Well known sales agent Derren Seal is ‘pushing the envelope’ and no mistake, having developed EnvelopD, a concept that he is patenting, which does away with the need for a separate envelope with a greeting card.
Working on a series of folds, the EnvelopD becomes an integral part of the card, with no ‘throw away’ element as upon opening, the ‘cover’ is folded behind itself when the card goes on display.
“The idea for EnvelopD came to me nearly two years ago when I was driving in between customers on a long straight road in Wales. I had just called upon a customer who repeated the same gripe that most of my independent shops have. A bane of their existence is the constant loss/damage of envelopes,” Derren told PG Buzz. “Retailers trying to find replacement envelopes is a never-ending problem because all greeting card publishers produce such an array of differing sizes of cards. This leads to them having to bin both card and envelope or request more from suppliers,” adds Derren, who highlights that the push for cards to be supplied naked and nested has further exacerbated the issue.
“Cards displayed naked require so much looking after by merchandising teams or else they look horrific with envelopes and cards strewn about the racks. I decided that I wanted to stop this waste and the need for cello wrap completely, creating an eco-friendly and commercially viable alternative that could be applied to all single fold cards. EnvelopD is just that,” believes Derren of his invention.
Kingfisher Cards (one of the seven companies which Derren represents as an agent) is the first publisher to adopt EnvelopD, introducing it on a range of 24 designs (with its own spinner) that will launch at Spring Fair. Derren hopes that many more publishers will be interested in his invention in the coming months.
“It really is the simplest and most effective solution to a long-lived issue, especially given the increasing demand for all industries to become eco-friendly and sustainable,” believes Derren.
The EnvelopD can be seen in action on the Kingfisher Cards’ stand at Spring Fair (Hall 3 N24).
