Museum of Brands partners with innocent drinks to inspire future brand builders

The Museum of Brands in west London is partnering with innocent drinks to deliver an educational programme guiding young adults in the fundamentals of product development.

Museum of Brands (c) ianVisits

The Smoothie Lab programme aims to teach over 1,250 secondary school and college students across the UK about the fundamentals of product development throughout 2024.

The classes 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 process of making a fruit smoothie – from selecting 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 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”.