Richard Reed

About

Richard is one the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs in Britain. Winning various awards and accolades, his brand of natural and organic smoothies and juices along with the other branches of the business including soups and salads has made Innocent one of the most famous and recognisable brands in the UK.

Richard Reed is the co-founder of Innocent Drinks, the UK’s fastest growing food and drinks company and the no.1 smoothie brand in the UK.

Richard’s entrepreneurial career started earlier than most, when he began washing windows for his neighbors at the age of 8. Following a brief spell of selling Smurf stickers at junior school (until his teachers caught him), Richard retired from the coalface of self-employment, aged 12. However, a summer job picking up dog biscuits in a pet food factory soon reminded Richard of the joys of working for himself, and led him to set up a summer gardening business called Two Men Went to Mow, employing his school friends.

After graduating from Cambridge University and working in advertising for four years, Richard and his two college friends Jon and Adam, decided to set up a lovely fresh fruit juice company. After six months of developing recipes in their kitchen, they boys wanted to test their drinks with a wider audience. To do so, they bought £500 of fruit, turned it into smoothies and sold them from a stall at a music festival.

In 2006 Innocent Drinks employed 89 people, and had its little tasty drinks selling in over 6,000 outlets, over the next five years sustained growth has seen Innocent increase to a workforce of over 150 people and ever more increasing outlets for sales. The innocent range has expanded to include: Veg Pots, special smoothies for children, big one litre cartons for families at home, juicy waters for a more refreshing natural drink and thickies for a yoghurt and fruit blend. The drinks regularly win industry awards, including Best Soft Drink in the UK.

Richard has won a number of awards including; Growing Business Awards – Most Promising New Company, National Business Awards – Small/Medium Business of the Year, and the E&Y Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Richard is a fabulous keynote speaker for events geared around business, entreprenuerial spirit, marketing, leadership and  CSR (corporate social responsibility).