Cocogreen presented with Kings Award for Enterprise

Circularity Capital portfolio company Cocogreen, a global leader in the production of low-carbon, high-yield coir growth substrate for berries, salads, citrus fruit and avocadoes, has been presented with the highly prestigious Kings Award for Enterprise in International Trade to recognise its continued international growth and export success.

The ceremony, which took place at the company’s Manchester headquarters in June, saw Mrs. D. Hawkins JP LLB, His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, bestow the accolade on Cocogreen’s co-founders – Thomas Ogden and Dr Sudesh Fernando.

The King’s Awards for Enterprise celebrates the success of innovative businesses leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes, or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices. This year marks the second occasion that Cocogreen has received royal recognition, after being presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2018.

Founded in 2010, Cocogreen helps food growers worldwide to reduce resource use, increase productivity, improve welfare and promote biodiversity. The company’s products are manufactured using a by-product of the global coconut industry, which is refined using proprietary product and process technologies. This provides a superior growing medium for agricultural customers growing berries, fruits, and other fresh food end markets.

In addition to improved nutrient distribution, minimising water use and delivering a higher production yield profile, Cocogreen’s product provides a lower-carbon alternative to peat based growing media. Moreover, the use of peat has started to be phased out by regulators due to the negative impact of harvesting peatland, which act as a hugely powerful global carbon sink.

Commenting on the accolade, Sudesh Fernando, CEO and co-founder of Cocogreen “Our continuous investment in new technology and building a highly skilled, in-house team has strengthened every link in our supply chain, which has been vital in supporting the rapid international growth we are experiencing. Despite the challenges of global unrest, we have been able to adapt and maintain quality products and services, meeting high and growing demand in the face of a peat-free future.”

Andrew Shannon, founding partner at Circularity Capital, added: “This is a very exciting time for Cocogreen. The company’s market-leading, commercially proven solution has allowed it to disrupt traditional, linear competitors and create a blue-chip client base whose demand vastly outstrips current manufacturing capacity. Growing global adoption of Cocogreen’s solutions will help accelerate the transition towards a more circular food industry by displacing peat and stonewool, while allowing management to deliver strong growth across established customers and new markets alike.”

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.

For more information about Cocogreen, or it’s low-carbon, high-yield coir growth substrates, visit www.cocogreen.co.uk.