AUCKLAND, Today: How you do anything is how you do everything. In art or storytelling, that feels natural. But when running a business, suddenly it’s all “efficiency, productivity, profit” — heart often gets sidelined.
Growth changes everything. When you’re suddenly accountable for a team and “overheads,” priorities shift. Before you know it, you’re on set without a script. So, we wrote one to keep ourselves true.
Three years back, The Sweetshop started the B Corp journey. Today, we’re proud to say we’ve made it. For CEO and Co-Founder Melanie Bridge, it’s more than a shiny certification.
“When we started The Sweetshop, our dream was to build a home for creativity and integrity, but over the years we learned that good intentions just aren’t enough.”
Since its Auckland beginnings in 2001, The Sweetshop grew to five global offices, chasing bold ideas and unforgettable stories. Yet, beneath the success, something felt off — a disconnect from the values that sparked it all.
Despite always pushing boundaries, we had to face the truth: we hadn’t done enough. So the challenge was clear — how to keep creating brilliant work while caring for people and the planet?
“When we started The Sweetshop, our dream was to build a home for creativity and integrity, but over the years we learned that good intentions just aren’t enough.” – Melanie Bridge, CEO and Co-Founder
Sweetshop NZ’s Managing Director Ben Dailey puts it simply: “This certification is about putting structure around what we’ve always believed — sustainability and craft are not opposites, you can care about both and still make great work.”
B Corp set the bar sky-high, which is exactly why we chose it. The journey was tough, but it forced us to reinvest in people — our true secret ingredient. “Because if we’ve got one secret ingredient, it’s always been the people who make us uniquely Sweetshop,” says Melanie.
“We did question whether a company in advertising could truly call itself a force for good. But, what we discovered through this process is that positive change is possible in countless small and large ways, and that embracing progress is far more important than striving for perfection.”
One new initiative is our internal film fund, open to everyone — from Directors to Production Assistants. Paired with mentorship, it gives emerging storytellers the freedom to explore beyond commercials. “It’s policies like this… that feel like the real reward,” says Melanie.
For us, B Corp isn’t theory; it’s daily practice. On set, it’s cutting waste without cutting craft. For crews, it’s fairness, inclusivity, and support. In the wider world, it’s opening doors and making creativity a force for good.
As Melanie sums it up: “B Corp isn’t about being perfect; it’s about embracing progress.” And for The Sweetshop, that means holding ourselves to the very standards we want for the industry — fearless, fair, and future-focused.
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