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🌸 The Story of Petal and Post:

10 Questions for the CEO

Hi Kim, I hope you and the family are well as we prepare for yet another festive season and in the midst of the Peony season

 🌸 2025 has been a busy year, but it’s been a great one too – the second half of the year has been particularly busy with orders, and the team has really stepped up to the plate to fulfill them. I’m feeling proud of the hard work that everyone put in to prepare for the peony season and the festive season. There’s a lot of working going on behind the scenes that the customers don’t see. 

We’re sharing with our readers the story of Petal&Post and who better to answer these questions than the lady who started it all. So shall we start with the first question

  1. What was the original spark or inspiration behind founding and the name ‘Petal and Post’? 

 đŸŒ¸In 2016 I was living in Australia and working as an Urban Planner in a corporate firm. I wanted to order flowers for a friend who had had an op in hospital and came across the model of a ‘different Posy design each week’. I loved how clean and uncomplicated the ordering process was – eliminating the element of choice – and decided there and then that if I ever moved back to Cape Town I would test the concept. A few months later I was traveling with two friends in Asia and I told them about my business idea and they helped me to name the business while we were on our trip. 

  1. Do you remember the stems/flowers of the very first posy. 

 đŸŒ¸Yes, I photographed my first Posy in my garden shed while I was still living in Australia. The hero flower was white stocks. They are still my favourite flower today as the smell reminds me of the very start of the business. 

  1. When was the moment you decided or realised that Petal and Post is a long term venture. 

 đŸŒ¸I ran the business as a side hustle for 2 years while I continued my day job in a corporate career. In 2018 I was invited to do a business incubated programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business. It was a full on program and that’s when I decided to quit my job. It paid off because I met a lot of people in the e-commerce industry at that time who helped me to grow the business once I was working on it full time in 2019 

  1. Tell us what prompted the expansion to Johannesburg and Durban during a pandemic? 

 đŸŒ¸In May of 2020 we got a permit to deliver flowers during the hard lock down months. It was such a joy to be out and about delivering flowers to moms on Mother’s Day in Cape Town. The business really grew over the Covid months as South Africans started to shop online in a big way. Before the end of 2020 it made sense to open branches in both Joburg and Durban. We’ve never looked back. 

  1. The transition from a one- woman run business, to getting your first assistant/ driver and now having teams (manager,leads and drivers) in 6/7 locations, what are your thoughts on these changes?

 đŸŒ¸It’s been an honour to work with women, some of whom started in 2020 and 2021 and have grown from strength to strength within the business. It really motivates me when I can see the people within the business growing and learning new skills and leadership qualities. This is one of P&Ps core values – development and growth, alongside hard work. I have an incredibly motivated team and it’s such a pleasure to work alongside them each day.

  1. The tech transition. What does it mean for Petal&Post and everyday business?

 đŸŒ¸The Tech world has come a long way since we launched in 2016. As an ecommerce business we have had to keep up with the continuous changes in the industry, from each angle including  UX, UI, dev, digital marketing, SEO and now AEO. I love the challenge of learning and understanding the new technologies as we adopt them and trying to maintain a forerunner in the South African e-commerce space. 

  1. As a CEO, what is your ultimate, long-term vision for the impact Petal and Post will have on our industry or community? 

 đŸŒ¸I want Petal&Post to stand for consistent, thoughtful gifting that supports local growers and artisans. I hope our work continues to create stable jobs for women and set a standard for what responsible, customer-centred e-commerce can look like in South Africa. If we can keep growing while staying true to seasonality, quality and care, that would be the legacy I’d be proud of.

  1. If you had to distill Petal and Post’s initial mission into just one sentence, what would it be? Has that mission evolved over time? 

 đŸŒ¸Flowers that are direct from the farmers, delivered the same day to the vase (customer). This has been the mandate since the very beginning. 

  1. Your ultimate 10 stem posy consists of what flowers? 

 đŸŒ¸I love flowers that are strongly in season. We work with nature – the most seasonal flowers are the ones that are the strongest and most beautiful. In summer I love the softer flowers like sticks or delphiniums, and in winter I’m all about the Geraldton wax and proteas. 

**If you (Kim) had to send or receive a Petal&Post gift box, either the ones we have listed or a custom box of max 6 items, what would you choose? 

 🌸I’m all about the new Dear Lover Set right now – it has so much sass. 

**Fun question, Which celebrity or well- known person (local or international) for any reason, on any occasion, would Petal&Post send a rose box too? 

 đŸŒ¸Nomzamo Mbatha – She balances global acting work with meaningful humanitarian work. Her commitment to community upliftment, women and youth aligns well with the heart of your business. A rose box for her would acknowledge the way she uses her platform to bring purpose and dignity to others.

10) Finally, what message would you like to share with our employees and customers who are reading this blog post? (This offers a concluding, personal call-to-action or thank you.)

 đŸŒ¸Thank you for being part of this journey. To our customers, your support of local growers and small businesses has shaped Petal&Post more than you know. To our team, your hard work and quiet consistency are the reason we can deliver beauty across the country each day. I’m grateful for every person who has helped build this business into what it is today.