LBP was honoured to be invited to Flare Audio in Chartwell Road to witness the presentation of their 2025 King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation. Lady Emma Barnard, Lord- Lieutenant of West Sussex presented the well-deserved award.
Davies and Naomi kindly explained how they met when Davies, a Fire Fighter at the time, was invited to produce the sound at a youth disco where Naomi was a Youth Worker.
Davies’ fascination for sound, led him to design groundbreaking technology, which was soon snapped up by a Music Producer, resulting in Flare’s speakers being installed in Selfridges' Cinema and their PAs being used at gigs and festivals all over the world.
Winning The King’s Award for Enterprise has been an enormous honour for everyone at Flare Audio. They’re a team of just 19 people, so to be recognised amongst the UK’s most innovative businesses they said feels incredibly special and humbling.
For Davies especially, as the inventor of Calmer, their award-winning product, it has been an emotional and proud moment to see an idea developed through years of research and innovation receive recognition at this level. Davies said “When we founded Flare, we had a clear mission to develop meaningful sound technologies. We started by redesigning loudspeakers and had no idea that our constant innovation and R&D would lead us to creating products that help calm our response to stressful noises. Receiving the award from Lady Emma Barnard at our headquarters in Lancing made the occasion even more memorable for the whole team.”
Receiving The King’s Award for Enterprise has already had a hugely positive impact on Flare Audio. The award brings an incredible level of credibility and international recognition, particularly as The King’s Awards are globally respected as one of the highest honours for UK businesses. It’s helped shine an even bigger spotlight on Calmer and the positive impact it is having for people across the world, particularly those experiencing sound sensitivities linked to stress, autism or ADHD.
The recognition also gives customers, retailers and partners additional confidence in both their innovation and the science behind their products. As a British independent company selling globally, that level of recognition is extremely valuable.
Internally, it has also been a huge boost for the team. Everyone at Flare works incredibly hard and cares deeply about what they create, so receiving this award has reinforced that they’re building something genuinely meaningful that's improving people’s everyday lives.
LBP asked Flare what the King’s Award for Enterprise application process was like, and they confirmed it is quite a lengthy process! It’s extremely thorough and rigorous, which makes receiving the award feel even more meaningful.
Flare found the application process a really reflective experience for the business; as a small independent company, they’re usually completely focused on product development, customer feedback and day-to-day innovation, so taking the time to properly look back at the journey of Calmer was really rewarding for the company.
LBP would like to congratulate the Davies, Naomi and the whole Flare Team on this outstanding achievement!
If you would like to find out more about Flare Audio please click below:
Flare’s Story
Flare’s Kings Award for Enterprise Journey
The application process for the 2027 King’s Award for Enterprise is currently open, so if you would like to propel your company into dizzy heights then why not take a look by clicking here
Best of luck everyone.
