'Izzy' - Breaking the Stereotype in the Greeting Card Industry

When we first started trading to retail, one of the important factors to us, was to help fill gaps in the market.  

The greeting card industry is huge. The market is flooded with just about every card that you can imagine, every title that you think you need. However, the demand for even more unique, personalised and niche cards is still growing. 

Derren's contacts in the retail industry proved to be invaluable in helping us identify these gaps; by letting us know what cards their customers are asking for that are not provided in the mass market. As a small business, we can produce cards in smaller numbers and therefore fulfil this need. 

Our Goth Girl Ranges are the perfect example of how this has worked well for us and helped people find the right card for their loved ones. 

When you search for a card for a female friend or relative, the overriding themes tend to include butterflies, hearts, unicorns, birds and flowers. The overriding colours tend to be pinks, purples and pastels. These cards reflect the likes and interests of lots of girls and young women and they sell really well in stores - hence the trends.

However, more and more girls and young women today do not fall into this stereotype. We found that retailers were crying out for a more contemporary, more realistic card for some of their customers. 

Our local designer, Cannedels, was the perfect artist to provide these images for us. Her contemporary, funky and inclusive art fulfilled the brief, and our Goth Girl Ranges were created! 

We deliberated over the best name to give her and after a few attempts settled on ‘Izzy’ - she’s sassy and confident, not afraid to be herself, loves anything black and doesn’t feel the need to ooze happiness every second of the day. She’s fighting through the challenges of teenagerhood and battling into adulthood her way! 

Our Ranges now include female relatives and open birthday cards. 

The feedback we have had from people who have bought these cards is great, getting 5* reviews with comments such as “I really wish these cards were around when I was growing up” or “This card was perfect for my niece.” 

Our unique concept – No envelope, No waste – means that we can also fully-illustrate the posting covers on these ranges. The Goth Girl Posting Covers are covered in multi-coloured confetti using deep maroons, oranges and gold and uses the contemporary font ‘Aloja’. 

‘Izzy’ fulfills a gap in the market which we are proud to fill!