Special report from our AGM

Last week, we sent blog competition winner Ronan O'Leary on an expenses paid trip over to Fruit Towers London to attend the innocent AGM (a grown up meeting). Ronan took his brother Colin along with him and we asked Ronan to write us a little report and take a few photos about how he got on. We'll pass you over to Ronan now...

    "My brother and I, Colin, arrived at Fruit Towers at around 10.45am to be met by Joe’s dad, the Town Crier, I knew from that moment that it was going to be an extremely fun day. My first impression of Fruit Towers was that it really lived up to its name, it was 5 stories big.  When we stepped into it the first thing I noticed was the grass floor which was a really cool feature.

We were greeted and given name tags with fruits on them, the reason for the fruits will be revealed later. We then sat down on the picnic tables waiting for the AGM to start and took advantage of the endless free smoothies. While waiting for it to begin so many staff members came up to us to have a chat, I was really impressed by the hospitality of the staff. At around 11.30 am everyone took their seats as the owners, Jon, Richard and Adam, told their story of how they set up the company. It was both interesting and funny, especially when they told how their first idea of an electric bath failed due to danger to human life!

Next we were divided into groups based on the fruits on our name tags; I was a coconut and Colin a lemon.  We were then told we would be visiting numerous stations throughout Fruit Towers, my first stop was the “Make a smoothie” station. We were divided into groups of 3 and had 15 minutes to come up with a smoothie recipe, label and name. My team decided we would try to come up with a smoothie filled with berries. At the end of the 15 minutes we had made a smoothie that included raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, grapes and apple juice. We decided to call it “Berry Happy”. We didn’t win the best smoothie award but nevertheless we had a fun time making it.

Next up we went up the 2nd floor to find out more about innocent’s company strategy. You may think that sounds boring but it really wasn’t, they made it interesting by including a game of bingo that told us interesting facts about the company.  Colin won his game of Bingo and won the amazing prize of pineapple, but unfortunately he lost it so if anyone found it please return it! At this station we played the game “Recyclable or not?”  Thankfully all of Innocent’s containers were recyclable except for one, the kids yogurt tube.



After this it was time for dinner so I made my way downstairs for some amazing Cottage Pie and salad. 30 minutes later it was time to go again, I made the trek up the stairs to the 5th floor where we got to taste some new smoothie flavours. They were all really good so innocent fans need to look out for them! We also got to see an advert for the new innocent apple juice and we found out the difference between concentrated orange juice and innocent’s pure orange juice.

Next we were off the final station were we heard funny letters and emails that were sent into Fruit Towers in the past. Laughs were had all around. We were then told that it was nearly time for the question and answer session so we headed downstairs to be met by a table full of cakes and buns. My personal favourite was the marshmallow cupcake. The question and answer session then begun and there was a mixture of some very good and interesting questions. Finally the day ended with Joe’s dad trying to do the challenge which he was set on facebook, which he did pass!

Questions and answer with the innocent founders, Rich, Adam and Jon.

So after a brilliant day at Fruit Towers it was finally time to leave, but not before we were given a goodie bag by the staff. Thanks again to everyone at Innocent for a brilliant day"

Thanks again to Ronan and his brother Colin. Some fine reporting there.

The innocent AGM 2010

Last Saturday the innocent AGM happened, with Irish competition winner Mark Moran in attendance.  As promised, Mark told us about his day (with his friend Chris) at Fruit Towers in London - between the testings, tastings, talks and tasks, (and because he told us so), it seems they both had a great time.

Here’s how it began:

After some welcomes and name tag writing, Mark was set the tough task of tasting new smoothies. Mark confesses “I have a very sweet tooth so in the end I went for the sweeter one” - so if this smoothie hits the shelves, blame/thank Mark.

 

Then everyone pulled up a beanbag for a chat with the guys who started innocent. Mark said: “I found it very informative and it was nice to put a face to these incredible guys that have created an amazing company.  They were not afraid to speak openly about some of the mistakes they had made... which I thought was very admirable”

 

Then some more sampling - this time of new veg pots - with Mark going for overall winner Bombay Butternut Squash Curry.  After lunch they split into teams; Mark was a Lemon - no giggling at the back - and Team Lemon went up to the innovation station (it rhymes), to come up with some nice product ideas. Apparently “the guys loved our ideas” - can we pick a winner or what?

 

“Next up we hit the sustainability station [which doesn’t rhyme but does alliterate]. We learned about how innocent are making their products more environmentally friendly by reducing the packaging...something I was very impressed by” Of course, the question that won Mark this trip was about the environment, so we’re glad he was satisfied.

After teatime (cake, tea, cupcakes) came the Q&A session, where “there were a few great laughs from everyone on more than one occasion. We were treated to a lovely surprise at the end of the day when Joe’s Dad, who happens to be a town crier, recited a poem to us.”

