Shannon Lenier
Director of Merchandising & Operations
Women-owned businesses make up 21% of employers in the United States but have historically faced challenges such as limited access to capital, networks, and opportunity for professional development.
In support of International Women’s Day and Women's History Month, I am thrilled to share how the Postal Marketplace provides women-owned businesses an opportunity to drive more revenue by connecting with B2B companies who send their products on a corporate scale.
Shattering glass ceilings
Part of the way we support female allyship in the workplace is by holding ourselves accountable to six core values that reflect social responsibility and guide the growth of our business. The two that stand out to us on International Women’s Day are:
- Leave the world a better place. We have 1 planet. We have a corporate responsibility to hold ourselves accountable for environmental sustainability, building community, and giving back.
- Seek diversity and foster inclusion. It’s proven that the more diverse individualism we have, the more efficiently we will grow as a team. Our differences make us stronger.
It is important to us to curate a marketplace that includes women and BIPOC-owned businesses. They are our friends, colleagues, and neighbors. One of the ways we work towards these values is by curating a marketplace that includes many women and minority-owned businesses. When you send an item from the Postal Marketplace, you create mutual growth by supporting a vendor as well as expanding your business by offering their unique product to your recipient.
Baked by Melissa
Bundled Baby
Cheers in a Box
Dana’s Bakery
Dog Mamma
Handwritten by Kiki
Keystone Inspired
Loved and Found
Maker Wine Company
Nurtured 9
OneHope
Popsations Popcorn Co
Pretzelwich
Seattle Gummy
Spoonful of Comfort
Tower Treats
Baked By Melissa
Melissa's passion for finding a job that would leave her exhausted from hard work led her to start Baked by Melissa with her brother's encouragement after being fired from her media planner job. With the support of her family and friends, Baked by Melissa has grown to 14 locations and ships baked goods nationwide. Melissa is grateful to make life sweeter for people every day.
Bundled Baby
Bundled Baby, founded by Michelle Zuchowicki, offers custom designs and playful themes to brighten up your little one's nap times, stroller rides, and first memories. Michelle's hand-drawn, gender-neutral illustrations are complemented by super-soft, sustainable bamboo and cotton fabrics, which were carefully chosen after months of research, sampling, and consulting.
Cheers in a Box
Cheers in a Box, created by J. Shea, is a woman-owned-and-operated event design and strategy firm that focuses on supporting other small businesses. They source most items from brands around the US, including female-owned or local businesses. Each box is guaranteed to make recipients smile.
Dana's Bakery
Dana Pollack, a former photo-editor of Muscle and Fitness magazine, is now a trained pastry chef and the creative mind behind Dana's Bakery. Established in 2012, Dana's Bakery offers a variety of gluten-free French macarons in unique flavors inspired by classic American desserts and candy.
Dog Mamma
Dog Mamma's mission is to improve dogs' wellness by baking organic treats that are free of harmful ingredients. They use only ingredients grown under strict guidelines of the National Organic Program, and their treats are baked in a human-grade, certified gluten-free and peanut-free bakery that is free of soy, dairy, and other harmful ingredients. They walk the walk and talk the talk.
Handwritten by Kiki
Handwritten by Kiki helps you deliver personalized messages with hand-selected stationery, handwritten notes, postage, and mailing services. Show someone you care in a personalized and thoughtful way with Handwritten by Kiki.
Keystone Inspired
Britt, the founder of Keystone Inspired Co, started the sustainable home goods company to create nature-inspired memories. Her love for nature was inspired by her childhood spent in Florida and she now creates scents that remind her of those memories. Keystone Inspired Co is a woman-owned business that gives back to animal shelters with every purchase, using recycled packaging for their products.
Loved and Found
Liz, the founder of Loved and Found, spent over a decade in the design industry, creating collections for iconic brands in New York and LA. In 2015, she started her own business, a design-centered gifting studio that creates memorable gift boxes for all occasions, with impeccable packaging and elevated products to keep you and your brand top of mind.
