At SHARP we work with many B Corps who are doing business better and balancing purpose with profit.  We asked Catherine Coward, co-founder of The Good Crowd & B Corp expert, who has helped over 40 food & drink businesses on their B Corp journey, why it matters and what’s involved.

In simple terms, what does it mean for a business to become a B Corp?

Certified B Corps, are companies independently verified to meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

As well as being a certification, B Corp is a movement of businesses who make decisions and act for the good of those that depend on them (their stakeholders), alongside profit.

B Corps balance the three Ps (People, Planet & Profit) and act as a force for good. Once certified, B Corps join a community of inspiring leaders using business as a force for good.

Today there are just over 2800 certified B Corps in the UK, and over 10,000 worldwide. Last year, you may have seen B Corps celebrating 10 years of the movement in the UK. The food and drink community have been at the heart of this movement since the start with founding members like Innocent Drinks, Ella’s Kitchen and Cook proving that purpose and profit can successfully work together. There are around 380 food & drink B Corps in the UK, of all sizes from start-ups, fast scaling challenger brands like Pip & Nut, Proper and Tony’s Chocoloney through to multinational companies including Danone.

B Corp has recently launched its new standards, and it’s a really positive shift. This is the biggest revamp since B Corp was born and are the results of 5 years of development and consultations. The new standards are a really positive evolution, certainly better tailored to a company’s size and more action focussed, directing businesses to put effort where they can have the biggest impact. 

It’s an exciting time for the movement, and there’s never been a better time to get involved.

Why should a food or drink producer even consider B Corp certification?

There is no doubt we are all living in turbulent times, with long-term social and environmental challenges across the globe and closer to home. Governments alone cannot solve these issues and businesses are recognising they have a role to play in driving change for good.

B Corp helps businesses do this. It provides a framework that will force you (in a good way) to think about your impact in a rigorous, robust and structured way. It provides answers, not just questions, showing benchmark practices and ways of doing things that will help a business set up for long term success.

Although it’s tough and time consuming, it can be one of the most rewarding experiences for you and your team.

It makes good business sense too. B Corp is a great way to help communicate your brand mission & vision, demonstrating shared values with customers, retailers, investors and potential employees. It helps cut through the noise too around sustainability. ‘Greenwashing’ can make it hard to know what’s real and true, B Corp provides that badge, showing that a business has been independently verified to meet higher standards of social and environmental impact.

What is the real benefit?

B Corps consistently prove that balancing purpose and profit is good for business. Research shows that businesses with clear mission and purpose consistently outperform those without.

People want to buy from, work for and invest in businesses they trust, where they share the same values. This is especially true for younger generations and is a growing trend. B Corp certification builds trust.

Small and medium-sized UK B Corps saw a 23.2% increase in turnover, compared to the national average of 16.8%. (B Lab 2025)

One important benefit is the impact on attracting and keeping talent. Great people are crucial for any growing business, and B Corps consistently outperform other businesses in recruitment and retention metrics. Investors like it too, with B Corps more successfully securing equity finance compared to other businesses.

At what stage of growth does it make sense to start the B Corp journey? Is it only for bigger brands?

Not at all. The B Corp standards are really well tailored to a company’s size and industry, so they are accessible whatever stage of growth you’re at. Starting early certainly has benefits. The B Corp journey gives young businesses a framework that will help set them up for ethical growth. For example, employee wellbeing and engagement practices, and purchasing processes. The assessment is tailored to a company’s size, with larger businesses required to go deeper recognising their greater impact. The B Corp requirements are designed to be accessible for small businesses including those who don’t yet have any employees.

What are the main areas a producer will be assessed on during the B Corp process?

The B Corp assessment is quite comprehensive, looking across all areas of a company’s operation and practices, as well as into its supply chain. The assessment framework covers 7 impact topics.

A business is also required to make the legal change or “mission lock” by amending their company legal articles of association to include the B Corp wording that commits them to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders.

How long does the process usually take from start to certification?

It can vary quite a bit depending on many factors including size and complexity of the business and how much time they have to focus on it. But on average 1 year is about right from start to submitting their assessment. The company will then undergo an audit, and if successful will join the B Corp community.

What sort of internal changes do businesses typically need to make to qualify?

This will very much depend on the size, age and maturity of the company. Often a business has informal practices that may not be written down, and formalisation is required. This is particularly true for relatively young businesses. One area that usually requires some focus is understanding your supply chain. This isn’t as complicated as it may sound, the requirements focus you towards understanding only the biggest suppliers and their practices around human rights and the environment. Businesses often find this work very enlightening.

Is B Corp mainly about sustainability, or does it cover people and culture too?

B Corp assesses a company’s impact on the environment and on people, and how it embeds this in its culture, decision making and governance. Transparency and accountability are fundamental too.

What are the most common mistakes or misconceptions producers have when starting out?

At first glance, small businesses often think B Corp is not achievable and out of reach for them. But that’s nearly always not the case. Once they dive in and understand their specific requirements things become clearer and a plan emerges.

I’ve worked with many food and drink companies, and the most successful ones recognise that B Corp does take a considerable amount of time and focus. They are realistic about this, knowing that keeping the business going is their top priority and B Corp cannot always have their total focus. So we break it down into manageable chunks, and make sure the right people are involved (both decision makers and a team member or two who can move things along).

How much time, cost and resource should a small or growing producer realistically plan for?

Planning for around 12 months, with a small project team to share the load is the right way to go. A member of the operations team is invaluable, and founder / CEO level involvement is crucial.

There is a cost to certify B Corp, and then an annual certification fee based on company turnover. Find out more here: Pricing | Cost of B Corp Certification

Once certified, how can a producer actually use B Corp to add value to their brand and business?

Once certified, businesses use many imaginative ways to shout about their achievement across all of their communications. As well as adding the B Corp logo to pack, the businesses that use it to best advantage, incorporate it into their values/purpose messaging across all of their target stakeholders (consumers, retailers, new employees and investors). Impact reports are a great way to showcase and bring to life what a business stands for and what actions it has taken and commits to take to positively impact people and planet – take a look at your favourite B Corps for inspiration.