Katie Derham

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Katie Derham is best known as the co-presenter of the ITV Lunchtime News with Nicholas Owen and ITV’s London Tonight programme with Alastair Stewart. But she’s also something of a foodie mover and shaker. With husband John Vincent, Katie is an investor in the ethical, healthy fast food Leon restaurant group.

Katie started her career in radio as a business journalist at the BBC, before moving to ITV News as media and arts editor. She has presented a weekly show on Classic FM for 5 years, writes for Classic FM magazine, and presented the Classical Brit awards at the Royal Albert Hall for four years. She's also hosted a talk show on LBC.

Home arrow Food Talk arrow Katie Derham arrow Katie Derham talks to Richard Reed of Innocent
Katie Derham talks to Richard Reed of Innocent
Thursday, 21 June 2007
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Richard Reed founded ethical drinks company Innocent in 1999 with university friends Adam Balon and Jon Wright and proceeded to make fruit-based smoothies a smash hit in the UK. Now employing 200 people, the trio beat Gordon Ramsay and Simon Fuller to be named Greatest Britons 2007 in the business category of the prestigious awards show.

In a recent posting on Innocent’s website, Reed set out the company’s aims as being to “make the best tasting drinks possible; keep them 100% healthy and natural; procure the ingredients responsibly; make environmentally-conscious packaging choices(the world's first 100% recycled PET bottle is on its way, ETA June); measure, share and reduce carbon (on track for 15% reduction this year); and give a minimum of 10% of all profits to charity to fund rural development projects in the countries where the fruit comes from.”

Despite these admirable principles, the Innocent story has not been without controversy. The company has come in for vociferous online criticism from some of its loyal customer base over a trial of its children’s drinks in some branches of McDonalds. Pepsi reported Innocent to the Advertising Standards Authority for allegedly misleading customers with "nutritionally incorrect information'' about the amount of sugar contained in its new range of flavoured waters called “This Water”.

Katie quizzes Richard Reed about these issues, the company's green and ethical credentials and asks about the past present and future of Innocent.

Innocent website - www.innocentdrinks.co.uk

This Water website - www.thiswater.co.uk

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