Zerritta Flowers was born with indubitable passion and wander lust when burgeoning florist Shahnaz Saigal travelled to Japan on a business trip with her husband almost fifty years ago. With an innate love of Nature,Shahnaz was inordinately piquedbymyriad assortments of flora and fauna.While in Japan for almost two months, she decided to embark on a course in Ikebana (Japanese art of flower arrangement) and instantly began to exult in her new passion,adding it to her other hobby, tennis in which she had been a champion in Pakistan for seven consecutive years. This new focus on flower arrangement soon transmogrified into a full-fledged business upon her return to Pakistan where she starred in her own TV show and set up a floral school to offer classes in flower arrangement to thousands of women.
In 1972 Shahnaz opened her first shop in the then Intercontinental Hotel (today’s Pearl Continental Hotel). After this momentous decision there was no stopping the blossoming businesswoman who introduced more shops; held exhibitions and earlier in 1970 helped to form the Floral Art Society of Pakistan with Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan as its patron.
Shahnaz learned that her new daughter-in-law law Saira (married to her eldest son) shared her passion for flowers and thus began teaching her about the delicacies of flowers; the concept behind Zerritta Flowers; the business model and foremost about quality, something Zerrita Flowers continues to berenowned for.
Saira Saigal officially took over Zerritta Flowers in 1999 and gradually began branching the brand away from hotels, which had seen myriad security issues due to sectarian violence in Karachi. The first independent Zerritta Flowers shop opened on Main Khayaban-e-Shahbaz in 2007. Soon after, others mushroomed in Ocean Mall; Main Shaheed-e-Millat Rd. and finally a garden enclave and fresh flower cum artificial shop at Dolmen Mall. Clifton.
Saira further expanded the business by introducing stellar event management services; arranging private parties, weddings and myriad corporate events. In 2002 she began the concept of luxury weddings,which took off terrifically well and she continued to educate herself, completing courses in event management,commercial floristry and completed a specialized Master’s degree in Business and Time Management for successful flower deliveries.
Since its inception 45 years ago there has been no looking back for Zerritta Flowers. The company has grown exponentially, with a successfully-running online store and delivery worldwide to over 200 destinations and to all four of Pakistan’s major cities, with many more exciting developments to be announced, including a complete online solution for people living abroad who want to send flowers and gifts to their friends and loved ones in Pakistan and other destinations.