Cosy Direct honoured with the King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade

Cosy are delighted to announce that we have been honoured with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade.

Cosy Direct is one of 197 organisations in the UK to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise. Cosy has been recognised for its excellence in international trade.

Employing 107 people, Cosy Direct was founded in 2011 by husband and wife team, Peter and Amanda Ellse.

Cosy promotes a natural, engaged and active childhood by supplying sustainable nursery and educational equipment to 38 countries worldwide.

Cosy are continually innovating and developing their product range with teacher led research and play in mind. Champions of nature and real-life childhoods, where children are encouraged to play and take part in adventurous activities that enable them to learn and develop whilst having fun.

Cosy have create thousands of exciting ideas and have a range of over 6000 products, 95% of which are manufactured in the UK and Europe.

David Hook, Managing Director, said: “Our whole team have worked so hard for this award. It is a testament to the quality of our resources, service from our team and to our wonderful customers in the UK and overseas who have supported us through this journey.

“With a brand-new team and offices and staff in the Netherlands, our export group is one of our four stellar growth divisions. To be lucky enough win a King’s Award as we approach our 15th year to sit alongside our Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development is simply brilliant and we’re all over the moon.”

Cosy was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Sustainability Development in 2022, recognising the work that Cosy does to promote commercially successful products, services and management that benefit the environment, society and the economy. As a result, Cosy are one of very few companies that have two Enterprise awards.

Peter Ellse, CEO Cosy said: “These awards were only possible due to the amazing team at Cosy. We believe in investing in our people, providing them with opportunities for growth. 100% of our team receives personalised training and every staff member gets three days of volunteering time per year. 10% of our staff are apprentices, and we work with organisations that provide meaningful programmes that allow young learning-disabled people to move into opportunities in life as active citizens. 7% of our employees are prisoners on day release (ROTL) and we aim to get this up to 10% in 2025.”

The King’s Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, were renamed in 2023 to reflect His Majesty The King’s desire to continue the legacy of HM Queen Elizabeth II’s by recognising outstanding UK businesses. The Award programme, now in its 59th year, is the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards Emblem for the next five years.