One of the things I loved about the success of Innocent the smoothies and natural drink manufacturers was that they weren't some big corporation trying to hitch unto the socially conscious bandwagon. However, now that Coca Cola have invested £30million for a 10-20% stake in the company I hope that the principles and morals of the company will not be swamped to appease their new partner.
The fact that PepsiCo had already bought up rivals PJ Smoothies four years ago does make one look at the purchase of Innocent in a different light. Is this the latest step in the war between the two global giants? Are they shifting their concentration from the highly sugared carbonated market as their customers are becoming more conscious of their health.
The co-founders of Innocent Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright do insist that the ethos of their company will not shift with the investment of Coca Cola but this injection of cash plus the experience of their new partner will help them expand into the European market. I hope you are right guys and do not lose the heart of what your product is all about.
Well said Stephen.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible news, even at just 10-20%.