All over a plaster

I often introduce Cardiology Greeting Cards to customers by relaying a story about plasters… you know, the ones we use for nicks and scrapes.

I start by asking a question that I hope you’ll try to answer too.

“Do you remember using a traditional plaster as a kid? What colour was it?  Brown? Correct. Do you know why?”

Usually, people don’t know why all plasters were brown/beige and the answer tends to surprise them.

Plasters were tinted in that particular shade of brown because it was meant to be invisible after applied to the wound. But, humans exist in all shades of brown, so, to whom was the plaster actually supposed to be invisible on? That’s right… only a portion of society!

You see, even though plasters were initially created for one group of people, many people saw its benefit and used it. The plasters were never marketed as exclusive to a particular sector and so as it infiltrated the rest of the world, other brown folks never gave its colour a second thought. Instead, plasters were marketed as a wound protecting product and that was it. It could have been green, red or blue, but it was light brown and nobody knew better or questioned why.

Similarly, premium greeting cards in South Africa traditionally cater for a certain sector of society. The range comes in two languages – – English and Afrikaans – – and regularly covers western occasions.

The rest of South Africa has not worked up a fuss about the limited range of greeting cards available for other cultural events, and I think it’s because we have adapted and accepted its absence in our lives.

This is how Cardiology Greeting Cards started. I wanted all cultures to have premium greeting cards for their religious and social occasions, too. I wanted our rainbow nation to be able to express our feelings in our first language and in our unique way.

We launched our brand with premium quality Diwali and Deepavali greeting cards for R24.90 each, variety four-pack cards for R39. 90 and four of the same cards for R29.90. We also had packs of sweetmeat parcel tags for R9. 98, inscribed with well wishes, in both Tamil and Hindi. Prior to this, humorous or even sincere Diwali or Deepavali greeting cards were simply not available for celebrants to share their sentiments to a loved one, they way we can at Christmas. And so, the community learned to live without it.

Sales from our very first launch were phenomenal. Friends who do not celebrate the festival bought cards for those that do, celebrants bought cards for those who immediately came to mind as they chuckled while browsing through our wide range. Meaningful messages and joyful self expression finally took place. Our Diwali and Deepavali parcel tags sold out in minutes, literally as we were walking to restock the display stand.

To wrap up this blog, I’d like to share my thoughts on why Cardiology Greeting Cards is a company built as a social cause rather than just a business built for trade. It’s simple really; being culturally inclusive matters in the 21st century. We don’t always realise how we’ve adapted to limitations until we experience the abundance of it in our lives. The cosmetic industry only became shade inclusive (excuse the pun… ) fairly recently with foundation for darker complexions, and body type inclusivity in the fashion industry is also fairly new. Again, I marvel at how we’ve adapted around these limitations.

Cardiology’s range of South African inspired greeting cards celebrates all cultures, from our vibrant Hindu community to our treasured ‘Ubuntuvists’ and our ‘geesful’ Bok fans.

Let me leave you with this question: what products have you learned to live without that others get to enjoy?

From my heart,
Benita
Founder and Director of Cardiology Greeting Cards (PTY) LTD