Use of the spring remained free until 1863, when Napoleon II sold the rights to it.
Dr Louis Perrier of Nimes, France, was interested in water and its therapeutic uses. He and local farmer bought the spa site in Vergeze in 1888.
In 1894, Perrier leased a natural spring which is called les Bouillens or ‘Boiling Water’. In 1898, Perrier and a group financial backer bought the spring, bottled the water and used it to make wine and lemonade.
Perrier studied the water for years before teaming up with a partner, Englishman Sir John Harmsworth, in 1903. Perrier had been studying hydrotherapy, and trying to found out why taking steam baths and drinking carbonated water might relieve arthritis.
Marketing the springs naturally carbonated water was the brainchild Harmsworth.
In 1904, Harmsworth bought out his partner and founded Perrier Spring Company, with an entirely British management team.
Harmsworth named the spring after Perrier to lend it a sense of medical authority; the iconic green bottle was design to reflect the India clubs or weighted skittles Harmsworth used for sport while convalescing.
By the 1930s, the company was selling almost 20 million bottles per year.
Dr Louis Perrier and sparkling water
