What Does It Really Mean For A Manufacturing Business To Become B Corp Certified?

Earlier this year, Portobello Business Centre launched a new initiative with a simple goal: help one London business take the next step towards becoming B Corp certified.

Working alongside purpose-led consultancy transformacy, PBC created a fully funded B Corp certification package designed to remove one of the biggest barriers facing small businesses - cost.

The initiative invited London SMEs already operating responsibly across areas such as sustainability, governance, people and community impact to apply for the opportunity.

After workshops, consultations and a live pitch process bringing together a diverse group of purpose-driven businesses, South East London fragrance manufacturer Stennah & Hope Ltd was selected as the winner.

Now, over the coming months, PBC will be following the company’s B Corp journey as it works towards one of the world’s most recognised ethical business certifications. For founder Boyowa Olugbo, the process represents more than a business milestone.

It reflects years of building a company around craftsmanship, transparency and long-term thinking.

For many organisations, B Corp certification has become a way of demonstrating that sustainability, accountability and social responsibility are more than just marketing language. But what does the process actually involve and what does it look like behind the scenes for an independent manufacturer?

For Stennah & Hope founder Boyowa, the journey is rooted in principles that have shaped the company for years. Founded by a former music producer and classically trained pianist, the business has quietly built a reputation for craftsmanship, honesty and bespoke British production over the last decade.

What began with homemade candles gifted to friends and family in 2007 has since evolved into a specialist operation producing candles, diffusers and room sprays for a growing portfolio of niche brands across the UK.

But for Boyowa, success has never simply been about expansion.

“It’s not so much getting more clients,” he explains. “It’s getting the right kind of client.”

That philosophy continues to influence every part of the company today - from the partnerships it chooses to the way products are sourced, designed and manufactured.

Now, the business is entering a new chapter through its pursuit of B Corp certification.

What Is B Corp Certification?

Over recent years, more organisations have started talking about sustainability, ethics and purpose-led growth. Yet for customers and clients alike, one question increasingly sits beneath those conversations:

How do you know a company is genuinely committed to those ideals?

B Corp is an internationally recognised certification awarded to organisations meeting high standards across areas including environmental impact, governance, employee wellbeing, community contribution and customer responsibility.

Rather than focusing purely on profit, the framework examines how an organisation operates as a whole from supply chains and workplace culture to transparency and decision-making.

And the expectations are becoming increasingly demanding.

Under the latest standards, companies are assessed across five core areas:

• Community

• Environment

• Customers

• Governance

• Workers

  
  

For Stennah & Hope, beginning the process was never about chasing a trend.

Instead, it was about formally recognising an approach that had already become embedded within the company.

The Story

Long before Stennah & Hope became a bespoke fragrance manufacturer, founder Boyowa was working in an entirely different creative field. A classically trained pianist, songwriter, producer and sound engineer, he spent years working in music before eventually beginning to feel creatively limited by the direction the industry was taking.

“The industry had become quite constrained,” he explains. “I was just looking for another outlet where I could be more creative.”

That search for creative freedom eventually led somewhere unexpected.

In 2007, Boyowa began experimenting with candle making at home, initially creating products for friends and family. What started as a personal hobby quickly gained momentum after the candles were gifted as Christmas presents and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

By 2008, Boyowa and two friends had decided to turn the idea into a commercial venture. Together, they spent nearly a year developing the branding, products and overall concept before officially launching into all 55 Space NK stores in June 2009.

“It went from there,” he says.

But like many independent enterprises, the reality behind the early momentum proved far more complicated. As demand increased, so did the financial pressure that came with scaling a consumer-facing brand. Significant investment was required to continue expanding and eventually the original partnership came to an end.

While the first venture struggled to sustain itself long term, the experience revealed something far more valuable: a deep understanding of fragrance production itself.

Rather than walking away from the sector entirely, Boyowa returned to where everything had originally started making the products.

“So then I set this business up to basically make them for other brands,” he explains. “I thought, let me go back to the beginning.”

That decision would eventually become Stennah & Hope.

More than a decade later, the South East London company now produces candles, diffusers and room sprays for a growing portfolio of niche labels across the home fragrance, wellbeing and hospitality sectors.

Yet Boyowa says the focus has always remained selective.

“It’s not so much getting more clients,” he says. “It’s getting the right kind of client.”

Why The Company Is Pursuing B Corp Now

For Stennah & Hope, the decision to pursue B Corp certification did not happen overnight.

In many ways, the journey began through the organisation’s relationships with clients already operating within the B Corp space.

“A few of our clients are B Corp certified as well,” Boyowa explains. “So if you’ve got a B Corp brand and then you’ve got a B Corp supplier, you’ve kind of got end-to-end alignment.”

That alignment is becoming increasingly important. Consumers and organisations alike are asking more questions about how products are made, where materials are sourced from and the principles behind the companies they choose to support. For Boyowa, B Corp represents far more than a certification badge or marketing exercise.

“It’s not just about the product,” he says. “It’s about the people. It’s about where you’re doing it. It’s about your supply chain.”

That broader perspective feels especially relevant within manufacturing, where conversations around ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility are becoming harder to ignore.

“There’s not enough of it in our industry,” Boyowa says.

As a result, Stennah & Hope believes certification could help further distinguish the company within a competitive marketplace particularly as a UK-based bespoke producer operating within a niche sector.

“If we do it well and market it well, it separates us from a lot of other manufacturers,” Boyowa explains. “It gives us strong credentials as a niche, bespoke manufacturer where people know you’re operating responsibly.”

The accreditation could also create new commercial opportunities.

“We’ll be able to approach certain brands that we couldn’t before,” he says. “We’ll be able to say: we’re B Corp certified - is your current manufacturer B Corp? Probably not.”

Despite the potential advantages, Boyowa remains realistic about the scale of the process itself. B Corp certification has become significantly more demanding in recent years, with organisations now expected to achieve strong standards across each of the five assessment areas individually. For smaller independent companies, that is no small undertaking .

“It’s getting harder,” Boyowa says. “A lot of businesses have had to reapply because the standards are becoming more stringent.”

Still, he approaches the process with the same measured mindset that has shaped much of the company’s journey so far.

“It’s a process,” he says. “You just take it on board and go for it.”

As Stennah & Hope begins the next stage of that journey, it also reflects a wider shift taking place across the business world one where organisations are increasingly being judged not only on what they produce, but on how they operate, who they support and the impact they leave behind.