Shroot: “Greens And Greetings:” Cards And Plant Pots In One.
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George Taylor
- 8th December 2021
- 5 minute read
Shroot (“shoots and roots”) is a small, Wales-based start-up that is best known for their “Greens & Greetings” innovation: greeting cards and plant pots in one.
The brand launched with three initial Greens & Greetings designs on their website, but they’ve since gone on to launch four more designs, and a new product range called ‘Wildflower Wishes,’ which enables customers to write their wishes on wildflower seed paper, plant them, and watch them grow.
It all started when Shroot’s Co-Founder, Jude Cook started to grow microgreens as a lock-down hobby.
In Jude’s own words, “she’s not green fingered, but [she] found them quick and easy to grow, and tasty, too,” so she set about finding a novel way to share her new hobby with friends and family. After doing some research, she devised a unique way to post “everything needed to grow microgreens in such a way that the envelope is also the plant pot you grow them in.”
The two Founders, Carolyn Davies and Jude Cook started to develop the products in September 2020. They incorporated the business in November 2020, but they officially launched to the public on their website at the end of January 2021.
Jude Cook has an MA in Environmental Management, with over 20 years experience of supporting businesses to improve their environmental performance, as well as managing various renewable energy schemes. She’s also successfully set up and sold various micro businesses.
Carolyn Davies spent 13 years working at the BBC, mostly on factual documentaries. Her ecology degree came in handy whilst researching for a number of wildlife series. She’s also enjoyed researching and writing on a range of topics for various different TV programmes and BBC websites.
“With both of us having environmental backgrounds, we’re delighted to have been able to create unique gifts that are useful, fun and sustainable too! We’re developing and testing new ideas at the moment, which will tick all these boxes,” said Jude Cook and Carolyn Davies.
The duo only started to sell through wholesale in May, and already, their products are now stocked in over 50 independent shops and garden centres across the UK.
In September, Shroots won their first award (the Rising Star Award, which recognises product innovation and potential, at the Wales Start Up Awards). Their products have also been featured in some Christmas gift guides, too (in the Metro, Prima, and in MyWeekly to name just a few).
Find out more here: https://www.shroot.co.uk