Innocent Drinks facts for kids
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Trade name
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Innocent Drinks |
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| Industry | Beverage |
| 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 yummy smoothies and juices. You can find their drinks in stores, coffee shops, and other places. Innocent sells over two million smoothies every week! Most of the company, more than 90%, is owned by The Coca-Cola Company.
How Innocent Drinks Started
Innocent Drinks was started by three friends: Richard Reed, Adam Balon, and Jon Wright. They all went to Cambridge University. Before starting Innocent, they worked in different jobs like consulting and advertising.
The Big Idea
In 1998, the three friends spent six months making different smoothie recipes. They used about £500 to buy fruit. Then, they sold their drinks from a small stall at a music festival in London.
They had a fun way to decide if they should start a company. They asked people to put their empty bottles into a "yes" bin or a "no" bin. The "yes" bin meant they should quit their jobs and make smoothies. The "no" bin meant they should not.
At the end of the festival, the "yes" bin was full! There were only three bottles in the "no" bin. So, the very next day, they all quit their jobs.
Finding Support
After leaving their jobs, it was hard for them to find money to start their business. But then, they got a lucky break! A rich American businessman named Maurice Pinto decided to invest £250,000. It took about 15 months from their first idea to finally selling their drinks in stores.
Working with McDonald's
In 2007, McDonald's started trying out Innocent smoothies in their Happy Meals. This was a five-year test. However, by 2012, McDonald's decided to stop selling them based on customer feedback. But in 2015, Innocent smoothies were introduced in the Netherlands instead of another drink.
Changes in Ownership
In 2009, Innocent Drinks' sales went down a bit because of a big money problem around the world.
On April 6, 2009, Innocent Drinks announced that The Coca-Cola Company bought a small part of their company. Coca-Cola bought between 10% and 20% for £30 million. The three founders still managed the company every day.
In April 2010, Coca-Cola bought more of Innocent, increasing their share to 58%. By February 2013, Coca-Cola owned over 90% of Innocent Drinks. The original founders still owned a small part.
Fun Partnerships
From August 23 to September 5, 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.
Growing Sales
In June 2016, Innocent Drinks reported that their sales grew a lot. This was thanks to new products like coconut water and vegetable smoothies. These new drinks added £28 million to their sales. Their total sales that year were £247.4 million, which was a 13% increase from the year before.
Innocent Drinks Products
Smoothies are the main product Innocent makes. An Innocent smoothie is made from whole crushed fruit and juices. Some drinks also include other ingredients like carrots and ginger.
Innocent also makes other drinks:
- Juice for kids
- Juice that is not made from concentrate
- Innocent Bubbles, which are fizzy drinks
- Coconut water
New Product Ideas
In 2008, Innocent started selling food for the first time with their "Veg Pots." They later added "Asian Noodle pots" in 2013. However, they stopped selling food products completely in 2015.
In March 2014, Innocent launched "Super Smoothies." These are a mix of fruits, vegetables, special plant ingredients, and crushed flax seeds. They also have added vitamins.
In 2015, they launched a range of cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juices.
In 2018, the brand started selling their first vegan drinks made from nuts and oats. These include almond, hazelnut, and oat milk varieties.
Are Smoothies Healthy?
Innocent asked scientists from Oxford Brookes University and the University of Aberdeen to study their smoothies.
One study looked at whether blending fruit destroys its healthy fiber. Scientists found that blending fruit into a smoothie does not destroy the fiber. When they looked at smoothies under a microscope, they could still see large pieces of fruit cells. This means smoothies have a similar amount of fiber as whole fruit.
Another study found that Innocent's strawberry and banana, and mango and passion fruit smoothies had a low GI value. This means the natural sugars in them are absorbed slowly by the body. This makes them no more harmful than eating an apple when it comes to blood sugar levels.
Product Safety Recall
In October 2005, some people reported that their Innocent smoothies were "exploding." In 2007, Innocent had to recall 100,000 bottles. They explained that the explosions happened because the ingredients naturally fermented, which means they started to bubble and create gas.
Innocent Drinks and Charity
Innocent Drinks is committed to helping others. They promise to give at least 10% of all their profits to charity every year.
The Innocent Foundation
The Innocent Foundation is a charity supported by Innocent Drinks' employees, owners, and the company itself. The foundation says it has helped 67 different projects since 1998.
The foundation chooses charities based on certain rules:
- They must help a whole community, not just individuals.
- They must be non-profit organizations.
- They must be working for charitable purposes.
- They might take part in a program where Innocent employees can volunteer and use their business skills to help the charity.
In 2015, the Innocent Foundation worked with Action Against Hunger. They helped improve how malnutrition is treated in Mali and Pakistan. This included training health workers to help children at home.
The Big Knit Project
In 2003, Innocent started a special project called "The Big Knit." The company asks volunteers to knit small hats. These hats are then put on top of Innocent smoothie bottles. For every smoothie sold with a hat, Innocent donates 25p to Age UK. This charity helps older people during the cold winter months.
The money helps Age UK provide lunches, classes, friendly visits, and other support services. Innocent reports that people have knitted 6 million hats! This has helped raise over £1.9 million for charities like Age UK.
Helping Families and Emergencies
Innocent also provided two years of funding for The Trussell Trust's Holiday Clubs project. 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 special fund that provides quick help during a crisis or disaster.
See also
