The Lakes Free Range Egg Company awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise

Published on : 13 May 2025

David and Helen Brass

The King’s Award for Enterprise is the UK’s premier business awards, and The Lakes achieved their 2025 award in Sustainable Development. The Lakes CEO David Brass, was notified that they received this award for their sustainable development accomplishments since receiving their first Queen’s Award in 2018.

Commenting on the honour, David and Helen Brass said, “We are immensely proud to have been awarded this accolade for a second time. No other egg packer has achieved even one award. It is a much-coveted award and is fantastic recognition for our Lakes team, for all their hard work and for their commitment to our sustainable way of working. It is also recognition for the network of family farm producers that follow the same ethical principles and supply us with eggs with such valuable provenance. We are excited to tell everyone and celebrate with our staff, suppliers, and customers.”

Set up in 1997 by David and Helen Brass, The Lakes continues to produce free range and organic eggs, packed to the highest standards and remains at the forefront of animal welfare, and sustainable farming rooted in strong environmental principles. They are one of the UK’s largest, specialist free range egg producers/ packers, and have achieved this whilst developing a model of farming that is profitable, sustainable, and replicable.David Brass with hens in summer

With a history of being first in the field, they are still the only egg producer/ packer with bespoke Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP’s) for all their ranges – and those of their producers. This has led to over 300,000 trees/shrubs being planted across ranges that cover 6,000+ acres of UK farmland. They were also the first in the industry to reach complete Scope 1 and 2 carbon emission net zero. The recent installation of battery storage means they can also be an electrical island, providing 100% of energy when required.

Always leading innovation, the team developed the first dark brooding chick-rearing system that reduces energy consumption by 85% and more recently, they developed and launched a world-first in technology that is designed and proven by research, to improve the welfare of the hens as well as the margins for producers. ‘BirdBox’ is a real-time data capture system that provides analysis of hen shed information to farmers and their consultants. Developed over the last decade at a cost of over £2 million, it is being installed on all ranges, and those of their producers. This has opened the door to further research and innovation. For over 25 years, the Lakes has shared best practices with internationally recognised organisations and their producers, and this is set to continue.

Reflecting on the announcement, David and Helen summarised by saying, “This year, we are one of only 27 awards for Sustainable Development. We have received many environmental and sustainable farming awards, but being awarded this King’s Award has to be the very pinnacle of recognition. To achieve two of these awards is something that we believe demonstrates our ability to maintain long-term momentum on sustainable farming and innovation.”

The Lakes team is now preparing to receive a visit from Cumbria’s Lord Lieutenant Alexander Scott, His Majesty The King’s designated representative. Later in the summer, David Brass will attend a formal reception at Windsor Castle, and plans are underway for celebrations with staff, suppliers, and customers.