Product passion at Innocent

Just back from talking at the European Food & Beverage Summit, where I saw a truly inspirational presentation by the marketing director of innocent drinks. What a company. They really do remind you about why you got into marketing and branding in the first place.

One of the big things I took away from the session was the real passion innocent have for the product. People often talk about the entertaining and humorous side to the brand, and in particular the ever-changing stories they write on their labels. But this emotional "sizzle" is only possible because of the under-pinning of a great product. Here are some of the ways the product passion is lived at innocent:

1. A great product to start with: smoothies that taste fab, and are 100% natural. Many brands would kill to have an ingredient list as "innocent" as this one.

2. People in the company actually use the product: a true test of how good the product is. People use it when they're at home, not just when they're at work and have to!

3. Simply better: working on the simple ways of making existing products even better. Such as adding 6 extra strawberries in the banana and strawberry one.

4. Friendly experts: finding new and interesting fruits and bringing them to the people. Such as the new "superfood" range of smoothies.

 5. Test, test, test. Innocent constantly blind test their products against competition to make sure they are performing well.

5-minute workout: do the product passion check for you brand and business. How does it compare to that at Innocent?

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You are right to talk about the leaders of the business and they key role they play. I call these the "brand ceo's": the living, breathing, beating heart of the brand. Loose these people, and you risk losing the soul of the brand.

This is why when I talked to the European Marketing Director of Coke, she said they wouldn't buy Innocent as she feared the 3 owners would walk away (with a few million pounds each!) and with them would go a key part of the magic.

So, dilution is likely after a corporate take-over, unless the culture of the business can be protected. This is why Ben & Jerry's still have, as I understand it, a separate office/business, rather than a couple of desks in the Bird's Eye Igloo office! Ben and Jerry even came out of retirement to actively lead one of the brand's recent initiatives, with Unilever giving the brand the freedom to maintain their campaiging stance on issues they care about (including anti-globalisation!)

[FJFP]

Would love your thoughts on something I've been wondering for a while now. We love brands like innocent because in a world full of corporate big-guys, this brand is brought to us by real people who speak to us in funny language on the packaging. Besides the fact that the products are delicious, the brand is kind, green, simple and honest. My question: can brands like this continue to be credible in the consumer's eyes once they've been acquired by a big corporate? And is the acquisition of such a brand a risky one for the big corporate - will the acquisition not dilute the very essence of the brand that drives its success? Thinking Green & Blacks, The Body Shop...