Question: What do Ben & Jerry’s, Ella’s Kitchen, Teapigs and Alpro have in common?
As well as being some of the leading food and drink brands in the UK grocery market, they are all accredited B Corp businesses, answering the call of consumers looking to engage with sustainable and ethical brands looking to balancing profit with purpose.
The movement is steadily gaining momentum amongst consumers, who are increasingly holding businesses accountable for the impact their businesses have on the environment, their workers and the local community.
Just last week, healthy recipe box delivery company Mindful Chef proudly announced that it has boosted its B Corp score by a third, including an impressive 249% increase in its scores across the environment section of the assessment.
This follows Nespresso announcing its certification as a B Corp in April, joining the movement of over 700 purpose-led UK and ROI businesses and 4,900 around the world, verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
READ MORE: Nespresso becomes certified B Corp
What exactly is a B Corp?
B Corp is a certification to demonstrate to consumers that a business strives not only for profits, but for the betterment of the world and environment around them.
This includes being transparent about operating practices and having a high standard of legal accountability, not forgetting about, bettering their employees and customers, both locally and globally.
As a result, companies have to be checked every three years and if they fail to meet the set criteria, they lose their B Corp status.
Proper Snacks, the popcorn and lentil crisps brand, officially became B Corp certified in 2018, becoming the “first B Corp certified snack company in the UK.”
Speaking to Grocery Gazette, Proper Snack’s sustainability manager Katie Leggett says that B Corp is “gaining momentum among consumers, who are increasingly holding businesses accountable for the impact their decisions have on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment.”
She adds that the company looks at its impact on the world as a B Corp organisation. This includes measuring and reducing carbon emissions across its supply chain, improving communities through charity partnerships invest in its team.
Ocado even launched a dedicated ‘aisle’ for its B-Corp brands last year.
The online-only supermarket announced its new focus on B-Corp certified brands would feature over 1,100 products from over 35 certified suppliers, with brands including Ella’s Kitchen, Innocent, Method, Charlie Bingham’s, Pip & Nut, Teapigs, Proper Snacks, Alpro, Ben & Jerry’s and Cheeky Panda, among others.
READ MORE: Gousto joins the global B Corp community
How important is having the B Corp certificate?
According to Dash Water’s senior brand manager Georgina Bolton Carter, awareness among consumers is increasing.
“Until fairly recently, B Corp accreditation was mostly recognised in the corporate world,” she tells Grocery Gazette.
Dash Water was awarded a B Corp accreditation in 2020. To achieve this, the company had to submit a rigorous report of its business practices as well as be assessed on its values and how it interacts with workers, community and the environment.
Bolton Carter says: “Increasingly consumers, particularly the younger generations, want to support companies that make a positive impact in the world. B Corp status is a great way to make that commitment visible.”
According to Guy Tullberg, the managing director of Tracklements, which gained its B Corp status in 2021, customers are “increasingly looking for a product that not only, you know, delivers what it is that they bought it for, but it actually has an environmental credential.
Speaking to Grocery Gazette, Tullberg says: “What the stamp does is that it shows customers these businesses are doing things the right way and treating people and the environment in what is a sustainable way.”
“If you’ve got two brands on the shelf, and you were making a choice between one and the other, the conscious consumer is going to pick up the B Corp product, because it gives them the reassurance that they want from making the decision, which is that their money is going to the right place, which supports people and the planet.”
READ MORE: Innocent CEO steps down
The future of B Corp businesses
Tullberg believes more businesses will look to achieve B Corp accreditation in the future, adding it to their certifications.
“What we can’t do is have companies talk about the good that they are doing and having no way of backing that up,” he says.
Bolton Carter also welcomes the continued rise in awareness of B Corp. “It’s empowering consumers to make more informed choices,” she concludes.
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