Women's Business Enterprise National Council recognizes company for best-in-class supplier diversity program and 50% increase in spend with women-owned businesses

CINCINNATI, Feb. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --For the sixth consecutive year, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) has been named one of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The annual list honors corporations that have established a sustained commitment to the inclusion of women-owned businesses in their supply chains.

"Diversity is at the core of our people-first culture and an integral part of our business strategy at Kroger," said Angel Coln, Kroger's senior director of diversity and inclusion. "Women make up more than half of our workforce and 31% of our senior management, and we're deeply committed to increasing women's business enterprise representation across Kroger's supply chain. We're proud that this intentional approach to inclusion has once again earned us WBENC's prestigious 'Top Corporations' recognition."

Kroger's 2019 Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) Highlights:

Kroger invested an additional $163 million with women-owned businesses across its supply chain in 2019, increasing its annual WBE spend by 50%.

Kroger established 234 new WBE supplier partnerships, a 57% increase from 2018.

Kroger held a Supplier Inclusion Innovation Summit in May 2019, inviting more than 80 diverse suppliers to pitch their products and services while networking with Kroger's key category managers and buyers. Nearly half of summit attendees were WBE suppliers, including Tempagenix, Kroger's Top Innovation Award honoree.

Kroger partnered with WBENC's Student Entrepreneur Program to mentor Sinzuca Chocolates Founder Yolanda Martinez and other emerging WBE vendors.

Kroger achieved Billion Dollar Roundtable status for 12 consecutive years, reaching more than $1 billion in spend with certified minority- and women-owned suppliers.

Kroger ranked 13th on Omnikal's 2019 Omni50 list, which recognizes America's top 50 corporate and government buyers of products and services from inclusive and diverse suppliers.

Kroger ranked fourth on The Wall Street Journal's list of the top 20 most diverse Fortune 500 companies.

The Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises list is the only national award program honoring corporations for establishing supplier diversity initiatives that proactively integrate women-owned businesses into their supply chains. The 75 companies named to the prestigious list will be recognizedat the 2020 WBENC Summit & Salute, a gathering of more than 1,800 entrepreneurs and corporate business leaders taking placeMarch 16-18 inNashville, Tenn.

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About The Kroger Co.

At The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR), we are Fresh for Everyone and dedicated to our Purpose: ToFeed the Human Spirit. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety ofbanner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit ournewsroomand investor relationssite.

About WBENC

WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled, and operated by women in the United States. WBENC partners with 14 Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) to provide its world-class standard of certification to women-owned businesses throughout the country. WBENC is also the nation's leading advocate of women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. Throughout the year, WBENC provides business development opportunities for member corporations, government agencies and close to 16,000 certified women-owned businesses at events and other forums. Learn more at http://www.wbenc.org

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SOURCE The Kroger Co.

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