According to founder
Nick Jenkins, "Moonpig" was his
nickname at school in
Newport, Shropshire, hence the name of the brand. The original launch of Moonpig in 2000 coincided with the collapse of the
dot-com bubble, which made progress difficult at first, but Jenkins raised further investment from private investors and venture capital, and the advent of broadband and digital cameras together with news spreading by word-of-mouth meant sales steadily increased, with the first profits being made in 2005. A television advertising campaign began in the United Kingdom in November 2006. two years and four months later, Moonpig received more internet traffic than other flower and gift companies in the UK. By summer 2009, the company had sold cards to 2.57 million customers and its profit record was seen by
The Times as "a typical curve for a successful start-up – a big, £1 million loss establishing it in its first year, negligible losses edging into negligible earnings over the next six years, and thereafter a seven-figure profit". The website was launched in July 2000, and in 2007 the company was responsible for 90 percent of the online greeting card market in the United Kingdom, with nearly six million cards shipped. In July 2011, Moonpig was bought by Photobox Group, which also owns
Photobox, for £120m in a cash and shares transaction. Photobox was sold to a private equity firm Exponent Private Equity in 2015. In 2019 Moonpig separated from Photobox Group. Moonpig Group was formed which encompassed Moonpig and Dutch equivalent Greetz. On 2 February 2021 Moonpig Group was listed on the London Stock Exchange; its market capitalisation at the end of the first day of trading was over £1.2billion. Exponent sold shares as part of the listing, cutting its stake from 41% to 27%. ==Security==