strongly mineralized. In 1988 a new spring, 21 meters deep, was discovered, and this new spring is the present source of the mineral water. Since the first spring was discovered in 1875, it has been indicated to treat

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, among others. J.C.Holm recommended it as a cure for such various diseases as

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

kidney stone Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

and

catarrh Catarrh is an exudate of inflamed mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling o ...

.Farris anvendes kurmessig ved Gigt, Nyregrus, Kronisk Rheumatisme, ved Katarr i Svælg, Aandedræts og Fordøielses Organer samt efter Infektionssygdomme�
Lungebilag, Dagens medisin 03/06
The poet Robert Herring also claimed that Farris rids the body's arteries of

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown of ...

. Farris have been connected to the Norwegian royal family in several ways. The original spring was, by permission from the royal court, named after king

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...

as ''Kong Haakons kilde'' and a twin spring from the same source likewise named after queen Maud. The new source discovered in 1988 is named ''Kong Olav Vs kilde'' after

Olav V of Norway Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Nor ...

. Farris was one of very few brands that held a Royal Warrant while such still existed in Norway. There is still an agreement between Farris and the Royal Court that Farris should be freely delivered to the king wherever he may be. During the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

occupation of Norway in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Farris was prohibited from using the name ''Kong Haakons kilde'' in marketing as these was seen as propaganda for the exiled king.

21st century

Ringnes Ringnes is the largest brewer in Norway. owned by the Carlsberg Group. History Ringnes AS was founded in 1876. The company's brewery in the Grünerløkka district of Oslo produced its first beer in 1877. The brewery was founded by brothers Amund ...

breweries own the rights to the Farris trademark. The products under the Farris brand are sparkling mineral water which also comes with various flavours. The annual production volume is ca 40 million liters. The new blue glass bottle (0.33l) that was launched in 2001 won the

Norwegian Design Council Norwegian Design Council ( no, Norsk Designråd) was a Norwegian state-controlled foundation that encouraged good design of Norwegian products as a key to improved innovation and the products international reputation and sales. Among the activiti ...

s "Honours Award for Design Excellence".Norwegian Design Council
summary in English

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farris (Mineral Water) Bottled water brands Buildings and structures in Larvik Companies based in Vestfold Norwegian drinks Mineral water Carbonated water Products introduced in 1907 1907 establishments in Norway