Picture this: It’s a sunny afternoon in London, and you’re strolling through a park, the kind where people pretend they’re not in a hurry. You stop at a little kiosk, and there it is – a fridge full of Innocent smoothies, those brightly coloured bottles with the quirky labels, promising a sip of health, happiness, and maybe even a better world. You grab one, twist off the cap, and take a swig. It’s good, right? Fresh, fruity, and with a side of smug satisfaction that you’re doing something vaguely virtuous. But here’s the thing: that little bottle in your hand? It’s not as innocent as it seems.
Innocent Drinks, the British smoothie darling, has built its empire on a promise – to “taste good and do good.” It’s a brand that’s always worn its heart on its sleeve, from donating profits to charity to plastering its packaging with eco-friendly buzzwords. But lately, that heart’s been looking a little tarnished. Let’s peel back the label and see what’s really inside.
The Greenwashing Gulp
It all started with a TV ad that felt like a Pixar short gone wrong. In 2021, Innocent launched its “Little Drinks, Big Dreams” campaign, featuring a man and his otter sidekick turning apples into smoothies to “fix up the planet.” Cute, right? Except it wasn’t long before the complaints rolled in. Environmental groups called bullshit, pointing out that the ad painted Innocent as some kind of green saviour while glossing over the fact that their bottles use virgin plastic and their parent company, Coca-Cola, pumps out millions of tonnes of the stuff every year.
The Advertising Standards Authority stepped in and shut it down, ruling the ads were misleading. Innocent tried to play it off as a “light-hearted” take on sustainability, but when you’re tied to the world’s biggest plastic polluter, that excuse doesn’t hold much water. It’s like a chain-smoker telling you they’re just casually into yoga.
The Twitter Storm in a Teacup
Then came 2023, and Innocent decided to wade into the culture wars. They posted a thread on X about gender diversity – think definitions of “deadnaming” and “misgendering” – and shouted out their partnership with Mermaids, a charity supporting transgender youth that’s had its fair share of flak. The internet didn’t take kindly to it.
The backlash was instant and vicious. Users accused Innocent of everything from jumping on a woke bandwagon to supporting a controversial cause, with some calling for boycotts and others dragging the company for not sticking to smoothies. Innocent’s response was to delete the thread and mumble something about values, which only made things worse. It was a classic case of stepping on a rake and then tripping over it again trying to run away.
The Coca-Cola Conundrum
And let’s not forget the big one: Coca-Cola. Back in 2009, Innocent sold a chunk of itself to the soda giant for £30 million, and by 2013, Coca-Cola owned most of the company. It was a cash grab that gave Innocent the muscle to grow, but it came with baggage. Ethical Consumer tanked their rating, pointing to Coca-Cola’s rap sheet – plastic pollution, labour issues, you name it. For a brand built on doing good, hitching your wagon to a corporate behemoth like that is a hell of a compromise.
Social media hasn’t let it slide either. Posts have popped up slamming Innocent for Coca-Cola’s ties to questionable practices, like operating in disputed territories. It’s a far cry from the plucky startup vibes Innocent once had going for it.
The Bitter Aftertaste
So where does that leave Innocent Drinks? The smoothies still taste great, and they’re still tossing some cash to charity, but the shine’s come off. The greenwashing, the social media missteps, the Coca-Cola shadow – it all adds up to a brand that’s not quite sure what it wants to be anymore. The underdog with a heart of gold, or just another corporate player with a good PR team?
That’s the rub with ethical consumerism. You want to believe the bottle in your hand is making the world better, but sometimes it’s just a pretty package hiding a messier story. Next time you’re sipping one of those smoothies, take a second to think: Is this as innocent as it looks, or am I just buying the hype?
Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project
Sources:
- The Guardian: Activists accuse drinks firm Innocent of ‘greenwashing’ with ad
- BBC News: Innocent drinks ads banned over environmental claim
- Packaging Insights: Too little too late? Innocent Drinks found guilty of misleading advertising
- HR Magazine: Innocent backlash: should companies take a stance on social issues?
- Wikipedia: Innocent Drinks
- The Good Shopping Guide: Innocent – Soft Drinks: Ethical Sustainable Comparison