Barnsley's Cares Laboratory was yesterday presented the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in relation to the brand's groundbreaking Vamoosh® product. A powder uniquely designed to dissolve pet hairs during the wash, Vamoosh® was created in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength since its launch.
Established in 1965 to reward outstanding achievement by UK businesses, the Queen's Award for Enterprise is the highest official recognition for British companies. These awards are not easily won, 1’000’s of companies enter and only 20% of applications are successful. The Award for Innovation is for businesses that have had outstanding performance for something hasn’t been done before, Cares Laboratory is one of only 46 recipients in the UK.
Professor Dame Hilary Chapman DBE, his Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire visited the offices to present the award to founders and friends of over 30 years, Tom Abbey and Dave Toms. Tom Abbey comments on the award, "We're absolutely delighted to receive this honour, especially as it was in the Queen’s final and platinum jubilee year. The development took over 2 years in the laboratory, so we are delighted everyone’s efforts have been worthwhile and recognised in such a prestigious way.”
Tom had the idea after becoming frustrated with the amount of hair from his dog (named Mr Chips) that gathered in his washing machine every time he washed the dog bed. To bring the product to life, he partnered with Dave – a qualified chemist with more than 30 years of experience leading R&D teams in the cleaning category.
Cares Laboratory moved into their new premises in Summer June 2022 and during the visit Dame Hilary opened the new laboratory facilities. In the laboratory, R&D Technician, Alex Butcher demonstrated the product and its ability to break down the keratin in hair, which allows it to be washed away during the washing cycle.
Beloved by national figures such as Mrs Hinch and TV's Lysnsey Queen of Clean, Vamoosh is stocked at several national retailers like Asda, B&M, The Range and Pets at Home. Since launching the Pet Hair Dissolver, Vamoosh® has also released further products including the only Washing Machine Cleaner that can dissolve hair, and a Dishwasher Cleaner without a plastic bottle.
