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A Leicestershire company has helped Innocent open what is being called the earth’s most sustainable healthy drinks factory.

Kegworth-based food and drink project delivery specialist Integrated Food Projects worked with the smoothie and juice brand to set up the new £200 million factory – called the Blender – in the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Manufacturing has now started, with the production line capable of making up to 300 million litres in a year.

Strategically located for innocent’s º£½ÇÊÓƵ & European market, the Rotterdam site has allowed Innocent – which is part of the Coca-Cola Company – to bring its operations largely in-house and drive its own manufacturing carbon footprint.

Innocent says the new factory incorporates technologies to reduce and reuse natural resources, topped up by energy from its own solar panels and wind turbines.

Andy Tebbutt, joint managing director at Integrated Food Projects, said they worked with Innocent to place sustainability at the heart of the project from day one – from planning to design, through to the build and operational running of the factory.

Mr Tebbutt said: “We have been working alongside innocent on the blender since 2018, and it’s fantastic to see the first finished drinks being produced, bottled and shipped from the factory.

“Sustainability has been a focal point of the blender since day one of planning, and what has been achieved at the factory really does recalibrate the industry standard for what can be achieved in sustainability within the food and drink manufacturing sector.”