What being a B Corp in food actually means?
You've probably seen the little black-and-white B Corp logo popping up more often on menus, websites, even produce boxes. But what does it actually mean, especially in food?
At its heart, B Corp is a global movement of businesses using profit as a force for good. Getting certified means a company has passed a pretty tough assessment (in fact only about 30% of applications are successful) focussed on how it treats its workers, manages its supply chain, handles waste, impacts the planet, and gives back to the community. It also means the company has made a legal commitment to consider people and the planet, not just profit, in every decision.
So, if you're a restaurant or food business, B Corp certification proves you're not just talking sustainability, you're living it. From how you source (think seasonal, local, low-carbon), to how you treat your team (fair wages, healthy working culture), to how you handle your waste and energy use. It's a framework for doing things better, across the board.
As Hawksmoor, one of the first B Corp certified restaurants in the UK, puts it: "There's no faking it with B Corp. You prove you are the best employer with the most sustainable systems… not just within our sector, but across the board."
And customers are paying attention. Diners and clients today are increasingly savvy about greenwashing. They can smell the difference between real action and mere talk. That's why being a B Corp can boost trust. It's essentially a trust mark: "It's proof, a way to differentiate good companies from good marketing," as B Lab's Andy Fyfe says. When guests see that a restaurant has been vetted by a credible third party, they're more likely to believe in the restaurant's claims and values, which plants the seed of long-term loyalty.
A growing club — and restaurants are catching up
Until recently, foodservice wasn't exactly crowding into the B Corp club. But that's changing. Hawksmoor blazed the trail in 2022. Since then, Dishoom, Pizza Pilgrims, Caravan, Big Mamma Group, Fallow and others have followed, showing that values-led business can sit comfortably alongside cult-favourite menus. These are restaurants putting their ethics where their mouths are, and diners are taking notice.
Globally, there are still only around 250 certified restaurant B Corps — including trailblazers like Attica in Melbourne, Pisticci in New York, and The Neighbourhood Group in Canada. But momentum is building. More and more, the foodservice operators are asking: what would it take for us to get there too?
Why it matters for foodservice
Let's be honest: food has a massive footprint. Restaurants in the UK throw out almost 200,000 tonnes of food waste every year. Hospitality accounts for around 3–5% of national emissions. Plus, what ends up on a diner's plate passes through dozens of hands and lives — farmers, delivery drivers, kitchen staff.
That means restaurants have huge potential to make things better. A B Corp certified food business isn't just measuring its impact. It's actively improving it, and doing so in ways that make sense for business too: reducing waste, lowering energy bills, building team loyalty, and attracting values-aligned customers.
And as regulations tighten on green claims, due diligence, and emissions, being a B Corp helps you stay ahead of the curve.
New standards = no shortcuts
You might have heard buzz that the B Corp standards just got tougher – and they have. In April 2025, B Lab rolled out the most significant update to its certification standards in 19 years.
Gone is the old scoring system where companies could pick up points in their strong areas and coast through. Now, there are core non-negotiable standards across seven impact areas - all of which must be met from day one, with stricter improvement goals every three years. Think of it as levelling up: no cherry-picking, no greenwashing. Just clear accountability and deeper proof of action.
Why the change? In short, the bar for "good business" is always rising, and B Lab wants to keep B Corps at the forefront. There had been some criticism that it was too easy for big companies to get certified without truly radical changes, so the new standards aim to galvanize deeper action on critical social and environmental issues.
At Collectiv Food, we're already prepping for this shift with our recertification coming up in 2025 and it's no small feat. But we believe it's worth it. Because the stakes (and expectations) are only getting higher.
So why did Collectiv become a B Corp?
We certified in 2023 because it matched the mission we'd been building from the start: to transform the food supply chain into one that's more transparent, fair, and sustainable. The assessment process wasn't easy but it pushed us to walk the talk, from measuring our carbon impact and improving policies, to embedding sustainability into every team's work.
Ultimately, Collectiv Food pursued B Corp certification because we believe foodservice can lead the change. Whether or not you go for the full badge, the principles behind B Corp, transparency, continuous improvement, treating people and the planet with care, are solid guides for running a stronger, more resilient food business. By being part of this community, we're saying loud and clear that business-as-usual in the food industry isn't good enough – we need a better model, one built on responsibility to people and the planet we all share.. And we want to help our clients and partners succeed on that path too. If we can do it in distribution, you can do it in your kitchen or catering company and we're happy to share what we learned along the way.
The bottom line
B Corp certification offers a roadmap for those willing to go the extra mile. It's certainly not the only way to be a good business, but it's a proven one, with a supportive community behind it. By meeting the B Corp standards, restaurants and food companies demonstrate leadership in an industry that touches everyone's lives (after all, we all eat!). The fact that only a handful of restaurants have achieved this status so far shows that it's a challenging journey, but also that those who do it are ahead of the pack. And as new standards push B Corps to be even bolder, the companies that embrace them will be setting the tone for the future of foodservice. They're showing that you can serve up amazing food and experiences while also doing right by your team, your community, and our planet – and that diners will increasingly expect nothing less.
