READING 2
1 Skim the text and match sections 1-5 to these subheadings (a-e).
a. A recipe for financial success.
b. Overcoming the problems.
c. A force for good in the world.
d. It’s now or never.
e. Investing in people.
These men are Innocent!
1 _________________________________________
Back in 1998, three 26-year-olds, Adam Balon, Richard Reed and Jon Wright, made up their minds that it
was time they either left their well-paid jobs in management consultancy and advertising and went into
business together or stopped talking about it. What kind of business they wanted to set up they weren’t
quite sure but it was something they had been discussing ever since they were at university together.
Deciding that the way forward was to make it easy for busy people to be healthy, the trio bought some fruit
and made smoothies, which they then tested on people at a small jazz festival in London. ‘We put up a
large sign asking, “Should we quit our jobs to make these smoothies?” and put out one bin saying “Yes”
and another saying “No”. The Yes bin filled up immediately with empty bottles and the next day they
resigned from their jobs.
2 __________________________________________
However, launching Innocent smoothies did not happen overnight. Experts in the food industry told them
that their product was too expensive, its shelf life was too short, and without the use of additives their idea
wouldn’t work. Even more worryingly, the numerous banks they approached were not too keen on financing
them and it wasn’t until their savings were about to run out that a wealthy businessman took a leap of faith
and invested in the business. Ignoring most of the advice they’d been given, Innocent then went on to
create a range of drinks made from 100% fresh fruit and nothing else. Careful production and high-tech
packaging gave the drinks the longest possible shelf- life, but they stuck to their beliefs by not ‘messing
about with them’ at all. The next step was to persuade local shops to stock their product, which they
delivered personally in their grass covered minibus.
3 __________________________________________
Their airy office in London – affectionately known as ‘Fruit Towers’ – is open plan, the ‘grass’ floors, table
football games, beanbags, and casually dressed trendy young staff representing the fresh feeling Innocent
is trying to create. But alongside all this quirkiness (call them and you are greeted with a cheerful ‘Hello,
banana phone!’) is an impressive business. New recipes created in the high-tech kitchen are tried out on
the people in the surrounding office buildings, although new product ideas, however fashionable, are
rejected if they are too far from their main focus (making a natural, healthy, great-tasting drink). Their
confidence that a quality product will sell itself appears to have paid off; despite minimal advertising,
Innocent currently sells around million drinks a week, turnover is around £75m and they now have a 61%
market share of the smoothies industry.
4 __________________________________________
Aside from the greenery, one of the first things you notice about ‘Fruit Towers’ is how happy everyone there
seems to be. Convinced that success relies on the well-being and happiness of the people who work there,
the three partners were determined to put the focus on making their employees feel valued. So as well as
financial incentives like company shares, healthcare, and extra bonuses, the staff are motivated by
personalised ‘outside work’ treats such as snowboarding trips, scholarships to enable them to pursue
outside interests and studies, and a wide choice of social and sporting activities. Innocent employees are
positive, motivated, and proud of where they work, which is why the company has won numerous awards
including Guardian Employer of the Year in 2005 and top place in the Sunday Times Best Small
Companies to work for list.
5 __________________________________________
Wright, Balon and Reed had firm ideas from the very beginning about the kind of company they wanted to
run. ‘If we call it Innocent we have a responsibility to be innocent, and as we expand the more innocent we
become,’ says Reed. The enormously popular company works only with companies who have sound
ethical and environmental standards, invests 10% of their profits in the countries from which they buy their
fruit, encourages recycling and gives away drinks to the homeless. At only 33, Reed is even acting as an
advisor to the government on getting children to eat healthily. Innocent’s approach is well-timed. Just as its
drinks appeal to cash-rich, time-poor workaholics, its approach to business is attractive to those who are
disillusioned with the big multi-national corporations who are making vast profits while contributing to the
destruction of our planet.
2 Choose the answer A, B or C which you think fits best according to the text.
1. The three friends gave up their ‘real jobs’ because they
A. had always dreamed of setting up a fruit drinks business.
B. had realised that one of their business ideas might be a success.
C. had decided their ‘real jobs’ did not allow them to live healthy lives.
2. Innocent’s main obstacle to selling their smoothies was
A. deciding how to package the drink.
B. getting someone to put their money into the business.
C. solving the problem of how to keep the drinks fresh for longer.
3. The expression messing about with them suggests they didn’t
A. change what was in the drinks
B. worry about which bottles the drinks were in.
C. check how long the drinks were kept in the shops.
4. The business has become very successful because
A. the partners concentrate on what they do well.
B. the product changes according to what the buyers want.
C. the company has benefited from the partners’ experience in advertising.
5. Employees are motivated to work for Innocent because they
A. are paid more than people in similar jobs.
B. appreciate working for a prize-winning company.
C. feel they are important to the success of the organization.
6. Innocent is a successful company because
A. it has not allowed itself to become too big.
B. it is much admired for its underlying philosophy.
C. its drinks are helping many children to be healthier.
Answer Key:
Task1
1d 2b 3a 4e 5c
Task 2
1B 2C 3A 4A 5C 6B
