Consumer packaged goods (CPG) is a tough industry to break into. It’s estimated that more than 30,000 new products are launched each year, and only about 5 percent of those products succeed. Cutting through the noise and differentiating your brand from the competition is critical to making it in the CPG industry.

One way suppliers today are setting themselves apart is by achieving different certifications, seals, or label claims for both their products and their companies. Natural, organic, minority-owned business, small business—these are just a few of the many certifications companies can achieve. One of the most widely achieved certifications is the women-owned business (WOB) certification. It’s estimated that more than 13 million businesses in the United States are women-owned–including RangeMe!–and that number continues to rise. These businesses are generating almost $2 trillion in revenue and employ more than 9 million people. What’s more, women-owned businesses make up 39 percent of all privately held firms.

Navigating the meaning behind these certifications can be tricky—what do they mean? What are their benefits? And how do I get them? Fear not! We’re here to help. We’ve got the info you need to decipher the acronyms and find out how certifications might be a benefit to you and your business.

What’s in a name?

First things first—there are two types of women-owned certifications we’ll talk about:

  1. Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
  2. Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

They read similarly, but there are some differences.

To qualify as a WOSB, a business must:

  • Be a small business, with small meaning as defined by Title 13 Part 121.105(a) of the Code of Federal Regulations
  • Be primarily US-based
  • Have day-to-day operations managed by a woman
  • Be at least 51 percent owned by women who are US citizens
  • Have the highest position in the company held by a woman
  • Have a woman working in this highest position during normal working hours, full-time

To qualify as a WBE, a business must:

  • Be at least 51 percent owned or controlled by one or more women who are US citizens or legal aliens
  • Be based in the U.S. or its territories
  • Have day-to-day operations managed by a woman with industry expertise

How do we get there?

One of the more complex aspects of getting a certification around being a women-owned business is that there isn’t one governing body that hands out the designations. The WOSB is a certification designated by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) or the National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC) provide WBE certification. The distinction is important for suppliers when competing for contracts. Since WOSBs are certified by the SBA, they can be recognized as such when bidding on government contracts, and can be a leg up in the process if the contracts have clauses in them that specify businesses must be WOSB. WOSB certification is required to participate in federal programs. WBE certifications, however, are accepted mainly by private companies, though some government agencies will accept WBE certification. Applications can be filled out and submitted online, along with the appropriate fee (which can range anywhere from $275 to $400, depending on the organization).

If you’re considering pursuing a WOSB certification, there’s a major change coming that you’ll need to be aware of. In the past, companies could self-certify as women-owned, provided they had the right supporting documents. But starting July 1, 2020 self-certification is no longer an option, and companies will either have to have a third-party certification or go through the SBA’s free online certification.

The time and effort put into achieving a women-owned certification are not small, and it can be challenging, to say the least, but it is worth it. Having a women-owned certification for your business can open doors to opportunities that otherwise might not be possible. The U.S. government, for example, has a goal to award 5 percent of eligible contracting dollars to women-owned businesses. The due diligence it takes to get the certification has the potential to reap exponential benefits.

Three perks you need to know

  1. Increased access – Being a WOSB or WBE opens doors exclusively for women-owned businesses. This can include grants or contracts from both federal or private institutions that are designated only for WOSB or WBE. Every year, for example, the government designates at least 5 percent of its contract funds to go to women-owned businesses. But being certified as women-owned also allows access to industry information. As Shavon Smith writes for Walker’s Legacy, “Establishments that are certified, woman-owned businesses are granted access to large databases utilized by major corporations and government entities that support supplier diversity. The databases permit businesses to search for prospective customers and clients who will benefit from the product or service that your company provides.”
  2. Supplier diversity promotion – If they don’t already have a supplier diversity program in place, retailers today are actively working to up their game in creating a diverse supply chain. And to do that, many retailers are looking to women-owned businesses. Kroger, for example, made 234 new WBE supplier partnerships in 2019, a 57 percent increase from the previous year. In 2017, Walmart joined eight other corporations in a joint effort to track and report sourcing from women-owned businesses over five years, in a move that would raise awareness for the importance of sourcing products from women-owned businesses.
  3. Increased brand awareness – Businesses that have a women-owned certification often stand out among their counterparts. As mentioned above, retailers want to increase their supplier diversity, and having a women-owned certification can help a brand stand out on the shelf. (And in some cases, can come with additional perks like waived slotting fees). What’s more, having the Women-Owned logo on products “has shown to boost sales for manufacturers and corporate member retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, said Candace Waterman, chief of staff and business operations for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), in a Specialty Food article. The Council’s research also found that 90 percent of female consumers would go out of their way to purchase products from women-owned businesses.

Taking the next steps

Getting your business certified as women-owned is no small feat. It’s a commitment that takes time, money, and a not-so-small pile of paperwork. But the benefits are many—gaining interest from new clients, access to grants and programs, networking with fellow women-owned businesses, and even recruiting employees.

Once you have a women-owned certification, leverage it fully:

  • Include your designation in marketing materials.
  • Tout it at every opportunity, from trade shows to social media.
  • Add it to your RangeMe profile so buyers can easily discover your brand when searching by certification.

In 2017, women-owned businesses generated $1.7 trillion in sales—trillion with a T—and as supplier diversity and awareness of the benefits of women-owned businesses continues to increase, that number is sure to grow as well. And for an emerging supplier, if you qualify as a women-owned business, this is an opportunity to get a certification that you don’t want to let pass you by!

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