As part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual Chamber Business Awards 2023, a Cornish Chamber company’s innovative plastic free packaging has bagged it the Game Changer award.   

The awards, now in their 20th year, are one of the showpieces of the business calendar, highlighting the role of firms in delivering growth and prosperity for the UK and local communities.   

The Game Changer award recognises a company which has transformed an idea into a successful, sustainable business by understanding their market’s key challenges, customers and the competitive landscape.    

Flexi-Hex was founded by twin brothers, Sam and Will Boex, who are both avid surfers and in 2017 noticed the large amount of plastic packaging that was used to wrap a new surfboard they had ordered. 

As they were both product designers, they decided to come up with a better solution and a year later launched Flexi-Hex – which is both the name of the company and the packaging. It is a honeycomb designed sleeve, made from 100% recycled paper pulp. The product range now includes packaging for surfboards, bottles, electronics and sunglasses. 

Sarah Howard, Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:    

“The impact of this packaging has been phenomenal. Flexi-Hex has sold more than 2 million sleeves and saved 1,555km of plastic from being used instead. It is amazing how sometimes it is everyday events that trigger the ideas that literally are game changers. Sam and Will still had a huge amount of work to do, to turn their idea into reality, and this award is really just the icing on the cake for what is a truly transformational business.”