The New Product Showcase is now open for entries, and to celebrate, we wanted to revisit some of the 2025 New Product Award winners and see how they have used the win to further support the business. Last year saw the EquiLight LED Faux Fur Sleeve win the Safety category of the New Product Awards.
Last year, you won the New Product Award for Safety. Can you remind us about the product and why you entered the Showcase?
We were delighted to win the New Product Award for Safety with our EquiLight LED Faux Fur Sleeves. The product was designed to give horses additional visibility in a practical, comfortable and highly versatile way. They combine soft faux fur with integrated LED lighting, making them suitable for use on reins, martingales, breastplates and other tack areas where riders want to improve visibility without compromising comfort for the horse.
We entered the Showcase because we felt the product represented something genuinely different in the equestrian safety space. Our focus has always been on developing visibility products that riders actually want to use, and the LED Faux Fur Sleeves are a good example of combining innovation, practicality and horse comfort.
Did you find that people had seen your product on the Showcase and then came to the stand to see you and find out more about it?
The Showcase was a useful additional touchpoint, although most visitors who came to see us had already discovered the product through our own marketing channels or through conversations we were having at the event. It gave us another way to direct people towards the product and helped reinforce the message around the role LED visibility can play in equestrian safety.
How did it feel to win the New Product Award in your category? Did you expect it?
It was a brilliant moment for us. We have now been fortunate enough to win this award twice, which gives us real confidence that the products we are creating are not only eye-catching, but also relevant, practical and consumer-focused.
We did not take the win for granted. Safety is a serious category, and we are always conscious that a product needs to offer more than novelty. For us, the recognition reinforced that our approach to high-visibility and LED safety products is resonating within the industry.
What have the benefits been to you and your business?
The award has been a useful credibility marker and is something we have included within our wider product messaging. It helps show that the product has been recognised within the trade, which can support conversations with retailers, partners and customers.
For our business, the biggest benefit has been being able to add another layer of trust around the product. Our customers are ultimately looking for practical safety products that work in real riding situations, so the award sits alongside our customer feedback, product development work and wider visibility messaging.
Will we be seeing you at this year’s BETA International? What can we expect to see from you this year?
We are still finalising our plans for this year, although we may have a presence through the Charles Owen Innovation Hub, which we are proud to be part of.
Our focus continues to be on developing practical, safety-led products that help improve visibility for horses, riders and other road users. We are particularly interested in combining high-visibility materials with active LED technology, as we believe there is significant opportunity to continue improving awareness and earlier detection in equestrian environments.
What advice would you give to companies thinking of entering the New Product Showcase and Awards?
Think carefully about the end user. A product needs to look good, but more importantly, it needs to solve a real problem. For us, the strongest products are the ones that riders can immediately understand, trust and see themselves using regularly.
Innovation should not just be about doing something new. It should be about making something more practical, more effective or more useful for the people and animals it is designed to support.
To find out more about this year’s New Product Showcase, visit this page and enter!