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The Innocent school of business
by Sarah Bridge - 19/07/2010
"First there were the Men from Mars, then the Tescocrats but now it is the trendy Innocent Men and Women who are making a name for themselves in the world of business. "
Food giant Mars spawned a generation of executives who left to take top jobs at the likes of Asda, Sainsbury's and Boots while Tesco proved a fertile training ground for future bosses in businesses as diverse as TalkTalk and Halfords.
Now adding its name to these powerhouse executive nurseries is health food company Innocent, famous for its smoothies. Backed by quirky marketing - including delivery vans painted like cows - it turns over almost £100m a year and has attracted a major investment from Coca-Cola.
Inspired by its business model, former Innocent employees have now set up a host of other mainly food-related businesses and the company itself has invested in several more.
In the past few years, Little Dish, which makes fresh food for children, chewing gum company Peppersmith, snack box delivery firm Graze, restaurant and deli outfit Scandinavian Kitchen and healthy snack companies Bare Snacks and the Good Snack Company have all sprung into life thanks to an Innocent connection.
Other Innocent employees have gone on to head businesses such as former managing director Jamie Mitchell at Daylesford Organics, Gareth Helm, who now runs marketing at Mars' UK petcare business, and Giles Brook, who is spearheading the British launch of Vita Coco coconut water, in which Madonna is a shareholder.
Richard Reed, one of Innocent's three founders, says: 'We absolutely go out of our way to foster an entrepreneurial environment here.
'In fact, we often run job adverts that say, "We want people who are going to leave us". The way we run our business is very transparent. Everyone gets to see how all the different divisions work - it's like entrepreneur school here.'
Innocent's headquarters in west London are carpeted with artificial grass and employees are encouraged to lounge around on deckchairs and beanbags in its huge communal areas, where Reed thinks many of the ideas are born. 'It's very easy to get away from the desk and mingle,' he says.
It may be unconventional, but it is an environment that is proving to be a hothouse for future business talent.
More Details: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=509342&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories
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