Baumgartens, an award-winning family business that provides school, home, and office supplies nationwide, has been certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC) and officially part of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSCD). The MBE certification is an addition to Baumgartens’ long-standing certification as a woman-owned business with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
After passing the rigorous requirements of the MBE application process, this certification gives Baumgartens an increased opportunity to be visible and do business, via their distributors, with large corporations and local, state, and federal government.
“GMSDC corporate members represent a community of like-minded businesses that understand the importance of a diverse supplier base and the benefits of inclusive procurement practices,” said Kwiyoung Baumgarten, COB & President. “With this recognition from the NMSCD, we are looking forward to working with all their corporate members including Fortune 500 companies, that are committed to the benefits of supplier diversity.”
NMSDC matches more than 12,000 certified minority-owned businesses to their vast network of corporate members wishing to purchase products, services and solutions.
“We are especially interested in working with Georgia-based corporations such as Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, UPS, Georgia Power, NCR, and AFLAC to name a few,” said Baumgarten. “Our company now offers a compelling case for meeting corporate supplier diversity goals as a woman-owned and minority-owned business that’s also local.”
The Baumgartens family business legacy continues to uphold its reputation as a trusted and reliable supplier, having garnered the prestigious OWPA “Manufacturer of the Year” award six times, The Cox Family Business of the Year Award (Georgia), and is well-known for its leadership in Identification Products.
Background on NMSDC
Chartered in 1972, The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) was stood up because of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s and continues to be the leading minority business development organization in the United States. NMSDC supports the economic sustainability of more than 13,000 certified minority business enterprises (MBEs) and advances minority business development by facilitating procurement opportunities between its certified MBEs and its network of over 1,500 Corporate Members. NMSDC’s African American, Asian-Indian American, Asian-Pacific American, Hispanic American and Native American businesses provide products and services in many industries. The NMSDC network includes a National Office in New York, 23 regional affiliate councils, five international partner organizations and the Business Consortium Fund (BCF) as its funding arm.
About Baumgartens
Baumgartens is an MBE- and WBENC-certified company that supplies a wide variety of solutions from ID and security products to office organization, drawing and writing tools, and inspirational products. With more than 500 unique product offerings, the small family and woman/minority-owned business is now led by Kwiyoung Baumgarten, COB and president, who succeeded Jean Baumgarten in 2020. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since its inception just after World War II, Baumgartens continues to make a difference with thousands of retailers and wholesalers across the U.S.A.