Have you ever wondered what makes people buy premium segment goods, which face value doesn’t reflects its premium price? Can a company making natural juices be entrepreneurial, responsible, commercial and generous?
It looks that companies incorporating standing for right causes in day-to-day decision making and including social responsibility in strategies can work out decent profits. An example is Innocent also known as “Europe’sfavorite little smoothie company”. The company from its very beginning incorporated consumer’s engaging, true and fair approach in doing business. It started from market research one could call “cheap and dirty”, whereas start-uppers know the right wording is “lean and efficient” ;-). In case of first juice tasters they were asked to throw on empty bottle to one of two recycle bins with “Yes” and “No” answering the question “Should we give up our jobs to sell this juice?” And guess what which bin was full? 😉
Before the name Innocent become official, they were called “Fast Tractor” to honor the local farmer, who was their chief ingredients supplier. Among the reasons to drinking Innocent customers could find on the etiquettes not only “100% recommended daily allowance of natural vitamin C” but also “looking more attractive to opposite sex” 😉
But what appeared to be the real blockbuster for Innocent relates to nowadays iconic woolen hats on the juice bottles put on the bottles in winter. Initially the hats were prepared by group by 40 grannies recruited by company’s website and each 20 pence from bottle of juice with a hat sold was donated to consumer’s favorite charity.
In general people went crazy about this cause-related marketing campaign, and one can find another examples on engaging not mainstreamed employees contributing to products success. Just take a look at thongs made with traditional crocheting technique from Koniakow village in Poland. G-Strings from Koniakow had become Polish export hit for years together cult-classic products you will find in custom free shops in Polish airports like Copernicus gingerbreads, Wedel chocolates or Zobrowka, which also experimented with its product winter outfits 😉
Innocent turned from start-up to business spotted later on by Coca-Cola, which acquired 90% of it shares. Putting into brackets the fact that all three founders of Innocent were friends from Oxford University and worked in top management consulting before set up Innocent, what else can be better than the company delivering products, services with value people want to identify with? 😉
Source: http:/home/tomaszpi/domains/tomaszpilewicz.com/public_html/www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Dzida !
