The company - which has traditionally been associated with fruit juices and smoothies - says the launches will expand its range and help consumers ‘get more from their drinks'.
Lovely bubbly
Innocent launched as a small UK start-up in 1999. Its meteoric growth was followed by less certain times (in 2013 profits crashed 97%). It was bought by The Coca-Cola Company between 2009-2013 (with Coca-Cola finally reaching a 90% stake).
Last year it added a functional smoothie range to its portfolio and this month, its coconut water and sparkling water are hitting shelves in the UK.
Asked if the new launches were a way to diversify innocent’s portfolio (in response to what CEO Douglas Lamont last year called a ‘slightly depressing’ juice and smoothie category), a spokesperson told BeverageDaily.com: “We’re excited to be expanding our range and giving our drinkers more ways to get their daily goodness from Innocent.
“We know that consumers are increasingly looking for different opportunities to get more from their drinks, and so we want to offer our drinkers a wealth of options in the health and wellness aisle – whether functional health benefits or interesting new ingredients such as our new coconut water and bubbles ranges.”
Coconut water…
Innocent’s coconut water is already on the shelves in supermarket chain Waitrose. Each 250ml serving has 47 calories (19 calories per 100ml), with Innocent championing the “sweet, refreshing and nutty taste of our unique blend".
“Not all coconut water tastes the same,” the spokesperson told BeverageDaily.com.
“We’ve never found one in the shops that tasted good enough for us to want to put our name on the carton, until now. We found some people in Thailand that are as fussy about taste as we are. Effort has been put into selecting a blend of water from a few specially selected varieties of coconut (including one secret variety) to make our coconut water taste fresh.”
…and sparkling water
Innocent's bubbles is a lightly sparkling blend of fruit juice and spring water. The company has launched two flavours: lemon, lime & apple; and tropical. The drink has an RRP of £1.49 for a 330ml can.
The drink contains one portion of the recommended five-a-day (fruit and vegetable portions), and 90 calories per can.
Innocent describes its tropical bubbles - made with pineapple, orange and grape juices along with sparkling water, as “a bit like a posh holiday in a can, only without the pesky sand".
“It’s the bubbly way to get one of your five a day."