The Huddersfield, West Yorkshire-based direct mail specialist claimed its new ‘cards with a conscience’ business is the UK’s first environmentally focused greetings cards offering, with carbon reduction and guaranteed charitable donations at its heart.
Propack has made a “six-figure investment” into the launch of Planet Bee. Its aim is to become a key player in the greetings cards sector and an alternative provider to the major brands.
It has the capacity to print and post up to 185,000 personalised cards per day from its 2,787sqm site in Huddersfield. Pricing will start from £1.95 for a personalised card.
Planet Bee Cards has committed to making a donation from each card purchase to one of its two charity partners, Mental Health UK and Action for Children. Customers will be able to choose which charity to donate to at checkout. All charitable donations will come from Planet Bee’s profits and go directly to support the charities on a monthly basis.
Planet Bee will launch with new-to-market original card designs that can be fully personalised with photos and text for all celebratory occasions, with new designs being added daily. The online retailer has partnered with several creative designers to create a platform for new talent to enter the industry.
Propack recently secured a trio of new client wins in the charity sector. Late last year it also won a tender to provide four years of outsourced sponsorship activity for children’s charity Plan International UK (PIUK).
Earlier in 2022 it had topped off a mega £2.7m investment drive with its biggest purchase yet, a Canon VarioPrint iX3200 cutsheet inkjet printer.
Using Propack’s print and fulfilment capabilities, Planet Bee has launched with a turnaround time of a daily 6pm cut off for next-day delivery.
The launch of the business has also allowed two new roles to be created at Propack, with Nicole Clark and Martin Owen being appointed as head of marketing and graphic designer, respectively.
Clark has spent the last five years running marketing for start-ups, helping the likes of Dr Alex George, Tom Daley, and Mark Wright to create successful businesses from idea to fruition.
CEO and founder of Propack Neil Lloyd said: “We are thrilled to be able to launch Planet Bee Cards with such an incredible team behind us.
“The brand is allowing us to bring a new proposition to the marketplace that ties all of our core beliefs together; protection of the environment, carbon reduction, carbon offsetting and charitable contributions close to our clients’ hearts.
“I am delighted to be able to partner with Mental Health UK and Action for Children, two wonderful organisations that do such important work. This will ensure that we can continue to support others for years to come and provide opportunities for our customers to give back while still maintaining a competitive price point.
“Through Propack we also have our own ethical postage brand, Ethical Mail, as well as recently partnering with Ecologi to ensure a climate positive operation.”
Founded in 1995, Propack’s customer base covers both B2C and B2B but its sector specialisms include retail, charity, travel, and automotive.
