‘Give us the law’: small businesses are fighting for recognition

Ssince the 1970s, minority business owners have been able to certify their businesses through organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) or the Small Business Administration (SBA). Until last July, one group of business owners was conspicuously absent from the sea of ​​certification options – the legacy of Mena (Middle East and North Africa).

Being recognized as a limited company has its advantages. In the consumer goods sector, certified businesses let consumers know who makes their sauces or buys their coffee beans. But most crucially, especially for scrappy emerging brands, certification can reduce the cost of doing business with different types of programs found in supermarkets and chains like Kroger or Target. Some Mena entrepreneurs say they feel anonymous.

Alexander Harik, co-founder with his mother, Lorraine George-Harik, of Zesty Z: “I tried to apply to some of the ‘minority certification bodies’ and they told me that I’m out of luck. a pita chip company based in Brooklyn, New York.

Although Harik was born in the US, his ancestry is 100% Lebanese, yet he repeats when told: “You are Caucasian. We do not recognize that as a minority.” Harik realizes that he does not feel white. “I’ve had people say racist and bigoted things to me,” she says.

“Our experience is definitely different,” he says of Mena’s businessmen, compared to white or Caucasian business owners who may be of European heritage.

Harik is one of twelve business owners of Mena’s heritage who are currently certified with the newly launched ADC Business Council’s certification program launched by the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in July 2023.

Yassin Sibai, who was born in Syria, was also ineligible for minority certification before the new ADC program. Sibai is the co-founder of Afia, a frozen food company based in Austin, Texas, with his wife Farrah Moussallati Sibai. Afia makes falafel and kibbeh based on Syrian family recipes, which are sold in supermarkets across the US. When Sibai had previously applied to various agencies for verification, there was probably no Mena box to check, or if he had written “Middle East” for a phone number that didn’t have nothing, he was repeatedly rejected. Sibai also tried the self-certification process through the SBA website which he had to print. But approaching supermarket shoppers with prints in hand was often met with confusion – some shoppers welcomed it, others didn’t. Sibai says: “These were the much-needed certificates that gave us permission to sell.

Brothers Mansour and Karim Arem tried to explain to NMSDC that their Tunisian-based food company Zwïta, located in Houston, Texas, is a minority brand. They were rejected. Karim says: “Anyone from North Africa or the Middle East is considered a white person according to the groups they belonged to. “That was a little disappointing.” Zwïta, known for its harissas and shakshukas, is now certified by Mena through ADC.

While minority-owned businesses in the US that sell goods or services are not required to be certified (many are not), for a small, independent CPG. (consumer packaged goods), certification can significantly reduce the cost of doing business – sometimes by thousands of dollars. Several supermarkets charge fees for products sold on their shelves and others will reduce or waive those fees for certified businesses as part of their diversification efforts.

Raffi Vartanian is the co-founder of Ziba, a company that sells nuts and dried fruits from Afghanistan and employs Afghan women. Ziba’s colorful pouches are sold in chains such as Erewhon and Ralph’s in California, and smaller stores such as Goods Mart in New York City. The costs of keeping sanctuaries are “difficult” for small brands, Vartanian says: “You’re competing with the big groups who can afford the shelf.”

In addition to reducing or eliminating fees, some supermarkets are donating money for promotions during Black history or Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage months. “April is a newly recognized month of Mena’s heritage,” says Isabella “Bella” Hughes of Better Sour, a gummy candy brand. Better Sour offers flavors that reflect Hughes and co-founder Semira Nikou’s Iranian American upbringing in Hawaii, such as sweet pomegranate, apricot and plum. “However [stores aren’t] Raising the purchase price,” says Hughes, “at least highlights us.”

The products offered by the supermarkets are not only self-serving for CPG companies – they also benefit consumers, especially members of gen Z, who are more interested in global flavors and foods than previous generations and buy right.

So far, about twenty Mena products have been certified through the ADC program during this initial soft launch. Many others like Yaza Labneh, a new Lebanese-style labneh sold at Whole Foods, are in the works.

Abed Ayoub, ADC’s chief executive who leads its Mena certification program, is preparing for the next step: joining 25,000 business owners in the community, from construction and beauty service providers to advocates law enforcement and restaurants. Ayoub started checking the Arab or Mena certification as early as 2009. After a few dead periods, starting and stopping, he was reinvigorated during the pandemic when he saw many entrepreneurs who start new businesses, along with Zesty Z’s. Harik reached out and shared his efforts to get certified.

