Innocent Drinks facts for kids
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Innocent strawberry and banana smoothie
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| Industry | Beverage |
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| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright |
| Headquarters |
London
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United Kingdom
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Area served
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Europe |
| Products | Drinks |
| Owner | The Coca-Cola Company (90%) |
Innocent Drinks is a company from the United Kingdom. They make tasty smoothies and juice. You can find their drinks in supermarkets, coffee shops, and other stores. Innocent sells over two million smoothies every week! Most of the company (more than 90%) is owned by The Coca-Cola Company.
Contents
The Story of Innocent Drinks
How Innocent Started
Innocent Drinks was started by three friends: Richard Reed, Adam Balon, and Jon Wright. They all went to Cambridge University. In 1998, they spent six months making smoothie recipes. They used about £500 to buy fruit.
The friends then sold their drinks from a small stall. This was at a music festival in London. They asked people to vote on their idea. Customers put empty bottles into a "yes" bin or a "no" bin. This showed if they thought the friends should quit their jobs to make smoothies full-time.
At the end of the festival, the "yes" bin was full! There were only three bottles in the "no" bin. So, the next day, they all quit their jobs. It took them about 15 months to get their first products ready for sale.
Growing the Company
It was hard for the friends to find money to start their business. But then, a rich American businessman named Maurice Pinto decided to invest £250,000. This was a big help!
In 2007, McDonald's started trying out Innocent smoothies. They were offered as part of their Happy Meals. But in 2012, McDonald's stopped selling them. Later, in 2015, Innocent smoothies were sold in McDonald's in the Netherlands.
In 2009, the company's sales went down. This was because of a big money problem around the world.
Partnering with Coca-Cola
On April 6, 2009, Innocent Drinks announced a big change. They agreed to sell a small part of their company (10–20%) to The Coca-Cola Company. This deal was worth £30 million. The three founders still managed the company.
In April 2010, Coca-Cola bought more of Innocent. They increased their share to 58%. By February 2013, Coca-Cola owned over 90% of Innocent Drinks. The original founders kept only a small part of the company.
Fun Partnerships and New Products
From August to September 2012, Innocent Drinks worked with Disney's Club Penguin. They promoted a game event called "Adventure Party: Temple of Fruit." A mini-game called "Smoothie Smash" was also launched.
In June 2016, Innocent's sales grew a lot. This was thanks to new products. They started selling coconut water and vegetable smoothies. These new drinks added £28 million to their sales. Their total sales that year were £247.4 million. This was a 13% increase from the year before.
Innocent Products
Smoothies are the main product Innocent makes. An Innocent smoothie is made from whole crushed fruit and juices. Sometimes, they add other ingredients like carrots or ginger.
Innocent also makes other drinks:
- Juice for kids
- Juice that is not from concentrate
- Innocent Bubbles, which are fizzy drinks
- Coconut water
In 2008, Innocent started selling food products. They had "Veg Pots" and "Asian Noodle pots." But in 2015, they stopped selling food completely.
In March 2014, Innocent launched "Super Smoothies." These drinks mix fruits, vegetables, special plant ingredients, and crushed flax seeds. They also have added vitamins. In 2015, they started selling cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices. In 2018, Innocent launched vegan drinks made from nuts and oats. These included almond, hazelnut, and oat milk.
Are Innocent Drinks Healthy?
Innocent often says its products are healthy. A 250 ml bottle of Innocent Smoothie has about 171 calories. It also has 34.3 grams of sugar. This is more sugar than a similar amount of Coca-Cola. However, Innocent smoothies do not have artificial ingredients. They are made from natural fruit.
Scientists have studied Innocent smoothies. They found that blending fruit for smoothies does not destroy the fiber. This means smoothies have similar fiber to whole fruit. Studies also showed that the sugars in Innocent smoothies are absorbed slowly by the body. This makes them similar to eating an apple for your blood sugar levels.
Product Recall
In October 2005, some people reported that Innocent smoothies were "exploding." In 2007, Innocent recalled 100,000 bottles. They said the explosions happened because the ingredients were naturally fermenting.
Helping Others: Innocent's Charity Work
Innocent Drinks is committed to helping others. They promise to give at least 10% of their profits to charity every year.
The Innocent Foundation
The Innocent Foundation is a special charity. It gets money from Innocent Drinks' employees, owners, and the company itself. Since 1998, the foundation says it has helped 67 different projects.
The foundation supports charities that:
- Help a whole community, not just one person.
- Are non-profit organizations.
- Are working for good causes.
- Might let Innocent employees volunteer and use their business skills to help.
Since 2011, Innocent has promised to give at least £250,000 to the foundation each year. This helps the foundation keep working even if the company doesn't make a profit. In 2013, they increased this to £950,000 per year for five years.
In 2015, the Innocent Foundation worked with Action Against Hunger. They helped treat children with malnutrition in Mali and Pakistan. They trained health workers to help children at home.
The Big Knit Project
In 2003, Innocent started a project called "The Big Knit." They ask volunteers to knit tiny hats for their smoothie bottles. For every smoothie sold with a hat, Innocent donates 25p to Age UK. This charity helps older people during cold winter months. The money helps provide meals, classes, and other support services.
Innocent says that people have knitted 6 million hats! This has helped raise over £1.9 million for charities like Age UK.
Other Charity Work
Innocent also helped The Trussell Trust's Holiday Clubs project for two years. This project gives meals, activities, and learning chances to families during school holidays. It aims to reduce hunger and loneliness.
In October 2016, the Innocent Foundation joined Oxfam's Emergency Response Network. This is a fund that provides quick help during a crisis or disaster.
See also
