Monday 03 July 2017 10:20 am

Innocent Drinks passes £300m in sales as European growth spikes

Innocent Drinks, the UK smoothie-maker which is majority-owned by Coca Cola, passed sales of £300m for the first time last year as its European presence continues to expand.

Sales grew by 23 per cent in the year to 31 December 2016, coming in at £303.5m. The company saw a return to profit, making £8.5m compared to a loss of £700,000 last year.

More than half of the sales were from outside the UK. France saw a 49 per cent rise, accounting for £62m of total sales, and Germany was up 34 per cent to £75m.

Investment in new products and packaging helped to drive growth across the region, making the brand the fastest growing soft drinks brand in Europe.

CEO Douglas Lamont indicated that the brand will target further growth in continental Europe.

He said: "We are excited about the opportunities for our business to continue to grow as drinkers right across Europe become ever more focused on living life in a healthy and balanced way.

"Through continued innovation, geographic expansion and great partnerships with our suppliers and retailers, we aim to become Europe’s favourite healthy drinks company and keep showing that doing business the right way works.”