She serves happiness
Kgwarapi runs mobile plant shop
Five months ago, Marang Kgwarapi set out on an exhilarating adventure. The brains behind A Letsatsi Plants, she lives by the motto that you can’t buy happiness but you can buy plants, which in her case, is synonymous.
And happiness is something that they are delivering on when it comes to curating and intricately giving their clients exactly what they want.
Going through the mobile company’s Instagram page, story after story, one can’t help but smile and almost smell the flowers from a distance. Kwarapi has this versatile attention to detail, and it is something that keeps her clients coming back for more and winning her new clients. It is almost impossible to believe that this company is still brand new, as it is already causing ripples in the market. The mobile plant shop offers an array of services that include potted plants, herbs and flowers for sale. These vary from glass vases, ceramic and cement pots.
The cheerful Kgwarapi explains that she calls A Letsatsi her happy place. When she embarked on this journey, she needed to find a quick way to make money, after losing her job a few months ago.
And what better way than to use her hands and her love for plants to earn a decent living. This is where her creativity kicks in. She looked for a ‘ different’ way to present her work, something different from the traditional flower bouquets, and the fact that she also wanted flowers/ plants that would last longer than a week. That is how she came up with this genius idea. She further notes that what makes her offering unique is the fact that she does not sell the traditional flower bouquets, or plants. Instead, her speciality is houseplants that bring joy to her client’s homes/ offices.
“They do not die after a few days. The sets that I have sold in July when I started are still alive and looking beautiful, “says Kgwarapi. Her favourite offering, she says, are her hydroponic vases. These, she says are flowers/ plants that are sold in glass vases with only water. Even more beautiful about them is the fact that they do not need soil. And it is easy to see why she is so in love with them. Looking at them through the transparent glass has your heart smiling and skipping a beat. You instinctively get that happiness drug that she wants all her clients to enjoy effortlessly. Now imagine the bare roots exposed in a glass vase with a lid being presented in your home or office, she says, adding to the whole magic behind this offering.
Kgwarapi sources her flowers and plants locally. Her main suppliers are the ladies that sell on the side of the road. She has a special relationship with a lot of them, and they in turn share their plant and life wisdom, with her.
“My vases and pots are sourced outside Botswana,” she notes.
Painting a picture about the type of experience that she offers to her growing clientele, she explains that a lot of her clients are ‘ new plant parents’. She explains that finding the right plant/ flower for them, she goes through a checklist, that covers important basics such as plants that require minimal care, the type of sunshine exposure required, if a client has any allergies, as well as the occasional, ‘ I just want something pretty.’
“I offer a mobile plant shop, where clients are able to select from my instagram page, or via whatsapp, the type of plant they are looking for- then I have these delivered to their homes/ offices,” she shares.
She further says that her target market is everyone, both young and old, single and married, as well as For home and office usage.
“A lot of my clients are also gifters- maternity gifts, wedding gifts, mood- lifter up gifts, you name it. I think with COVID- 19 and the movement regulations, we have all been ‘ forced’ to spend more time at home, and appreciate our personal spaces more. Now everyone wants their homes and offices to have greens all over,” says Kgwarapi.
Prices range from P65 and above but are dependent on the type of vase/ pot used. Her highlight is meeting different types of people, both the young and old, and those who are new to plants.
“I have had a few clients over the months and we have completely transformed their spaces from being bare to full of plants and flowers. I have also started working with clients on their outside spaces as well,” she highlights.