Richard Reed
Richard Reed is the co-founder of Innocent Smoothies, which started in 1999, and
has gone on to become the UK’s fastest growing food and drinks company, with a
turnover of over £35 million. Yep, if you hadn’t worked out, that’s over 800,000
smoothies a week.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Innocent is Richard’s first venture – he
actually followed his entrepreneurial impulses at age 8, when he began washing
windows for his neighbours.
For more on Richard’s fascinating climb to the top of business and the secrets
behind the success of Innocent, don’t miss his seminar – only at Business Startup.
What is the secret of Innocent’s success? What has been your proudest moment in
Name: Richard Reed
Teaming up with people with whom I share the same business?
values and are good at the things that I am bad at. Realising that in our first ten years of business
Career Highlights:
we had served 1.7 billion healthy portions of
• Graduated from Cambridge University
Your marketing is quite legendary now, known fruit in Europe, and through our innocent charity
• Started a career in advertising.
for its quirkiness. What’s the secret there? foundation directly helped over 250,000 people in
• Founded Innocent Smoothies, which
I guess we’re just being ourselves. As a company, developing countries.
turned over £100 million in 2007
we believe image and reality should be one and
• Has won numerous awards including
the same; we write how we speak; we act like we Conversely, your biggest mistake?
Best Soft Drink for five years running;
act. I guess our sense of humour’s not as good as Thinking that because we had always grown, we
Growth Strategy & Business Innovation
it should be, but it makes it a bit more interesting. always would.
of the Year.
You seem to deflate the seriousness of Any tips for upcoming entrepreneurs?
business, would you agree? Make sure you can explain what your business
We’ve always thought we should take the product is and how it is going to be better than the
seriously, but not ourselves. Business can have competition in a single sentence that your granny
“We’re ten years into a a lot of pomposity and we’re always trying to would understand.
thirty year journey to
prick that bubble. As a company, we’re maturing,
but naturally there are still things we agree and Who, or what company, has been your
establish Innocent as an disagree with in business. inspiration?
international brand”
Annita Rodderick – any business like Innocent that
Is it possible to sustain ethicalness with has an ethical edge has a debt of honour to pay
business growth? to her.
It’s a tough one: can you make money ethically?
Well yes, you can, but I think the bigger question So, what’s next for Richard Reed and
Hall 1 – 11.45-12.15
is, can capitalism be sustainable? And that’s Innocent?
Thursday
the thing we’re trying to work out: is there such We’re ten years into a thirty year journey to
a thing as sustainable capitalism, or is it an establish Innocent as an international brand
Co-Founder of Innocent Drink Tells
oxymoron in itself. synonymous with delicious, healthy, ethical,
The Innocent Story
natural drinks and food. As such, there’s still a lot
Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent
of countries and categories where Innocent can
Drinks, shares how the company got
and will go.
started, its challenges and its future.
How to go from seed to success in a matter
of years.
8

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BUSINESS STARTUP In association with Visit us on Stand 310 and supported by Visit us on stand 304