Consumers’ regard for Innocent crashes

Consumer perception of the Innocent Drinks brand has been hit by Coca-Cola’s £30m investment, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex “Buzz” rating.

The smoothie maker’s Buzz, a measure of whether people have heard positive or negative statements about a brand, has slipped rapidly from a rating of five last week to one by Monday (April 13).

This is the first time Innocent’s Buzz has dropped so low since August last year. The Buzz stood at five on April 6, the day that Innocent finally confirmed that Coke would be taking a minority stake in the company.

The ratings slump suggests that what consumers have heard about Innocent in the press or by word of mouth has been largely negative.

However, Innocent’s “Index”, which is an average of its Buzz, General Perception, Value, Quality, Satisfaction and Corporate ratings, has remained steady at 13. This has not been bettered since July 10 last year, when it scored 14.

The strength of these other BrandIndex markers imply that the various negative news articles have not managed to alter overall perceptions about the brand. It is still deemed to be as good in quality, with a healthy corporate reputation.

In particular, the Value mark has risen in recent weeks from a low of -2 in January this year to a rating of three on Monday. Innocent has come under fire for the premium price of its offering in the past, but there have been a number of price promotions with supermarkets in recent months.