Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection has announced today it is to expand its popular high-end Santé range.

12 new greeting card designs branded ‘Santé Gesture’ will include themes such as nostalgia, fashion, nature and home crafts and will be launched to the market in March, with a further 12 made available to coincide with the company’s annual franchisee conference in May.

“We are very excited about the stunning new range,” confirms Andrew Cutler, sales and franchise director of Card Connection.  “Aimed predominantly at the female market, the Santé Gesture cards depict sophisticated and beautiful illustrations and paintings.  They would not look out of place in an up-market gift shop and yet will be available to consumers in a variety of easily accessible outlets through delivery by our nation-wide network of franchisees.”

Several watercolours have been commissioned for the range, including paintings of sunflowers and a Venetian scene.  All the Santé Gesture cards have been created on square matt board with special finishes to bring out specific details like foil or “flitter” to pick out the wings of a butterfly for example, or embossed to give texture to illustrations created using fabric and buttons.  One design features a beautiful scalloped edge to help highlight the lace detail used.

“Our dedicated in-house design team is constantly updating our product portfolio,” continues Cutler.  “Our enthusiastic team of franchisees use an award-winning consignment model approach to supply retailers, where stockists only pay for what they sell.  As a result, Card Connection remains one of the most popular franchise organisations in the marketplace today.”

Card Connection has limited vacancies for new franchisees who are keen to run an expanding business.  Successful candidates would ideally have some management experience as, once established, they would be expected to employ a small team, operate a warehouse and have several liveried vans on the road.

Because the franchise networks in the UK and Ireland are complete, the available opportunities now consist of acquiring an already-established territory from an existing franchisee.  These vary in price according to their level of development, but start at £20,000 (+ stock) with earnings potential in excess of £50,000 per annum.