The Best Female-Owned Businesses in the Bay Area

Any day is a good day to support women-owned businesses. But since March is Women’s History Month, the timing feels especially right. When you support female-owned businesses, you support women's economic empowerment, gender equality, and overall economic growth. As an added bonus, you feel good about your purchases!

Incredible women in the Bay Area have established themselves across a variety of sectors throughout the years, from retail to dining. Not sure where to start your search? Here are a few female-owned businesses in the Bay Area to support now and always.

Bay Area Women-Owned Businesses to Check Out

1. Harlow and Grey

Headquarters: San Francisco

Harlow and Grey makes thoughtfully designed partyware and lifestyle goods with a mission to honor life’s most precious moments. Co-founders and cousins Jeanne Chan and Gloria Wong Tritasavit are the brains behind this women-owned company and their understanding of the modern host is unparalleled. As tastemakers and event planners themselves, these inspiring women make chic, modern, affordable partyware that fits every celebration you have coming up on your calendar.

2. Post.script.

Headquarters: San Francisco

Featuring a whimsical and eclectic assortment of items from 50 curated brands across stationery, home goods, and accessories, post.script. is a female-owned business to keep on your radar. Prints, candles, puzzles, artwork, and more interesting items fill the shelves of this cool little boutique. Whether you’re buying a gift or shopping for yourself,  you’ll likely come across an item or two that’ll capture your attention at this women-run business.

3. People I’ve Loved

Headquarters: Oakland

Another awesome female-owned business in a similar category as post.script. is People I’ve Loved. Based out of Oakland, this unique brand makes goods that inspire you to be closer to the people you love, including yourself. Gifts, prints, paintings, and more cool goodies made by creatives can be found on this female-owned company’s online store—check it out! 

4. Farmgirl Flowers

Headquarters: San Francisco

Born in the San Francisco apartment of founder and CEO Christina Stembel back in 2010, Farmgirl Flowers has grown to become a favorite florist for many Bay Area residents. Find a range of beautiful bouquets and arrangements on this women-owned business’ website and have your favorite delivered to you wherever you are in the state.

5. Rodan + Fields

Headquarters: San Francisco

Rodan + Fields is a skincare brand you can trust. Stanford-trained dermatologists Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields are the creators of this female-owned company and use their 30-plus years of expertise to formulate products that are innovative, easy-to-use, and backed by scientific research. If you’re looking for a woman-owned beauty brand you can shop from without reading the fine print, this is it.

6. International Orange

Headquarters: Larkspur

Take your self-care to the next level by booking a treatment at International Orange. Named for the paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge, this women-run business offers therapeutic treatments and customized facials that’ll leave you rejuvenated and refreshed. Planning a spa day at home? Shop from their head-to-toe range of organic products to take home with you.

7. Lady Falcon Coffee Club

Headquarters: San Francisco

Located in Alamo Square Park, Lady Falcon Coffee Club is a female-founded, independent coffee roaster selling delicious specialty coffee. The name is a nod to an era in San Francisco’s Ocean Beach history when women founded a revolutionary biking club that gave them freedom of movement and liberty. Try some of this female-owned business’s delicious and beautifully packaged coffee blends and you’ll never look back.

8. Smitten Ice Cream

Headquarters: San Francisco

Smitten Ice Cream makes some of the best in the Bay Area. This woman-owned company has a hip outdoor stand on Octavia Street and crafts delicious flavors using local ingredients and liquid nitrogen. Their unique flavors include roasted banana, blueberry lavender, and earl grey with milk chocolate chips—yum. 

9. Piccino

Headquarters: San Francisco

Piccino began as a small cafe serving pizza and coffee in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. Since then, it has evolved into a full-scale restaurant with private dining rooms and a separate coffee bar. However, the mission of this Bay Area woman-owned restaurant—which is to serve the best ingredients in a warm and friendly environment—has stayed the same since the beginning.

10. Sidestreet Pho

Headquarters: Alameda

Based in Alameda, Sidestreet Pho finds its roots in the curbside vendors of pre-war Vietnam. Owner Hanh Nguyen shares her love of simple and fresh dishes such as Bún, Gỏi Cuốn, and Phở served to her right on the streets of Saigon at this Bay Area dining spot. Enjoy delicious Vietnamese flavor in a modern environment and you’ll be supporting a female-owned business in the Bay.

11. Cowgirl Creamery

Headquarters: Point Reyes Station

If you’ve never heard of Cowgirl Creamery before, then you’re in for one cheesy adventure. This female-owned business manufactures its own cheeses and sells other imported and domestic fine artisan foods. Can’t make it to Point Reyes? Cowgirl Creamery’s organic cheeses are available nationwide wherever fine cheese is sold; there might be a location near you.

12. INNA Jam

Headquarters: Emeryville

You know what goes well with cheese? Fresh, seasonal jams made from organic fruit. Lucky you, INNA Jam manufactures precisely that! Sourcing produce directly from local organic farmers, this woman-owned company only uses fruits that are picked ripe and are absolutely fresh. INNA also sells pickles, shrubs, and other select snacks, all organic and delicious.

13. The Pilates School S.F.

Headquarters: San Francisco

After all that food talk, it’s only fitting to recommend a fitness-related female-owned business in the Bay Area. This is where The Pilates School S.F. comes in. Created with a goal of building strong and balanced bodies, co-owners Ray and Rae started this pilates school to make affordable, quality classes accessible for everybody.

14. Minted

Headquarters: San Francisco

Founded in 2007 by Mariam Naficy, Minted has grown to become a go-to brand for anyone seeking unique and personalized gifts and art. This woman-owned business offers products from artists across the world and allows you to learn more about the artist as you purchase. You’ll have no trouble finding beautiful cards, murals, journals, or even lampshades—Minted is the real deal.