Smoothie maker’s losses deepen as electric factory fails to deliver

INNOCENT’S losses have more than quadrupled after the smoothie maker struggled with production issues at its new £200m all-electric factory.

Sales fell by £15.6m last year, newly-filed accounts reveal, which Innocent blamed on soaring costs hampering its efforts to ramp up production at “The Blender”, its factory in the Port of Rotterdam.

Innocent opened the site in 2021, touting it as one of the world’s first carbon-neutral drinks factories.

However, surging costs in 2022 led to a “slower than anticipated” ramp up of production at the facility. James Davenport, Innocent’s chief operating officer, said: “The combination of these factors meant our supply chain was unstable and impacted our ability to meet the demand from our customers.”

Fewer shoppers also bought branded smoothies and juices as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, he added.

Operating losses widened from £9.5m to £41.3m for the year to Dec 31 2022 at Innocent, accounts show. Directors wrote in the accounts that 2022 was “perhaps one of the most challenging years for the business”.

Mr Davenport said operations at The Blender had stabilised in 2023.

A spokesman for Innocent said: “We always knew the ambitious nature of the Blender was going to require a significant investment upfront. Not only will it allow us to transform the longterm profitability of the business, but as one of the world’s first all-electric, fully renewable energy manufacturing plants, it is a blueprint for the future of sustainable manufacturing.”

Founded in 1999 by three Cambridge university students, Coca-cola took full control of the company in 2013.

Innocent prides itself on its ethical and environmental credentials, using recycled plastic to make its bottles and sustainably-sourced fruit and vegetables in its drinks.

However, it has been accused of “greenwashing”. The UK advertising watchdog ruled in 2022 that an advert for its drinks, which claimed buying them would have a positive environmental effect, was misleading. Innocent said at the time that it reflected its wider environmental targets.