Coca-Cola buys stake in 'Innocent' drinks maker

Antaletriangle · 04-07-2009, 03:04 PM

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/...ap6263771.html

I for one shalln't be buying anymore of this product-'ethics and expansion'?-how easily the innocent become the corrupted.
Coca-Cola buys stake in Innocent drinks maker
By JANE WARDELL , 04.07.09, 09:12 AM EDT

Innocent Drinks, the British fruit and smoothie drinks maker set up with a strong ethical ethos by student friends, said Tuesday it is selling a minority stake to Coca-Cola Co. for 30 million pounds ($44 million) to fund its expansion across Europe.

The deal leaves Coca-Cola, which has been criticised by health campaigners for its sugary soft drinks, with around 10 to 20 percent of the company.

Co-founder Richard Reed played down suggestions that its new U.S. stakeholder would have undue influence, saying that the original three founders would "continue to lead and run the company."

"We will be the same people, in the same offices, making the same products in the same way," Reed said.

"Every promise that Innocent has made - about making only natural healthy products, pioneering the use of better, socially and environmentally aware ingredients, packaging and production techniques, donating money to charity and having a point of view on the world - will remain," he added. "We'll just get to do them even more."

Reed left his job in advertising in 1999 to launch Innocent with two fellow University of Cambridge graduates, Adam Balon and Jon Wright.

The decision to spend 500 pounds on fruit and turn it into smoothies for sale at a London music festival eventually grew into a company that now operates in 13 European countries with annual turnover of around 100 million pounds last year.

"We have long admired their brand, their products and their unique approach to business," said James Quincey, the group business unit president for Coca-Cola Europe. "Our investment will support Innocent in helping more consumers enjoy their products and for the business to expand across Europe."

The deal comes just a week after Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, the world's biggest soft drinks maker, agreed to publish corrective advertisements in Australia, where regulators ruled that the company could have misled consumers with ads saying its products won't make them fat or rot their teeth.

One ad, that appeared in October, called the following statements about Coca-Cola "myths": Makes you fat, rots your teeth, packed with caffeine.

Innocent itself also prompted criticism back in 2007 for a decision to trial its drinks in McDonald's Corp.'s restaurants.

But it is not the only British company priding itself on its ethical credentials to sign a deal with a major multinational.

Pret A Manger, the sandwich chain that markets its non-additive and organic products, sold a third of its business to McDonald's in 2001. Green & Black's, the organic and fairtrade chocolate and ice-cream maker, was bought by the former Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 2005.

04-07-2009, 03:04 PM	#1
Antaletriangle Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: U.K. Posts: 3,380	Coca-Cola buys stake in 'Innocent' drinks maker http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/...ap6263771.html I for one shalln't be buying anymore of this product-'ethics and expansion'?-how easily the innocent become the corrupted. Coca-Cola buys stake in Innocent drinks maker By JANE WARDELL , 04.07.09, 09:12 AM EDT Innocent Drinks, the British fruit and smoothie drinks maker set up with a strong ethical ethos by student friends, said Tuesday it is selling a minority stake to Coca-Cola Co. for 30 million pounds ($44 million) to fund its expansion across Europe. The deal leaves Coca-Cola, which has been criticised by health campaigners for its sugary soft drinks, with around 10 to 20 percent of the company. Co-founder Richard Reed played down suggestions that its new U.S. stakeholder would have undue influence, saying that the original three founders would "continue to lead and run the company." "We will be the same people, in the same offices, making the same products in the same way," Reed said. "Every promise that Innocent has made - about making only natural healthy products, pioneering the use of better, socially and environmentally aware ingredients, packaging and production techniques, donating money to charity and having a point of view on the world - will remain," he added. "We'll just get to do them even more." Reed left his job in advertising in 1999 to launch Innocent with two fellow University of Cambridge graduates, Adam Balon and Jon Wright. The decision to spend 500 pounds on fruit and turn it into smoothies for sale at a London music festival eventually grew into a company that now operates in 13 European countries with annual turnover of around 100 million pounds last year. "We have long admired their brand, their products and their unique approach to business," said James Quincey, the group business unit president for Coca-Cola Europe. "Our investment will support Innocent in helping more consumers enjoy their products and for the business to expand across Europe." The deal comes just a week after Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, the world's biggest soft drinks maker, agreed to publish corrective advertisements in Australia, where regulators ruled that the company could have misled consumers with ads saying its products won't make them fat or rot their teeth. One ad, that appeared in October, called the following statements about Coca-Cola "myths": Makes you fat, rots your teeth, packed with caffeine. Innocent itself also prompted criticism back in 2007 for a decision to trial its drinks in McDonald's Corp.'s restaurants. But it is not the only British company priding itself on its ethical credentials to sign a deal with a major multinational. Pret A Manger, the sandwich chain that markets its non-additive and organic products, sold a third of its business to McDonald's in 2001. Green & Black's, the organic and fairtrade chocolate and ice-cream maker, was bought by the former Cadbury Schweppes PLC in 2005.