Save the Innocent 3

Richard Reed, Jon Wright and Adam Balon are, depending on your view point, brave or cunning. They are the founders of Innocent Drinks, the company that sells a range of fruit and vegetable products to those who are prepared to pay a premium for smoothies and veg pots made without additives, flavourings and anything else that might worry the concerned consumer.

Ten years ago they risked £500 of their own cash on fruit which they turned into smoothies, sold at a music festival. They did so well that they packed in their day jobs and set up the company. Their positive, ethical approach to business and their charitable efforts have won them a loyal customer base. However this has now been threatened by the decision to allow Coca Cola, a company that has been the target of fierce criticism by human rights, environmental and anti-globalisation activists, to become a minority shareholder in Innocent.

Recently they invited some of their customers along to an AGM where they explained their reasons for taking the decision. They want to expand into Europe and continue their charitable activities at a time when everyone, including potential investors, is tightening their belts. They felt that Coca Cola offered them the best chance of doing this on their own terms.

I watched their responses to the criticism on YouTube (the meeting was recorded) and have to admit that it brought me back down to earth. These men are running a business and they have marketed it so well that many of its customers have forgotten that this is what they are - customers.

The fact that Innocent donates so much to charity does not mean that we can forget that its main aim is to make money. The reality is that in order to be in the position to be so generous it does have to generate a considerable income. If those who feel that Coca Cola’s dealings around the world are so despicable that they taint everything they touch then they must vote with their feet and go squash their own fruit. If they are that concerned about the environment they would be doing this anyway because, lets face it, it does use up petrol and electricity to make and sell all those bottles with the cute smiley faces on them.

I admire Reed, Wright and Balon because they are very, very good at what they do which is marketing. I am also really impressed that they have given away so much that they could have kept for themselves, including the right to run their own business without the interference of whining customers. Inviting them in through the door at Fruit Towers to ask awkward questions could be part of a cynical marketing ploy but if that is the case more fool them for being suckered. An article in The Independent newspaper makes it clear that Innocent’s founders are not that innocent:

“The reality was rather more businesslike even before Coke came on board. Reed, after reading geography at Cambridge, was working at BMP, the advertising agency whose clients include Barclaycard. Wright, an engineering student, had joined Bain, the big US management consultancy – hence his time in California. The third founder, Adam Balon, used his economics degree to secure a job at rival consultancy McKinsey.”
“Slaughter of the Innocent? Or is Coke the real deal?”, Richard Northedge, Sunday 12 April 2009.

Naomi Klein’s “No Logo” (2000) persuaded many that they should be more discerning about their consumer choices and aware of the impact that they can have on working conditions and pay, but I am sure I am not the only one who was impressed by the cleverness of the campaigns run by some companies. The consumer should learn to keep one foot on the floor when he or she falls in love with a brand. Rushing into a love affair without taking precautions is a mistake whatever the context.

By taking Coca Cola’s money Innocent’s bosses have bought themselves an aspidistra and given their dedicated fans a dose of reality. There was a price to be paid for all the fluffiness. I will continue to crochet little hats for their annual Age Concern fundraiser. Viva the Innocent 3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBvTI-4AHTQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp7w7ifIhPc
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/slaughter-of-the-innocent-or-is-coke-the-real-deal-1667412.html
http://www.killercoke.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4603511.stm