Constance Jones, NMSDC’s chief certification officer, notes that the council began in the early 1970s. “At that time,” says Jones, Mena’s business owners “didn’t consider themselves minorities, so we didn’t confirm them as minorities”.

Jones believes that anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination followed 9/11. “That’s not why NMSDC was created,” says Jones. “It was not made to start accepting communities that had just begun to be discriminated against [against]. It was always focused on the historical discrimination that happened in the United States for the citizens who were here.”

The issue of expanding the definition of minority to include Mena ethnic groups has come up repeatedly at NMSDC, Jones says. The policy committee is set to look at expanding the council’s definition by 2025 – not a pressing issue.

Determining who is considered eligible for minority certification, and who is not, can be a little confusing – especially in historic areas. of many migrants and immigrants. Is it based on DNA? Family? Appearance? Skin color? Country of origin? Spanish definitions, for example, vary by certification body. For the NMSDC, certification requires at least one grandparent to be of a racially identified race in the US.

So far, Ayoub said the ADC’s criteria for Mena’s certification include checking passports, applicants’ birthplaces and family trees. “As long as we have a way to prove that connection,” says Ayoub. So far, they have had “easy cases”, according to Ayoub, and have tried to avoid situations where it is necessary to determine whether a person is “fairly Middle Eastern”. He adds: “It is still very early; we take it from the other side. ”

Mena’s new certificate is not well known, so there has not been an opportunity for activists who want to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs to criticize it for being unfair to other races. “We know it will come,” said Ayoub. “A lot of people have made DEI the boogeyman now.”

Hughes, an investor in his third CPG company, said DEI’s efforts address the past marginalization of minority groups. “On the back of our packaging, we say we are Iranian American inventors from Hawaii. When we were little girls in the late 80s, early 90s, there was almost no representation,” she adds.

“Where is the capital going? Who has the potential to earn more money? asked Hughes rhetorically. “I mean, us do know.” He answers: “Women [founders, solely] earn 2% of all business income, period. Fold [founders]: 0.7%,” refers to a March 2024 Carta report that surveyed those who identify as Middle Eastern/Arab.

Mena’s certificate became official three months before Hamas’ attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli retaliation, which caused political and cultural change around the world. Israel is a Mena country, so will Israeli businesses be eligible for Mena certification through ADC? Ayoub says: “What I’m saying is, make them work, and we will continue to work.” It’s early days, but so far, no Israeli businesses have applied for Mena certification.

“Let’s not talk about politics,” said Ayoub of Mena businesses that have applied for certification, which he says is about economic empowerment. “We’re looking very closely at the standards they have to meet to get certified.”

Although Mena’s business owners have had one-on-one discussions about Gaza and Israel, they believe that politics should be left to law enforcement. “This is not about religion, it’s not about nationality” says Harik of Zesty Z about the certificate. “This is about making money.”

“It’s a broad group of cultures, races, ethnicities, religions,” says Hughes of the Mena area. “So for us, the mission is really narrow like: let’s raise awareness. Let’s make sure that in this industry we have the right representation. It has nothing to do with politics at play. ” All Mena faiths, races and ethnicities are welcome to apply.

ADC’s Mena certification information will eventually go on the Arab American Employee Resource Group website. “We want to separate policy and politics from business,” says Ayoub, as ADC advocates for Arab human rights in the United States. “I don’t want a company, whether it’s Microsoft, to have to think twice about partnering with our organization because it doesn’t agree with our position.”

There will be a Mena box to check the population of 2030 for the first time, which Ayoub thinks will be compatible with the wide acceptance of the Mena business certificate; Finally Mena-certified business owners should be eligible to bid on local and state contracts, just like other small businesses.

It remains to be seen if supermarkets will accept Mena’s certification. Stores choose which programs they want and how they should be run; there is no need for control. Sibai says: “Having a Mena certificate is another thing. “Traders who embrace it and accept it as part of their educational or educational diversity is a completely different kind of journey that we have to go through.”

Harik thinks that Mena’s new certification is about entrepreneurial spirit. “Opportunities were closed to us, so we got sloppy and smart and did our own thing. And it worked.”