What the King’s Award for Enterprise Means for incognito®
Key takeaways
- The King’s Award for Enterprise is the UK’s most prestigious business honour, granted in the sovereign’s name to companies that reach the highest standards in their category.
- incognito® received the King’s Award for Enterprise 2026 in the Sustainable Development category — independent recognition of how the products are made, not just how well they work.
- For you, it is a third-party signal of trust: a DEET-free, vegan, biodegradable insect repellent range judged credible on sustainability by a national panel.
- The award reflects the whole picture — plant-based PMD (para-menthane-3,8-diol) active, sugarcane-based packaging, and a low-impact formulation — rather than any single marketing claim.
When a small British insect-repellent brand is named a King’s Award winner, it is worth explaining what that badge actually certifies. The King’s Award for Enterprise is not a paid listing or an industry popularity contest — it is a formal honour assessed against demanding national criteria. Here is what the award is, why incognito® earned it in the Sustainable Development category, and what it means for anyone choosing a repellent.
What is the King’s Award for Enterprise?
The King’s Award for Enterprise (known until 2023 as the Queen’s Award for Enterprise) is the most prestigious business award in the United Kingdom. It is granted each year in the monarch’s name, on the advice of the Prime Minister, to businesses that demonstrate outstanding achievement in one of four categories:
- Innovation — commercially successful, ground-breaking products or services.
- International Trade — sustained growth in overseas earnings.
- Sustainable Development — outstanding, measurable environmental and social benefit built into how the business operates.
- Promoting Opportunity — social mobility through skills and employment.
Winning companies are assessed by an independent panel and may use the King’s Award emblem for five years. Because entries are scrutinised rather than simply purchased, the award carries genuine weight — it is one of the clearest external signals that a company’s claims stand up to inspection.
Why the Sustainable Development category matters
The Sustainable Development category is arguably the hardest to win for a consumer-products company, because it looks past the marketing and examines the substance: raw materials, formulation, packaging, manufacturing and the real-world impact of the product once it is used. A brand cannot talk its way in; the environmental benefit has to be demonstrable and central to the business, not a bolt-on.
Why incognito® received the award
incognito® was recognised for building environmental responsibility into the product itself rather than treating it as an afterthought. The credentials that underpin the range are the same ones the award panel weighs:
- DEET-free by design. The active ingredient is PMD (para-menthane-3,8-diol), a plant-based repellent derived from Cymbopogon winterianus (Javanese citronella). PMD is the same class of active that public-health bodies such as the CDC and EPA list alongside DEET as effective against mosquitoes and ticks — so choosing plant-based here does not mean choosing less protection.
- Biodegradable and vegan. The formulations are designed to break down rather than persist, and contain no animal-derived ingredients.
- Lower-impact packaging. Packaging uses sugarcane-based (bio-based) plastic, which captures carbon as the crop grows, instead of conventional fossil-based plastic.
- Clinically proven performance. The repellents are clinically proven, so sustainability is not achieved by compromising on the job the product has to do.
In other words, the award is not for a slogan. It recognises a coherent approach where the active ingredient, the formulation and the packaging all pull in the same direction.
What the award means for you as a customer
Marketing claims are easy to make and hard to verify. Third-party recognition is the shortcut consumers can actually rely on. A King’s Award for Sustainable Development tells you that an independent, national-level panel looked at how the product is made and found the environmental case credible.
| Signal | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| King’s Award — Sustainable Development | Independent panel judged the environmental benefit outstanding and genuine |
| DEET-free, plant-based PMD active | Effective protection without a synthetic solvent-type active |
| Vegan & biodegradable formulation | Lower environmental persistence; no animal-derived ingredients |
| Sugarcane-based packaging | Bio-based plastic that captures carbon as it grows |
| Clinically proven | Sustainability does not come at the cost of performance |
Put simply: it lets you protect yourself and your family from mosquito and tick bites while making a choice that has been independently checked for its environmental footprint.
Does an award change how you should use repellent?
No — and it is worth being honest about that. An award recognises how a product is made; it does not change the basics of good bite prevention. Whatever repellent you use, apply it to all exposed skin, reapply as directed on the label, cover up at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, and check for ticks after time in grass or woodland. A trustworthy product makes those habits easier to keep; it does not replace them.
How incognito® helps
If you want a repellent that reflects the standards behind the award, the range is built around a single idea: effective, DEET-free protection you can feel good about using. The everyday hero is the incognito® Insect Repellent Spray — clinically proven, plant-based PMD, vegan and biodegradable, and recommended against both mosquitoes and ticks. To see the full DEET-free line-up, including options for children, travel and sun protection, browse all incognito® products.
FAQs
What is the King’s Award for Enterprise?
It is the UK’s most prestigious business award, granted annually in the monarch’s name to companies that reach the highest standards in Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development or Promoting Opportunity. Winners are chosen by an independent assessment, not by paying to enter.
Which category did incognito® win?
incognito® received the King’s Award for Enterprise 2026 in the Sustainable Development category, which recognises measurable environmental and social benefit built into how a business operates.
Is the King’s Award the same as the old Queen’s Award?
Yes. It was renamed the King’s Award for Enterprise in 2023 following the accession of King Charles III; the criteria and prestige are the same.
Does the award mean the repellent works better?
Not directly. The Sustainable Development award recognises how responsibly the product is made. incognito® repellents are separately clinically proven to protect against mosquito and tick bites, so you get both credible sustainability and proven performance.
Does a plant-based repellent protect as well as DEET?
The active in incognito® is PMD, a plant-based ingredient that public-health bodies list alongside DEET as effective. Always apply to all exposed skin and reapply as directed on the label for reliable protection.
Sources
- GOV.UK — The King’s Awards for Enterprise (categories and how they work)
- US EPA — Skin-Applied Repellent Ingredients (DEET, OLE/PMD, picaridin, IR3535)
- CDC — Prevent Mosquito Bites (EPA-registered repellents, including OLE/PMD)
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Always read and follow the product label, and consult a healthcare professional about protection against insect-borne diseases, especially when travelling or for infants, during pregnancy or for specific medical conditions.