Three years ago, Alayna Nathe opened a highly unusual small business in Santa Cruz.
Her company, True Source Waters, was built around a simple, albeit risky, idea: If you give people access to high-quality water in exchange for participating in ongoing water education, the benefits will speak for themselves.
What started as an unconventional experiment has grown into a community of locals who regularly refill at the store, attend free classes, bring their families and friends, and sometimes stay a while. Today, True Source may provide hundreds of gallons of free water in a single day, six days a week.
Rather than charging by the gallon, the business is supported through sales of home water ionization and filtration systems. It’s a model that might sound questionable on paper. Three years and more than 300,000 gallons of free water later, Nathe no longer wonders.
Where did the idea of building a business around giving away your primary product come from?
Alayna Nathe: My entry into the water ionization business was through selling the systems. It was hard to get people to recognize the benefits enough to make a big commitment, and I knew there had to be a better way to connect people to this resource.
When I opened the store, I wanted to try something different, so I came up with a free water and education business model.
How exactly does the free water program work?
It’s in exchange for education. People purchase any bottle or bring their own bottle from home and pay a one-time fee. After that, they never pay for the water. They agree to attend a quarterly water education class to maintain their membership.
When they experience enough of the benefit, some decide to invest in a home system, but there’s no sales pitch. It’s their own decision.
Some people were concerned about the business model in the beginning. But I recognized that people will pay for a product they believe they need. A certain percentage will decide they want the benefit and convenience at home. It works because there is trust in the product from the consumer.
What do people notice about the water that inspires them to change their hydration habits?
The first thing I notice is that people become more intentional about drinking good-quality water. They remember to bring their own bottles, even to restaurants, and they start avoiding single-use plastic water bottles.
People tell me they have more energy or easier workout recovery, although everyone has their own unique experience. I hear so many stories from people while they’re in the store, and they love to share them with each other. About 80% of our customers come from word of mouth.
You describe your water as hydrogen-rich and ionized. What exactly does that mean?
The process we use in the store and in our home systems involves electrolysis, which separates water into alkaline and acidic streams. The drinking water also contains dissolved molecular hydrogen gas.
Molecular hydrogen, H2, is being studied for its potential antioxidant properties and its relationship to oxidative stress and inflammation. It’s a growing area of research, and there’s still a lot to learn.
Looking back at the woman who opened this unusual Santa Cruz storefront three years ago, what has surprised you most?
At 52, as a longtime Santa Cruz resident, I knew I wanted to support my community in living a healthier, longer life. What I didn’t expect was the community that would be built around it, or how much the daily interactions with customers would fill my cup.
People come into our lounge with books or magazines and end up meeting new friends. I’m amazed by the connections that happen here.
Someone called it a “third space,” meaning there’s home, there’s work, and then there’s this other place where people can connect. I think of this as a slowdown store. People stay. They wait. They talk.
Three years ago, I asked this community to trust me, and I got a lot of side-eye at first. Today, we have about 300 regular members. We also offer three community education classes each month, all free and open to the public.
We provide the water and the education, and then we trust people to decide whether what we do has value.
That level of trust is the most unconventional part of the business model. In a world designed to move people quickly from interest to purchase, True Source Waters gives them something increasingly rare: time to experience, learn and decide for themselves. Along the way, Nathe discovered she was giving away more than water. She was creating something almost as vital: a space for community.
True Source Waters, 3617B Portola Dr., Santa Cruz. truesourcewaters.co
Elizabeth Borelli is a wellness writer, author and Mediterranean lifestyle and longevity advocate. Learn more about her work, local events and free recipes at ElizabethBorelli.com.
