Innovation Excellence Awards
Celebrating the UK’s Communications
& Content Innovators
This year’s Innovation Excellence Awards – the “Award of Awards” for the UK’s communications and content industries – returned to a sell-out audience at the historic Stationers’ Hall on 17 October 2025.
The top honour of Innovator of the Year 2025 was awarded to FabLittleBag for its thoughtfully designed, eco-friendly period-product disposal bags – a bold innovation tackling both plastic pollution and social taboos.
The award was presented by our Guest of Honour, Dr Vanessa Lawrence CB, who emphasised the vital role of creativity and courage in shaping our industries.
Now in its 11th year, the Awards are open to all sectors across communications and content – from packaging, paper-making and print to publishing, stationery, digital-born businesses and beyond.
The judging panel assessed entries on originality, commercial impact, sustainability and positive social or environmental benefit.
Shortlisted 2026
Business Process
Bakers: BakPac: Re-engineering Flexible Packaging Manufacturing for Speed, Scale and Sustainability
Fantom Factory: Fast Food needs Fast Answers
Hahnemühle – My Art Registry
Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection – protected at print
Rebel Stationery – Textile Collection 2026 – in partnership with Handmade Palestine
Romax Marketing & Distribution Ltd – Romax Digital Card Platform
Shachihata EU – Xstamper QuiX Pre-Inked Stamp Making System
Westchester Publishing Services – Westchester Publishing Services’ approach to AI generated Alt Text
Communications, including Marketing
Barley Communications – “Fighting AI cloning scams for National Trading Standards”
Brainz Digital – Brainz AI
Inkara.io – Inkara Marketing Studio — including ISBN Emporium, & Meta-Ink
Publishers Association – Publishers Association Insight series
The Mills Fabrica – Fabrica X: A Platform for Accelerating Sustainable Innovation in Fashion and Textiles
Thomas’s London Day Schools – TomCom
Customer Experience
Class Professional – Ambulance Driving
Circular Box Solutions (PTY LTD S.A. Trading & LTD (U.K) – CircularBox Solutions™ – The Waterproof, Tear Proof, Collapsible, Ultra Durable Reusable Digital Packaging System
Eat with Mabel Limited trading as Mabel – Mabel
Kids Invent Stuff – The Invention Shed
OMG Center Ltd – Orca
Romax Marketing & Distribution Ltd – Romax Digital Card Platform
Shachihata EU – Xstamper QuiX Pre-Inked Stamp Making System
Thomas’s London Day Schools – TomCom
Viktrs LTD – Viktrs: Building a Better Business Model for the Future of Video
Education Technology
Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited – AgNetZero
Class Professional – Ambulance Driving
Enterprise Ski ls Ltd – Human Skills Index
Habitat Learn Group Limited – Podium – an AI-enabled infrastructure solution for Higher Education
More Handwriting – More Handwriting
Oodlü – oodlü Worlds
Manufacturing
Circular Box Solutions (PTY LTD S.A. Trading & LTD (U.K) – CircularBox Solutions™ – The Waterproof, Tear Proof, Collapsible, Ultra Durable Reusable Digital Packaging System
Clifton Packaging – The British Crisp
Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection – protected at print
PulpaTronics – PulpaTronics
Vivid Laminating Technologies – Razar
Woolcool – LifeGuardian
Product Design
ACCO Brands – Leitz IQ OptiMax Shredder
Circular Box Solutions (PTY LTD S.A. Trading & LTD (U.K) – CircularBox Solutions™ – The Waterproof, Tear Proof, Collapsible, Ultra Durable Reusable Digital Packaging System
Chespa – ‘Give Them a Chance’
Clifton Packaging – The British Crisp
Koenig & Bauer Vision & Protection – protected at print
PulpaTronics – PulpaTronics
Woolcool – LifeGuardian
Start UP
Circular Box Solutions (PTY LTD S.A. Trading & LTD (U.K) – CircularBox Solutions™ – The Waterproof, Tear Proof, Collapsible, Ultra Durable Reusable Digital Packaging System
Eat with Mabel Limited trading as Mabel – Mabel
Enterprise Ski ls Ltd – Human Skills Index
PulpaTronics – PulpaTronics
TheNeverPress – Various Sorrows & Joys
Viktrs LTD – Viktrs: Building a Better Business Model for the Future of Video
Wingbinder Limited – The Wingbinder
Our innovator of the year for 2025
FabLittleBag
Product Design
Every day in the UK, 2.5 million tampons and 1.4 million pads are flushed down the toilet, resulting in plastic pollution to rivers, oceans and beaches. FabLittleBag is a sustainably sourced disposable bag that allows period products to be easily binned instead.
Designed to be opened with one hand, the bags are quick and simple to use, seal tight to prevent any odours, and are completely opaque for discreet disposal.
The Awards Winners
Take a look at the individuals and organisations recognised for their outstanding achievements.
Explore the winners below and discover the work, ideas and impact that set them apart.
Start-Up
xigxag Ltd
xigxag Ltd, for digital-audiobook gift cards enabling physical retailers to access the digital market.
Product Design
FabLittleBag
FabLittleBag, for its sustainable, discreet disposal-bag innovation for period products.
Education Technology
VoxBlock
VoxBlock, for a screen-free audiobook system supporting children’s literacy through tactile design.
Customer Experience
Interflex Group Ltd
Interflex Group Ltd, for fully-recyclable paper-based twist-wraps for Quality Street.
Business Process
Aura Consultants
Aura Consultants, for e-halo, a platform enabling brands to manage recyclability, compliance and carbon-impact tracking.
Communications (including Marketing)
Barley Communications
City of London Leaden hall Market & Barley Communications, for Revitalising a Heritage Brand.
Innovation Excellence Awards
The Innovation Excellence Awards are supported by lead sponsors Picon and Pearson, and backed by industry partners including Hobbs the Printers, Enbecom and Castelnau.
Through these Awards, The Stationers’ Company champions innovation in a UK sector worth over £65 billion annually, recognising and connecting the people and ideas at its heart.