Maker Wine Company
Maker is a women-owned business that aims to bring premium, award-winning wines from small producers to the masses by shipping them directly to consumers in eco-friendly single-serving cans. They are on a mission to break down the exclusivity of the wine industry, while highlighting the stories of the producers behind each varietal. Their ultimate goal is to make high-quality wine accessible to everyone.
Nurtured 9
Nurtured 9 is a female-owned luxury corporate gifting studio based in Tucson, AZ, specializing in new mom, parent, and baby gifts. The company has curated gifts for clients such as Target, Twitter, and Upwork and has been featured in multiple publications. Postal Marketplace features Nurtured 9's ready-to-ship gifts for new parents and babies, while custom-branded gifts can be arranged with the help of Postal's Paper Plane Team.
Nurtured 9's focus is on non-toxic, high-quality, and classy products to support new moms and parents during pregnancy and postpartum.
When it comes to appreciating your employees, don't forget to consider welcome back gifts. These thoughtful tokens of appreciation can make your team members feel valued and motivated.
ONEHOPE
ONEHOPE is a world-class winery and giving platform that has donated over $8M to 30,000+ nonprofits, making an impact with every purchase. The founders began hosting wine tastings to raise money for causes, and today, ONEHOPE is one of the largest direct-to-consumer wineries globally.
Popsations Popcorn Co
Popsations Popcorn Company handcrafts gourmet popcorn with artisan recipes using simple ingredients. Their gluten-free flavors are made with non-gmo corn syrup and air-popped popcorn for their caramel flavors. Their light, buttery, and crunchy caramel popcorn is sure to bring smiles to your face. Simply...POPsational!
Pretzelwich
Lisa started Pretzelwich NYC after creating a popular family tradition of baking sweet treats to end their evenings on a sweet note. She began with sandwiching marshmallows between pretzels, dipping them in melted chocolate and adding toppings. With various flavors and toppings, her snack sandwiches became a hit among friends and coworkers, leading her to ship them all over the country. Pretzelwich NYC's sweet and salty treats are loved by many for their delicious taste.
Seattle Gummy
Dr. Connie Wan saw a need for a better way to administer medication to kids and was inspired by gummy vitamins. Gummies dissolve slowly in the mouth, allowing for quick absorption of compounds through the oral mucosa. Wan adapted this technology for functional gummies, launching a business with three categories: Energy, Sports, and Wellness. These gummies contain high concentrations of active compounds for a quick boost or improved performance.
Spoonful of Comfort
Spoonful of Comfort was founded by Marti Wymer in October 2007 after her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and she wanted to send a comforting gift. The company's goal is to help others with sick loved ones by delivering gourmet soup gift baskets with as much care as if they were sending it to their own mother.
Tower Treats
Tower Treats is a sweet treat company created by Kerry Anna, an entrepreneur with a background in food & beverage public relations. The company's signature half-pound cookie was inspired by Kerry Anna's time living in New York, and the name "Tower Treats" was inspired by the 3" towering cookie and Kerry Anna's 6'2" frame. Kerry Anna's mission is to spread joy and encourage people to treat themselves and others.
In addition to supporting these businesses, here are some other actions we’re taking this year to help #BreakTheBias. Feel free to join us.
Donate to a national women’s charity
Here are two organizations we will be supporting this year to work towards our core value of leaving the world a better place:
- Justice for Migrant Women—Seeing a need for a new, bolder vision for addressing migrant women's rights across borders, industries, and issues, this organization was formed to provide a new model for advancing migrant women's rights and justice.
- National Women's Law Center—The NWLC fights for gender justice in the courts, in public policy, and in our society, working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls.
Donate to local charities
Giving back to the community where we’re headquartered is vital. We are supporting the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, which works to improve the lives of women and girls in San Luis Obispo County, California. Start conversations about breaking the bias and being an ally in the workplace. We know that supporting women goes beyond monetary support.
We’ll be using the resources provided at InternationalWomensDay.com to have internal discussions of how we all can be allies to women at Postal. We hope these resources help you and your organization as we all continue to seek diversity, foster inclusion, and leave the world a better place. The energy we put out into the world matters. The future is female.
