According to sources close to the deal, the investment could be worth about £30m and will enable the brand to expand internationally. It is widely thought to be a marriage of convenience.
Coca-Cola's existing juice brand, Minute Maid, has struggled to make serious headway in the UK, with sales down by 19% year on year in 2008, according to Nielsen, although the brand remains hugely popular in the US.
PepsiCo-owned Tropicana dominates the UK juice drinks market. Sales grew by nearly 17% last year following the launch of Tropicana Smoothies. By comparison, Innocent lost more than 20% in sales.
Brand consultant and former Innocent marketing director Gareth Helm argued that selling a share to Coca-Cola, rather than securing an injection of cash from another investment company, would help Innocent make up for lost time.
‘Innocent needs the resources to stretch the brand and gain momentum again,' he said. ‘It would be fantastic for Coke if it could get a stake in such an established brand in this sector.'
Melanie Skotadis, a consultant on Coca-Cola in her role as brand director of Added Value, said that any future tie-up should follow the example of previous such mergers between corporate and small-scale brands.
‘Ben & Jerry's has seen success under Unilever because consumers are none the wiser about the corporate ownership,' she added.
However, Jim Prior, managing director at branding agency The Partners, was critical of the proposed deal and claimed little consideration has been given to brand fit.
‘This is a business deal, rather than a brand deal, and has more to do with making money than the strategic fit of the brands. I would be surprised to see any immediate change to Innocent's marketing strategy,' he said.
.jpg)
.jpeg)
