The Yeovil-based envelope supplier is currently active in 14 countries and wants to effectively double that.

“We are setting up distributors to branch into new countries. We aim to be in 27,” said managing director Michael Barter. “We have met a lot of overseas people already at the show, and are very pleased with the people we’ve met.”

“The UK is an established market, whereas in some overseas markets 80% of the products we sell have never been seen before,” he added.

Blake currently sells around 2bn envelopes a year to clients including envelope overprinters, paper merchants and retailers.

The £24m turnover, 54 employee firm recently moved into 1,400sqm of refurbished office space at its site, where it holds 400m envelopes in stock for next day delivery.

It has also rebranded its range with new packaging. 

“We have the largest stockholding in the UK, and maybe Europe,” stated Barter, who is keen to push the creative and attention-grabbing possibilities of using different envelope formats, paper stocks, and colours.

“People spend £5 producing a lovely brochure to send to their top clients, then post it out in a boring old brown or white envelope,” he said. “For a few pence more they can have a stand-out product that will set them apart.

“I can’t guarantee an envelope will make someone a sale, but I can guarantee the right envelope will be opened.”

Blake’s Premium Office range is also the only envelope approved for use in Ricoh digital presses.

The firm is on stand S2-F213 at the show.