Richard Reed is the co-founder of innocent, the No.1 smoothie brand in Europe. The business was started in May 1999 by Richard and two friends and has grown in just over 12 years to a turnover of over £100m.
Innocent now has over 75% market share in the UK and sells in 13 different countries across Europe, with its products available in every major chain, from Sainsburys to Boots to Starbucks. This is a serious business…Reed has proved that you can create a successful brand without agency help and without breaking the bank. Innocent has shaken up the branding rules Financial Times
About Richard
As well as leading Innocent, Richard is a non-executive Director on the Department of Energy and Climate Change and sits on the Development Board of Oxfam. Hes also a patron for charity Peace One Day and is on the board of trustees for Videre est Credere. Richard is also a government advisor on entrepreneurship and has sat on the Small Business Council. Richard and Innocents awards include winning Britains Greatest Business at the televised Great Britons Awards; E&Y Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Most Admired Business Leader by Marketing magazine; National Business Awards Small/Medium Business of the Year, and Orange Innovative Company of the Year.
About Innocent
Launched twelve years ago, innocent is the number one smoothie brand in the UK. We sell over two million pure fruit smoothies each week in 11,000 outlets – everywhere from Boots to Sainsburys to your local deli. Our range has expanded to include: smoothies in little bottles and big cartons, smoothies and juice for kids, a refreshing range of not-from-concentrate orange and apple juice, and Veg pots, a range of quick and tasty meals. The team has grown from three to 250 people who work across Europe (with products are available in 13 different countries). We turn over in excess of £100 million each year.
As a business we want to make it easy for people to do themselves some good. And to leave the planet a little bit better than we found it. This is reflected in everything we do from the use of green electricity at Fruit Towers, to sourcing fruit from places that go the extra mile in terms of looking after the people that work on the farms, and the environment. As of 2006 we are proud to say that all our bananas come from Rainforest Alliance accredited farms. We donate 10% of profits to charity, mainly to the innocent foundation, which funds NGOs in the countries where fruit is sourced.
