The UK smoothie company Innocent Drinks is on a roll in conquering Europe.
The firm, which was founded by three Cambridge graduates but subsequently sold into the embrace of Coca-Cola, has reported European revenues of more than £100 million.
The result came after difficult times. In 2012 profits flattened almost completely, going from £27.5 million to just £886,000 in a year, a staggering drop of 97%, due to heavy investment in rolling out its products across 14 countries.
Now it is the market leader for smoothies in Germany. Strong sales for its juice drinks have come from France and Scandinavia.
It has now decided to drop its range of ready-meals in order to concentrate on its drinks.
With Europe as its priority, it plans to create new manufacturing and bottling plants to serve its new export markets which now include sales in Moscow and St Petersburg.
“We need chilled manufacturing and supply capability when we move into a new market, so the investment to jump into a new continent [the US] is huge,” said CEO Mr Lamont.
But it has been investing also in creating new drinks. Last week it launched Innocent Bubbles, a mix of sparkling water and fruit juices. This was shortly after its coconut water was launched.
The company is trying to be innovative and says it is using “a lot of vegetables”. This year it will target children with a range of fruit and veg drinks.
After being hit by lower consumer spending in the UK last year, the company says it is back in growth.
