Font del Regàs

Font del Regàs is a Spanish brand of bottled natural mineral water sourced from a spring in Arbúcies, in the comarca of La Selva, Girona province, Catalonia. The water emerges in the surroundings of the Montseny Natural Park, a setting the brand uses to explain the balanced purity and refined taste of its composition. It is marketed under the tagline of a natural 'gran reserva' — a wine-inspired positioning that frames the water as a premium, carefully aged or selected product. The spring was discovered in 1887, when two residents of Arbúcies reached an agreement with the owner of Mas Regàs to bring out waters located at a spot called Les Fontiques. The waters were analyzed by the Medical-Pharmaceutical Academy of Barcelona and classified among 'excellent' waters. In 1890, Ricardo Cortada, a licensed doctor and mayor of Arbúcies, published a review of the town's mineral-medicinal waters, and the waters became publicly known as Manantial Reina Regente (Queen Regent Spring), in honor of Queen Maria Cristina of Austria. The first bottling facilities were inaugurated on 3 July 1890 with a large attendance of dignitaries. After a long hiatus during which the spring was not exploited, a new phase began in the 1950s when Josep Regàs Mataró took up the project of exploiting the spring, commissioning analyses of the waters. Today Font del Regàs is one of the brands in the portfolio of Vichy Catalan Corporation, a Catalan beverage group, and is presented on the company's website alongside its other water brands. The brand is sold primarily in the Spanish market, where bottled mineral water from Catalonia has a strong regional identity. As a product brand rather than a standalone company, Font del Regàs has no independent corporate existence; its commercial identity, distribution and marketing are managed within the Vichy Catalan Corporation portfolio. Its heritage narrative — the 1887 discovery, the 1890 royal naming and the mid-20th-century revival — is central to its premium positioning.

The history of Font del Regàs begins in Arbúcies, a town in the comarca of La Selva in Girona province, Catalonia, whose springs and surrounding landscape were already known for their mineral-medicinal waters. In the 19th century, waters on the property of Regàs were known, and in 1887 two residents of Arbúcies established an agreement with the owner of Mas Regàs to bring out waters located at a spot called Les Fontiques. The Medical-Pharmaceutical Academy of Barcelona analyzed the waters and classified them in the group of excellent waters. In 1890, Ricardo Cortada, a licensed doctor and mayor of Arbúcies, published a review of the mineral-medicinal waters of Arbúcies, publicizing the discovery and its properties. The waters became publicly known as Manantial Reina Regente (Queen Regent Spring), in honor of Queen Maria Cristina of Austria, and the first bottling facilities were inaugurated on 3 July 1890 with a large attendance of personalities. After a long hiatus during which the spring was not exploited, a new phase began in the 1950s when Josep Regàs Mataró conceived the project of exploiting the spring. He first commissioned analyses of the waters by the Pro… (the source text is truncated at this point). This mid-20th-century revival re-established the spring as a commercial bottling operation. In the present day, Font del Regàs is presented as one of the brands of Vichy Catalan Corporation, a Catalan beverage company. The brand's official web page describes it as a natural 'gran reserva' water from the surroundings of the Montseny nature park, emphasizing the balanced purity of its composition and its refined taste. The brand is marketed in Spain, and its heritage — the 1887 discovery, the 1890 royal naming and inauguration, and the 1950s revival — forms the core of its premium identity.

• 1950

  A new phase begins when Josep Regàs Mataró takes up the project to exploit the spring, commissioning analyses of the waters.

• 1890

  Ricardo Cortada, doctor and mayor of Arbúcies, publishes a review of the mineral-medicinal waters; the waters become known as Manantial Reina Regente and the first bottling facilities are inaugurated on 3 July.

• 1887

  Two residents of Arbúcies agree with the owner of Mas Regàs to extract waters at Les Fontiques; the waters are analyzed and classified as 'excellent' by the Medical-Pharmaceutical Academy of Barcelona.

Premium natural mineral water positioned as a 'gran reserva' with a heritage dating to 1887.

• Font del Regàs natural mineral water

  Bottled natural mineral water from the spring in Arbúcies, marketed as a 'gran reserva' water.

1. 1Font del Regàs - Vichy Catalan Corporation (Catalan)vichycatalan.com
2. 2Font del Regàs - Vichy Catalan Corporation (English)vichycatalan.com
3. 3Font del Regàs - Wikidatawikidata.org