Innocent Drinks to inspire future brand builders

London’s Museum of Brands is to partner with innocent drinks to deliver an educational programme guiding young adults in the fundamentals of product development. The programme, called Smoothie Lab, launches on 19^th February 2024 and aims to teach over 1250 secondary school and college students across the UK about the fundamentals of product development, brought to life by nutrition and sustainability guidelines.

The Smoothie Lab programme will be delivered via a series of interactive workshops which will take place throughout 2024 at the Museum of Brands. These will give young people an insight into the various considerations and choices that are made when developing a product, starting with an exploration of customer behaviour and an in-depth analysis of the branding strategies used by successful brands.

Participants will be guided through the entire process via the construct of making a fruit smoothie – from selecting high-quality ingredients and assessing nutrition information and claims, to designing the packaging for their unique smoothie creations. Those who develop the best product and successfully pitch it to the group will get to blend their own recipe.

The programme also includes both pre- and post-sessional activities, designed to offer ongoing support and reinforcement of the workshop's key concepts, plus self-guided worksheets for independent group visits. There is a wealth of free downloadable activities tailored to families interested in exploring brands at home through fridge or food cupboard challenges.

The Museum recently piloted the programme with Year 12 students from St. George's Catholic School in Maida Vale, West London. Students conducted historical and market research in the Museum's Time Tunnel, before going on to develop their own smoothie concept. They then developed the product to a brief, looking at ingredients, nutrition, claims, and points of difference in the market, before working out a strong visual identity in line with innocent drinks’ brand, considering advertising and PR hooks, and finally pitching their drink to the group. Students learned about the principles of healthy eating and the restrictions British brands have around adding health benefit claims to their products.

Anna Terry, Museum Director at Museum of Brands said, “We’re delighted to work with our Ladbroke Grove neighbour innocent to bring this hands-on product development experience to our school and student visitors. Smoothie Lab draws on both the historical relationship of grocery brands and health in our 200-year collection, and the latest research and knowledge from nutrition experts at innocent”.

Helen Whitby, Head of Nutrition at innocent drinks, said, “We’re on a mission to make sure more people can enjoy the delicious goodness of fruit and veg, and our new partnership with the Museum of Brands on the Smoothie Lab programme is a brilliant way to do that. Making our smoothies is as simple as putting our favourite fruits and veggies into a blender - but designing them is more complicated than that: nutrition, a strong visual identity and advertising all need to be considered. Giving an insight into the different factors that go into creating our little drinks could spark some big career dreams, and we hope it will inspire the next generation of budding food scientists and nutritionists.”