Innocent

by John Simmons

Innocent Drinks is a business phenomenon of the last decade. Founded in 1998 by three college friends, Innocent has grown at an amazing rate to become the UK's fastest growing food and drink business in 2005. Even more impressive has been the growth of its brand legend. Innocent is one of those brands that everyone in the marketing world refers to with awe, affection and sometimes envy. This book tells the story of Innocent s rise and examines what has made it a brand that people observe, love and (increasingly) imitate. Through privileged access to the founders and others closely involved in the company, John Simmons will explore the road travelled by the Innocent cow vans, taking in the twists and turns, ups and downs along the way. Not only does Innocent make fantastic smoothie drinks, but it is a brand now known for its love of storytelling, humour and an honest approach to business.

Genres: Business

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2007

Reviews

[Stuart Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bland, tasteless and lacking in nutrition. No, not the product but this book, unfortunately. I was hoping for some sort of investigative journalism approach which would examine any controversies relating to the brand but this had the tone of a puff piece. Simmons was granted access to some of the key personnel at the company which was of obvious benefit in terms of telling their story, but I couldn't help but wonder whether Innocent had given this on the basis that they would be allowed some form of editorial control. It is only on one of the book's final pages that the author makes the telling admission that it might be "regarded as an example of brand spin."

There were some interesting revelations in the book, which seemed to emerge inadvertently. Reproductions of 20 of the brand's labels seemed to indicate that what at first can seem to be an amusingly lighthearted approach, with repetition comes across as excessively smug. This was also apparent in an 'out of office' email message which spent around 100 words of ridiculous nonsense before finally providing some contract information. I felt that this was trying to appear friendly and informal but instead just appeared unprofessional. A particularly curious chapter included a quotation from Innocent's jobs website "We want people ... from diverse cultural backgrounds" followed later by the author noting "there is a very high proportion of Oxbridge graduates at Innocent", yet the discrepancy is not commented on at all.

If you are used to reading the likes of Eric Schlosser or Naomi Klein then you won't find this very satisfying. There is so much missing due to the author taking the company at face value. Nothing on the high sugar content of an Innocent smoothie, high calorific value or high acidity which could lead to tooth decay. It was also surprisingly dated as it was written whilst Innocent was still an independent business, whereas it is now 90% owned by the Coca Cola Corporation. Given this recent history it seems justified to question whether Innocent's ethical stance was truly genuine.

[Anna Lundberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book by mistake, thinking it was the "official" Innocent Book about Innocent... but it was absolutely worth the read. It's still very much an insider version of the brand story - it's 99% positive, which either means that it's biased, or that Innocent really is an amazing brand and business!

It's certainly an inspiring story for would-be entrepreneurs, a journey from three young graduates trying to come up with a business idea through to the big international company that exists today and is owned by Coca-Cola. The book is organised according to Innocent's brand values - Be Natural, Be Entrepreneurial, Be Generous, Be Commercial, Be Responsible - to which they've remained true over the years. As a branding story, we'd all do well to learn from Innocent.

[Paul Blakeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about a very interesting brand. I never realised innocent were owned partly by coca cola now but I guess the fact I don't know shows how well they have done to stick to their core values.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voor iedereen die net is gaan ondernemen of wilt gaan ondernemen. Inspirerende view op het opbouwen van een bedrijf.

[Tijo Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read, and a true page turner.