Nayana Williams marks 21 years of Lifespan

Lifespan Spring Water, the Portland-based bottled-water company now marking its 21st anniversary, has grown from a modest start-up in rural Jamaica into a regional brand with international reach.

According to chief executive officer, Nayana Williams, the company’s progress over the past two decades has been the result of sheer resilience. Lifespan’s naturally alkaline spring water, measuring 7.9 to 8.4 on the pH scale, has earned more than seven international awards.

Williams notes that scientific tests show Lifespan’s water flows from the Spring Garden aquifer at the foothills of the Blue Mountains, filtering through rock formations for more than a decade and naturally increasing its alkalinity. The water has a high mineral content – including calcium, magnesium and potassium – and is bottled directly at the source without artificial enhancements.

Earlier this week, Lifespan hosted brand ambassador and international recording artiste Olaf Blackwood on a tour of its Spring Garden facility as part of the company’s anniversary activities. He was joined by Hollywood actor Lyriq Bent, who was born in Jamaica and now lives in the United States. Bent said he was highly impressed by the visit, noting that the operation appeared fully equipped to produce safe bottled water for consumers. Other brand ambassadors include Dr Sandra Swaby and Olympian Tyquendo Tracey, who support the firm’s broader marketing efforts.

Williams attributes much of Lifespan’s success to its workforce, whose dedication she describes as indispensable. Progress has been “long, slow, but rewarding”, she said.

SUPPORTIVE TEAM

She added, “I am surrounded by a competent team of employees, who are very supportive of the business. I wouldn’t say that I am strong woman, but I am very resilient. I believe in team work and I am driven by the will to succeed. I am not one of those persons, who are affected or bothered by any gender when it comes on to business, but I rather to focus on results. I allow my employees to assume their role and for them to have room to fail, correct those failures, and to finally get it right. And that is called growth and achievement.”

Williams, originally from St Mary, returned to Jamaica from the United States in 2004 with her husband, settling in Buff Bay. There, the idea for Lifespan was conceived. What began as a small operation sourcing water from Spring Garden has since developed into a firm recognised locally and internationally for the purity and natural alkalinity of its spring water.

She assumed the role of CEO in 2015 after previously serving as general manager, stepping into leadership within an industry still dominated by men. As she explained, “It is very easy for people to accept a male (man) as the head of a business or that of an organisation, especially a relatively new business.”

In the early years her husband served as the public face of the company, a role she said she preferred at the time. When he stepped back, Williams took on both strategic and operational responsibilities.

Her leadership was tested during the pandemic, when production declined sharply for more than three years. “But we had to remain relevant in the market place, and our brand Lifespan was one of the leading bottled water companies in Jamaica, which not only had to be protected, but had to be able to fulfil its mandate of producing alkaline spring water to the general public. So this woman had to get it right in a business world that is largely dominated by men,” she said.

Williams also highlighted Lifespan’s growth, noting that the company’s export markets now include Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, and Antigua, supported by distribution partnerships such as GraceKennedy’s World Brands Services, which has expanded the company’s reach into the United Kingdom.

gareth.davis@gleanerjm.com