A trip in an old boat all the way from Cornwall to the Canaries may not be everybody's cup of tea, but then not everybody would have the guts to create and launch a new brand into the already crowded water category, which is dominated by big brand names.

However, this is exactly what a group of watersports enthusiasts from Cornwall did when they threw Pure Blue Water into the market.

"Having previously rebuilt an old sailing boat and taken it on a sailing and surfing adventure from Cornwall to the Canaries, we came up with the idea of launching a watersports brand with an environmental edge," says Richard Lawrie, who set up the company together with friend George Hartgill, supported by three other investors.

"With bottled water one of the fastest-growing drinks sectors, and watersports and beach culture the UK's fastest-growing lifestyle, we decided to combine the two."

While Lawrie comes from a marketing and sales background, having worked for Masterfoods and Proper Cornish Pasties, Hartgill comes from a finance and logistics background. "My background was in food and drink marketing, so we looked for an appropriate product that would cross over with the previously successful watersport clothing marketing, such as Quiksilver and Fat Face. All other mineral waters seemed boring and so the idea for Pure Blue Water was born" says Lawrie.

Separating itself from the rest, Pure Blue Water promotes an active, environmental lifestyle by working with top watersport athletes and donating at least 10% of profits to support clean oceans.

The packaging also makes it stand out from other brands. Bottles have different lifestyle watersport images that are back-reflected, which means pictures of surfers and divers can be seen from the opposite side of the bottle through the water.

The brand, which is aimed at 12 to 35-year-olds, has so far proven a big hit in the south west and is also making waves in the south east, says Lawrie. "We distribute directly to hundreds of outlets through Devon and Cornwall and we also have a number of distributors, including Simple Simon in the south east and Midlands, and Caterfood in the south west."

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