Innocent sells £30m stake to Coca-Cola for EU expansion

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The fizzy drinks giant will own between 10% and 20% of the company, whose success has been built on making natural, healthy juices.

The cash injection will be used to fund Innocent's European expansion.

Innocent today insisted that investment from Coca-Cola - which has been criticised for its unhealthy drinks and alleged exploitation of workers and the environment - would not affect its products or its principles.

Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent, said: "This is a minority investment. Coca-Cola is a silent partner and every penny of the cash is going to fund our push into Europe. We - the founders - are in this for the long run, and we'll continue to lead and run the company. It'll be the same people making the same products in the same way.

"We'll just have more resources to keep doing what we care about - bring natural healthy food to more people using more environmentally friendly ingredients and packaging."

Innocent was founded in 1998 by Reed, 36, Adam Balon, 37, and Jon Wright, 36 - who had been friends at Cambridge - after they bought £500 of fruit to make smoothies at the Jazz on the Green festival in Parsons Green, south-west London.

Customers told them the drinks were so good they should leave their jobs in management consultancy and advertising to set up Innocent.

Reed acknowledges that Coca-Cola "has its detractors". But he added: "This might not initially sound right, but it is right In some small ways, we may be able to influence their thinking."

Innocent joins a clutch of ethical businesses that have sold a stake in their company to big business. Pret A Manger sold McDonald's a 33% share of its business in 2001, and Body Shop was taken over by French cosmetics giant L'Oréal in 2006.

Reed did not rule out more investment from Coca-Cola, saying: "We need £30million so that we can secure our EU market position."

Innocent's share of the European markets was 63% last year.