Innocent Super Smoothies

Innocent believes its declining smoothies business could receive a £30m boost in two years from the launch of its new functional fruit & veg drinks.

Rolling out this month, Innocent’s Super Smoothies comprise three lines - Defence, Energise and Antioxidant - and will be sold in a new 360ml bottle (rsp: £2.35).

Innocent NFC juices are performing well, but smoothie sales are down 15.5% year-on-year to £94.8m [IRI 52 w/e 4 January 2014].

UK MD Dave Pickup said he was targeting first-year sales of £10m, growing to £30m in year two from the new lines.

With stockists including supermarkets, coffee shops and upmarket food and drink stores, and a marketing campaign launching in September, Pickup added: “We believe this is a realistic sales target based on the number of distribution points and rate of sale we can achieve.”

Defence: mango, pumpkin, Echinacea, flax seeds and vitamins C, D3 & zinc to keep immune system functioning properly

Energise: strawberries, cherries, guarana, flax seeds and vitamins including B6, C and niacin that help release energy from food

Antioxidant: contains kiwi, lime, wheatgrass, flax seeds and three antioxidant vitamins - C, E and selenium

One possible area of controversy surrounds the sugar content of Super Smoothies. Most standard Innocent smoothies have less than 11g of sugar per 100ml and - along with many juices and smoothies - have been criticised for sugar content. The new range contains 12g to 14g per 100ml. “Super Smoothies contain fruit, vitamins and botanicals and have no added sugar,” said Pickup. “They are the most nutrient-dense products we have made. We are very proud and excited.”