Badger Company Founder Walks the Walk

As a carpenter, Bill Whyte was always looking for a solution to his dry, cracked hands, especially in the harsh New Hampshire winters. After trying many commercial lotions that didn’t really work, Whyte experimented with olive oil and beeswax to come up with a soothing balm to help heal rough hands. Mixing up the concoction at home, Whyte came up with a product that seemed to work and was made from natural ingredients.

Originally called Bear Paw, the lotion became known as Badger Balm after a friend found a competing product already named Bear Paw. Whyte set up a production line at home to fill the tins. Soon he was pounding the pavement in the town of Gilsum, trying to sell the new product to hardware stores, lumber yards, and health food stores.

Fast-forward a little more than 20 years from his early days of experimentation, and Whyte (affectionately known as the “head badger”) runs W.S. Badger Company with the same goals and passions he started with back in the mid-1990s. The company uses only organic plant extracts, exotic oils, beeswax, and minerals to make the most effective products to soothe, heal, and protect the body. And the natural ingredients come from all over the world—for example, organic extra virgin olive oil from Spain, organic rose essential oil from Bulgaria, and bergamot oil from southern Italy.

Badger’s homey culture is no accident. In fact, in the early days, Whyte made soup every Friday for the small staff. Today, Whyte and family members, including his wife Kathy, chief operating officer; daughter Rebecca, head of sustainability and innovation; and daughter Emily, head of sales and marketing, all embrace the ethical and social principles of this family business that have made the company a success.

To reinforce the commitment of being socially responsible and demonstrating transparency, W.S. Badger Company became a Certified Benefit Corporation, or B Corp for short. This certification requires companies to meet rigorous standards for transparency, accountability, and social and environmental performance. (Benefit Corporations are discussed in more detail later in this module.)

Becoming a B Corp. has helped the company organize how it operates. For example, pay for the highestpaid full-time employee is capped at five times that of the lowest paid, which is now $15 an hour (more than double New Hampshire’s minimum wage); a portion of company profits flows to employees via profit sharing, and all employees participate in a bonus plan; and new parents are encouraged to bring their babies to work, a program that has helped foster a new style of teamwork for the entire organization, as well as increase employee morale. In addition, Badger donates 10 percent of its pre-tax profits annually to nonprofit organizations that focus on the health and welfare of children, matches employee contributions to charitable causes (up to $100 per employee), and donates an additional $50 to a nonprofit chosen by each employee on their birthday.

Badger staff, which now number more than 100, enjoy a living wage, great benefits, and a socially responsible work environment thanks to a visionary who found an eco-friendly way to soothe his rough hands and created an ethical business as part of his journey.

Questions for Discussion

Does the company’s certification as a Benefit Corporation provide Badger with a competitive advantage? Explain your reasoning.

Sources: “Badger’s History & Legend,” “Babies at Work Policy,” and “2016 Annual Impact Report,” https://www.badgerbalm.com, accessed June 27, 2017; “About Badger,” https://www.bcorporation.net, accessed June 27, 2017; “Badger ‘Still In’ on Climate Action, Asks New Hampshire Businesses, State Officials, and Local Leaders to Join Forces in Honoring Paris Agreement,” http://www.prweb.com, June 22, 2017; Amy Feldman, “Badger Balm Creator Once Dismissed Being a B Corp as ‘Just Marketing.’ Now He’s a True Believer,” Forbes, http://www.forbes.com, May 9, 2017.