I like innocent and so does Paul (see his blog posts on citizenbay) Yes, their fruit smoothies are tasty treats but beyond that I like the brand and how they’ve positioned themselves in the music space: effortlessly, playfully, hip and down-to-earth. Take the now defunct Fruitstock music festival. With its eclectic talent line-up, central London location, free entry and best of all, quirky on-brand experiences — ranging from a knitting corner to flower arranging workshops to a farmer’s market — innocent proved it understands its relationship to music. The brand didn’t force an unnatural association between itself and music, or try to establish itself in an area where it has no credibility (like music downloads or talent searches). Instead it offered a great summer music experience, which nicely underpinned innocent’s brand values: fun, natural, light, simple, easy and friendly.

In fact, the festival proved so popular last year that it actually lost some of its innocence (excuse the pun), and will be replaced this summer by the equally charming and folksy-sounding the innocent village fete, proving that a big, loud, look-at-me presence in music isn’t always better. Particularly when trying to establish authenticity in the music space. Described as being a “proper fete” with food stalls, games, and unplugged live music it sounds like innocent have got it right again.

Joy