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For a company that strives "to do business in a more enlightened way" - and even has a halo in its logo - to go into business with one of the world's corporate behemoths, presents a real danger that such a deal could look like a Faustian pact.
The founders of Innocent, the ethically aware smoothie business that yesterday sold a stake of between 10% and 20% to the US drinks group Coca-Cola for pounds 30m, are adamant that their ideals and eco-friendly sentiments will not be crushed as a result of striking a deal with a company best known for its less than healthy fizzy drinks.
"Every promise that Innocent has made, about making only natural healthy products, pioneering the use of better, socially and environmentally aware ingredients, packaging and production techniques, donating money to charity and having a point of view on the world will remain," co-founder Richard Reed yesterday. "We'll just get to do them even more. The founders will continue to lead and run the company, we will be the same people in the same offices making the same products in the same way."
Innocent joins a long line of companies that have started small and built a loyal following on the back of a values-led approach, only to sell up to the kind of businesses against which they might once have defined themselves.
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