 
  
Laden with fond memories, but more importantly, well-stocked goodie bags, Mark and Chris headed away but not before “we got to say our goodbyes and thanked everyone for having us [such nice manners]. It was a fantastic day and one I won’t forget for a very long time.”

Well, Mark certainly proved himself a worthy winner - so much so, we wrote him a little poem.

There was a great lad called Mark
Who went to Fruit Towers for a lark,
He was put on Team Lemon
Where he used his melon
And hit one right out of the park.

Maybe we should leave the poetry up to Joe’s dad, but you get the message. Thanks for the report, Mark - you did a great job there and we’re really glad you enjoyed it.

 
 

Mark visits Fruit Towers

The innocent AGM is all over for another year. It was a hot hot Saturday in London and the lovely Mark Moran got to fly over from Dublin and go along Fruit Towers.

Here's Mark arriving to Fruit Towers.*

 

Here's Mark leaving Fruit Towers.**

 

Stay tuned to find out what happened in the middle. Mark will be writing a blog post for us with details on all the goings on.

*He's the one in the blue t-shirt with sunshine on it - very appropriate. Our Helen is in the middle and Mark's friend Chris is on the left.

**With a happy new friend.

The innocent AGM competition: we have a winner

 

So a bunch of you good folk wrote in with the questions you would put to the innocent head honchos at Fruit Towers in London during this Saturday’s AGM.  The questions ranged from the practical to the whimsical, but after some debate (and emotional blackmail) those in Mark Moran’s camp won the day - their logic being that the AGM is our grown-up meeting, and his was a very grown-up question. He posted:

With all that we hear about global warming and carbon emissions and the scary things that are happening to our planet because of our irresponsibility I'm wondering what do the guys at fruit towers have planned to do their bit to combat all this nasty carbon and global warming stuff?

This floats our boat because reducing our carbon footprint is a big deal to us. Plus we felt that while other questions did a good job at representing particular groups (Carol Hughes was asking on behalf of mums, Francis Gannon wanted to ask about schools), of all of them Mark’s was the one that potentially affected the most people i.e. all 6 billion of us, as well as the bears, birds, bobcats, bugs, bushes, bananas... plus everything that doesn’t begin with b. Kind of hard to beat that for a far-ranging question.

So thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations to Mark. He and a friend will be heading to London on us, to hopefully ask his Big Question and any others he might have, and to participate in all the activities and forums planned to help shape innocent’s 2011.  We hear preparations for his arrival are well underway at Fruit Towers. Well, okay maybe they’re not just for him, but this year’s AGM promises to be jam-packed with things to see and do and, of course, taste. But you won’t have to take our word for it - on his return, Mark’s going to write us a big juicy blog post about his experiences, so watch this space. Well, not constantly, that would be odd and you probably have other things to do, but do check back in next week to see how he got on.

What happens at a grown up meeting?

Our very own AGM (A Grown-up Meeting) is coming up shortly where 100 folks get to come in, ask some questions and learn a bit more about our business.

For us what was great about last years AGM was what we found out about you and what you think about our smoothies. 

We made a nice little film about last year's AGM, so do take a look to get an idea of what the day is all about:

 

If you’d like to put a question to Rich, Jon and Adam click here.

a grown up meeting

 

We've always liked to know what you think of the stuff we make. That's why we ask you to call the banana phone, drop us an email, or pop into Fruit Towers. It's good to have a chat and even better to hear what you think we should do next. So each year, we hold our very own AGM (A Grown-up Meeting) where 100 of you get to come in, ask some questions, learn a bit more about our business, help us decide what recipes to make next, and eat a lot of cake.

It’s a day when Fruit Towers in London (where more magic happens than in a rap star’s bedroom on Cribs), has its doors thrown open, and a load of activities are organised - some that will shape the brand in the coming year, and some just for the helluvit. And yes, fruit fans, there is sampling. A LOT of sampling. There’s also the chance to get in front of the powers-that-be (the Terrifying Titans of the Fruit Blending Industry as they’re not called by anyone) and ask them anything you like, from “Why are concentrates so rubbish?” to “Do your smoothies actually contain shiny trumpets or pebbles?"

Now previous years have been a bit light on Irish representation, so this time we’re running a little competition to send one of you, our loyal drinkers-of-smoothies-and-readers-of-blog, and a friend, to London to attend our annual grown up meeting, at our expense. 

Just post the question you’d like to ask Adam, Jon and Rich the founders of innocent in the comments section below, and through a very scientific process possibly involving arm wrestling, we’ll pick a winner from the most interesting questions. The lucky winner could get to ask their question to them in person.

So comment away, question away, make us smile or gasp or scratch our heads - it’s over to you...