Despite copycat brands and supermarket own-label products, Innocent dominates the fresh-fruit smoothies sector - one it is widely credited with creating in the UK - with an 80% share of the 拢169m UK market. The brand now sells more than 2m of its distinctive bottles and cartons across Europe every week.
It was little more than a decade ago that co-founders Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright (right) came up with the notion of making and selling fruit smoothies free from additives and preservatives - or, as they put it, 'any nasty business'.
Successfully tapping into growing consumer demand for healthier products, the trio built Innocent upon these core brand values.
The original Innocent smoothie - a blend of orange, banana and pineapple - began life at a music festival. People were asked to vote on whether the men should quit their jobs to make the smoothies full-time, by putting their empty bottle in a 'yes' or 'no' bin.
The answer was a resounding 'yes' and, in 1999, Innocent was launched in a London sandwich shop.
This creative approach to customer involvement grew alongside the company, with the labels of Innocent bottles reading more like the beginning of a conversation with friends on matters such as the correct time to pick raspberries, a world without Kevin Costner movies and how its New Year Detox smoothie won't make you play charades (unlike other seasonal guests).
Communications are as simple as the products; Innocent tests its kids' range at the primary school next to its Fruit Towers HQ, rather than via a focus group. It has also run events such as the Innocent Village Fete.
Innocent's smoothies, pro-biotic yoghurt drinks, kids' range, orange juice and veg pots are positioned as making being healthy not only easy, but fun.
The brand's efforts to keep things natural translate into sourcing sustainable ingredients, using sustainable packaging and production, and sharing 10% of its profits with charities through the Innocent Foundation.
BRAND LESSON - Andy Knowles, chairman, JKR
Innocent, yes. Naive, no.
As true champions of design, Innocent should be applauded for reminding us to use the medium as the message. What the founders lacked in marketing firepower, they more than made up for with their charming, conversational style.
With a simple, childlike logo, warm, witty words and initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging, they charm and distract us from the inherent contradiction in any pretence of mass-produced innocence.
Meanwhile, its stream of creative initiatives, such as Fruitstock, Big Knit and dancing vans, in combination with the open spirit epitomised by their invitation to call on the 'banana phone', express something cheerful and personal about the people behind the brand - and we thank them for it.
From a consumer perspective, Innocent's gift is to have brought some fun and healthy choices into our lives. But behind their success lies a deadly serious lesson for business.
It is rare to survive in the British food industry without scale, yet, despite not being the cheapest, Innocent has captured the leading share in markets normally dominated by giants. It is living testimony to the competitive advantage that a charismatic brand can bring to business.
In uncertain times, while lesser rivals succumb to the grinding attrition of the retailer price wars, let's celebrate and emulate Innocent's imaginative integration of design, language and product to escape the commodity trap.
TIMELINE
1998: Three friends trialled their smoothies at a festival. They quit their jobs the next day to commit to Innocent full-time.
1999: The Out to Lunch sandwich shop was the first to stock Innocent smoothies. The trio hoped to sell eight bottles the first day, but managed to sell 16 of them.
2003: The first annual Big Knit took place. Fans were asked to make tiny hats for Innocent bottles, and raise money for Age UK.
2005: Innocent began selling its drinks in France, Holland and Belgium. It expanded to Scandinavia in 2006 and Germany in 2007.
2006: Innocent began sourcing from Rainforest Alliance-accredited farms all the bananas used in its drinks.
2009: The Coca-Cola Company invested 拢30m in Innocent in return for an 18% stake. It increased this to 58% in 2010 for a further 拢65m.