The homeopathic doctor who made a fortune with sparkling water

There aren't many mass-market brands that use that name. Catalan in its name. In fact, some companies that identified with the country in their name have ended up removing the brand, as is the case with a well-known insurance company in Sant Cugat del Vallès. But there is one product that has proudly displayed its Catalan identity for almost a century and a half, albeit in another language. This is the famous Vichy Catalan, which since 1890 has established itself as the country's best-known sparkling water supplier (since the official brand name has no accent, it can be assumed to be written in French). Behind the creation of this company is a man who played a key role, Dr. Modest Furest, who discovered the properties of the waters that spring from the subsoil of the Caldes de Malavella area. These waters had been renowned since Roman times, but Furest provided the scientific validation.

Born in the Maresme region into a family deeply involved in navigation and with interests in dye manufacturing, he went to Barcelona to study medicine. After graduating, he settled in Girona to practice as a general practitioner. But before that, a series of acquisitions opened the door to an unconventional form of medicine: homeopathy. His curiosity about this then-fashionable medical practice led him to travel to Madrid and become a member of the Homeopathic Institute of the Madrid Hahnemannian Society (named after Samuel Hahnemann, the inventor of homeopathy). In addition to homeopathy, Furest focused on other practices such as hydrotherapy and heliotherapy. During his travels through the Girona region, he discovered the town of Caldes de Malavella and its waters with a long tradition of healing, and this changed his life. In 1880, he bought the land, and a year later, he obtained the scientific proof he had long sought: the local waters had a chemical composition equivalent to those of Vichy, France, a city famous for its thermal springs. After a decade of exploiting the waters, he took another step and registered the Vichy Catalan brand (1890) to market bottled sparkling water. Needless to say, the choice of this name caused him many legal headaches. The success of all this led him to build the Caldes de Malavella spa between 1891 and 1904. In the early days, Furest sought support for the business from his wife Mercè Tapis Plaja's family, who were quite well-off. When the project grew, he partnered with a group of wealthy Catalans who had left Cuba to settle in Catalonia. They were Bonaventura Blay Milà, Josep Ferrer Torralbas, Josep Serradell Amich, and Josep Vias Camps. Dr. Furest not only treated patients but also carried out extensive outreach through lectures and books in which he defended his theories. His work undoubtedly falls within the hygienist movement, one of whose offshoots was the explosion in sports participation—including football—at the end of the 19th century. During the cholera epidemic of 1885, he was a pioneer in applying homeopathic medicine to patients, which caused him considerable trouble with other doctors and the authorities. He still found time to become involved in local politics, serving on the Caldes de Malavella City Council between 1883 and 1886. This allowed him to implement his hygienist proposals, such as the demolition of the town walls, the sanitation of the streets, and the introduction of sanitation. He later applied some of these measures in Sant Pol de Mar, his hometown. The outbreak of the Civil War changed his life, as his fortune vanished due to the actions of the Committee of Responsibilities, leaving him destitute with a modest subsidy as his sole income. The family home he had built during prosperous times can still be seen today. It is located at 28 Josep Anselm Clavé Street, on the corner of Nord Street, in Girona (also known as Chalet Juandó). Interestingly, his brother Estanislau also made a fortune, but in a very different field: fashion. In 1898, he founded a company that became very successful and has endured to this day, with iconic stores in Barcelona.